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KHPPT stall in Dilli Haat

Rare traditional Kashmir pashmina for sale in Delhi

Delhi, November 20, 2008: Buyers looking for authentic and high quality Kashmir handmade pashmina, which was recently awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) of Origin, will be able to purchase them at Dilli Haat in Delhi during the fortnight-long 'Dastkar' festival that began Tuesday.

A stall selling Kashmir handmade pashmina products including shawls, stoles and scarves, has been set up by the Srinagar-based artisan group Kashmir Handmade Pashmina Promotion Trust (KHPPT) with support from Wildlife Trust of India – International Fund for Animal Welfare (WTI-IFAW). The items sold at this stall, under the brand name ‘Pashma’ are Craftmarked, which guarantees that the products are completely handmade. They also come with a guarantee of being made of 100% pure pashmina.

Manali Baruah, Programme Officer, WTI, said, "The products sold here are different, and it shows in its quality and endurance. They are the truest form of pashmina available, as they are hand-made using traditional crafting methods with utmost care by Kashmiri artisans, many of whom were formerly involved in production of shahtoosh."

Shahtoosh was banned internationally and later by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, after it was established as the cause of the decline in Tibetan antelope population. Following the ban, pashmina production emerged as the most viable and preferred alternative livelihood for shahtoosh work force, major proportion of which included widowed women.

KHPPT comprises of former shahtoosh, and heritage pashmina workers and was created at the behest of WTI-IFAW to promote traditional handmade pashmina.

"Pashmina is less profitable as compared to shahtoosh; KHPPT helps maximise profits for the ground level workers by enabling direct sale of the final products," added Manali.

The KHPPT stall at Dilli Haat is being managed by three of its members- Hayat Ahmed Wani, Nisar Ahmed and Fayaz Ahmed Mir.

"Although more expensive than cheaper and easily available machine-made pashmina, the quality and exclusiveness of our products gives the buyer their worth," said Fayaz. "Moreover, what we offer is more than pashmina… it is a combined product of wildlife conservation and social welfare."

Photos: WTI