A pilot experiment to provide design intervention and create market linkage for woolen handicrafts of the indigenous Bhotiya Community inhabiting the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve Region of the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand
Student name: Ms Diana Frenchman
Guide: Dr Gopal K Sarangi
Year of completion: 2017
Host Organisation: Government Inter Collegg Badagaon, Uttarakhand
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Ms Soni Bisht
Abstract: Uttarakhand, a relatively young state in the north-west of India comprises of a
mountainous terrain, lush green landscapes and high prosperity among its
inhabitants owing to the abundance of resources and self-sufficiency of its
population, in spite of low levels of income. The Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve
Region that is part of this state, too, narrates a similar story of a flourishing trade
and thriving culture of its native inhabitants- the Bhotiya, considered to be half-
Tibetan, due to their salt and wool trade with Tibetans. The inaccessibility of this
district due to its rocky terrain helped the region remain untouched for long, until
the colonial rule of the British. The closure of the Indo-Tibetan Border after the
Indo-Chinese War in 1962 and the creation of the Reserve that lies in Chamoli
district of Garhwal and have created a massive challenge to the livelihoods of the
members of this community. Where jobs are scarce and survival is a challenge,
people from this region – like the rest of the state prefer to migrate to small
towns such as Joshimath or even cities like Dehradun and New Delhi in order to
earn a „decent‟ living. This leads to destruction of their culture and traditional
practices as they migrate on one hand, while cities are over-exploited and
unhygienic conditions lead to illness, pushing them further into the poverty trap,
on the other. This project is a sincere effort of the author doing a Master in
Sustainable Development at TERI University, to revive the traditional practices
of knitting and weaving with pure sheep‟s wool available locally, with the
objective of creating new market linkages for handicrafts of the Bhotiya women
of this region. The project involves understanding the traditional Bhotiya
methods of dying sheep‟s wool, analysing the reasons behind the decline in wool
trade of the Bhotiya and an attempt to revive this trade by creating different
woollen products that could compete better in international markets. It studies
the characteristics of Harsil Cross sheep‟s wool available in the region, the
products that can be created out of this wool, providing design intervention and
training the women to create products of better quality and design. It also tries to
provide solutions at different scales to enhance wool trade in the region to its full
capacity. The study is partly funded by the Maneesh Manjunath Scholarship
awarded by TERI University to a meritorious student wishing to develop an
implementable project, and the report may further be used to enhance the
livelihoods of the community in whatever manner possible.
