MOUNTAIN WOOL

Ladakh, a land of stark, mountainous terrain of incredible landscapes, the region (4000-5300 meter above sea level) is one of the highest inhabited places and lies embedded in the mountains of Karakorum in the northwest and the Himalayan range. The majestic Indus river originating from Tibet flows right through the centre of Ladakh.

In September 2018, along with my friend Jenny Pinto and Tsering Stobdan (nomad), we travelled to Tsering’s settlement at Karnak in the Changthang region to see the pashmina goat. We started post mid-night from Leh and after crossing the high mountain range and the Tanglang La pass at an elevation of 5,328 metres reached by 6am, in time to see the sheep and goat going off the graze in the mountain slopes. The settlement was a cluster of eighteen yak wool tents, where the temperatures dip to below minus 20C in the winter months. The yak wool tents are water and wind resistant and a burning stove in the centre of the tent keeps the inhabitants warm through the winter months. They move every few months and pitch their tents where there is water and a good source of fodder for their herd.

As we arrived, with day break, one by one men from each tent started opening their pen to let out their herd. It was the most amazing sight to see hundreds of beautiful, hairy pashmina goat and woolly sheep leave their pens. Once the men were gone with their herd only to return in the evening, the women invited us into their homes. The tent had a circular low stone wall and the living area was sunk in, around two feet lower than the ground level. We walked from one house to the next and at each home we were offered warm butter tea and a snack. At one home, the woman had just made some fresh cheese. She offered each of us a bowl full of cheese with a dollop of yak butter and fresh warm bread. The quantity seemed enormous but was just too delicious and I finished the bowl.

Once the women had fed the children, they picked up their spindles to spin, some rolled out their back strap looms, out in the sun to weave while other women were busy making or drying yak cheese. Their staple diet is a bowl of soup (thukpa) boiled with vegetables, some meat, millet and lots of dry cheese eaten with bread (khambir). It was wonderful to spend the day in the most beautiful environment, surrounded by the magnificent mountains, the vast expanse of clear blue sky, clean air, warm charming people.

The astronomical rise in pashm prices has benefited the Changthang nomads. They continue their nomadic life as the quality of pashmina is superior in free range grazing, encouraging them to move every few months. Traditionally, the nomadic families kept a herd of few hundred goat and sheep as well as a few yaks. The number of sheep was always more than the fragile pashmina goat. At night the sheep were kept in the outer ring of the pen, with the goat in the centre. The fluffy sheep protected the more delicate goats in the winter months. But as the demand for pashmina has increased, the nomads now keep more goat than sheep. The traditional protection from the cold that the sheep provided is no longer available, causing the death of some goats.

As the demand for pashmina increased, goats are breed for more fibre in specific shades. Now a days, there are many pashmina goat farms in Upshi on the way to Tanglangla where goats are huddled together in enclosed space, with little movement. Captivity and a diet of mono feed has changed the texture of the pashmina fibre. This might become the future of pashmina as most children of the nomads who are now educated would prefer to move to close by towns and not continue this harsh nomadic life.