Visit Panchachuli UK - Panchachuli is an exciting new ethical company which has just launched in the UK to support the Panchachuli Women Weavers Co-operative from Northern India. Founded in 2005 the co-operative is a truly inspiring story of womens empowerment and enterprise in a rural and remote region of the Himalayas.

THE STORY BEGINS

Inspired by the craftmanship of only a few remaining master weavers, the story began in 1998 when Mukti Datta set to work at reviving the lost art of handlooming and began to train a handful of local women to transform the lives of oppressed women of the region.

Ten years later the women's co-operative employs over 750 local women who work at processing the raw materials, then dye, hand spin, weave, or knit and beautifully embroider a vast range of luxury accessories and fabrics. In 2006 the products were selected by UNESCO for their prestigious 'Seal of Excellence for Handicrafts' award.

HANDLOOMED BY MASTER WEAVERS

After a decade of hardwork and dedication the Women Weavers of Kumaon are proud to launch their exclusive range of products into the UK for the first time this season.

The collections are made entirely by hand and lovingly crafted using high grade raw materials from pure Pashmina, Lambswool, Merino Sheepwool, Bactrian Camel wool, Peace Silk and Himalayan Nettle. What makes their collections so unique is the variety of weaves and colours, not usually found in Indian weaving.

THE ACCESSORIES COLLECTIONS

The Munsiyari collection – Exquisite natural pashmina from the land of snow. Named after the tribal region on the Indo–Tibet border, only the purest Tibetan Pashmina from nomads on the high Tibetan plateau is used in the making of Panchachuli products. The women barter with the nomads and return to India to process by hand before being hand spun and handwoven to create beautiful stoles, scarves, wraps, shawls, throws and blankets.

The Baldoti Collection – Himalayan nettle fibre from the slopes of Kumaon. Comprising unusual products made from the fibre of Himalayan Nettle, the products are iso free and using natural dyes to create a wonderful range of hand knitted scarves and stoles. Our special evening stole has beads woven into the fabric and is lined in silk.

The Kasardevi Collection – Luxurious lambswool in an array of natural colours. Named after the Kasardevi temple, fine lambswool is dyed with colourfast vegetable dyes collected from the roots, flowers bark and leaves of indigenous plants. 31 colours are available in a variety of different weaves. The collection comprises fabric lengths as well as shawls, scarves, stoles and throws.

The Pateldevi Collection – Fine handwoven lambswool, merino and angora blends. The Pataldevi collection is named after the area where the main production unit of Panchachuli Women Weavers is based. It comprises fine lambswool and merino / angora blends in iso free dyes. The yarn is millspun and handwoven in a lightweight weave suitable for summer shawls, scarves and stoles. It comes in 37 dyes and 14 different weaves.

Visit Panchachuli to view all these wonderful ethical accessory products, now available through Panchachuli UK.