Hetauda (Makawanpur), 4 March: Women from Daman, Thaha Municipality in the district have started making Himalayan nettle cloth with the aim of becoming self-employed. The local women here, who weave cloth from Himalayan nettle fiber available everywhere in the forest, are working on an annual schedule.
After the vegetable season is over, women go to the forest to bring nettle and get busy making yarn from the fiber and weaving clothes. Now, women here have also started going to other districts to extract Himalayan nettle fiber and teach how to weave clothes with yarn.
Reshma Gopali of Thaha Municipality, who has been working after receiving training in making Himalayan nettle cloth for a long time, said that she registered the Daman Women’s Allo Handicraft Industry a few years ago and started working in a group. She, who is from Thaha Municipality, which is considered a pocket area for vegetable farming, said that although farming is good for those with land, it is difficult to find a source of income for those who do not have or have little land.
Gopali, who is about 40 years old, said that she is trying to put all her energy into the production of Himalayan nettle, and she shared her experience of struggling a lot in the initial days. She said, “There is not much land to cultivate. Since it is almost impossible to find a job, I had a dream of making and selling clothes from Himalayan nettle leaves, which are similar to stinging nettle found in the forest, and I took up training in it.” According to her, if she receives support and assistance, she has a plan to take local Himalayan nettle to a higher level.
“Almost everyone knows that eating stinging nettle is beneficial for health, but many may not know that making clothes from that, is also beneficial. We have started a business of making clothes from the stinging nettle species of Himalayan nettle, which is found in abundance in the forest. Not only clothes, but also socks and shoes made from it can be worn,” said Gopali.
Local Kopila Gopali also said that she is involved in the production of Himalayan nettle clothes in a group for self-employment. Her group is currently busy picking, crushing and weaving clothes from the stinging nettle species of Himalayan nettle found in the forests of the area. She says that three months of the year are spent on farming and the rest of the time is spent on weaving clothes.
According to Kopila, three kilos of yarn can produce ten to twelve meters of ready-made cloth. She says that with the increasing market demand, more effort needs to be made to produce it. Currently, there is a shortage of manpower for production as per the demand, Kopila said. She said, “It is easy to make clothes, but difficult to spin yarn. To make yarn from the yarn, raw yarn has to be brought from the forest.”
After extracting the yarn, it is dried and cooked in a large iron pan and then the dried yarn is soaked in clay again and taken to the river to be spun again. “Only after this is the raw yarn ready. The yarn is spun with the help of a spinning wheel,” she said.
The industry, which has been run by women in the group after registering an enterprise since 2066 BS(2010), is currently undergoing enterprise development and upgrading in collaboration with an organization called the local ‘Government and Green Foundation Nepal’, informed Ward Chairman of Thaha-3, Hirendra Rayamajhi. According to him, there is a plan to provide additional training and material support to increase production in the industry.
This group will process the Himalayan nettle found scattered in the Risheshwor Community Forest and extract the fiber, and the fabrics prepared in attractive designs that are preferred in the market will be displayed at fairs and festivals for foreigners, said Rayamajhi. He said that until about 15 years ago, he never thought that clothes would be made from the Himalayan nettle found scattered in the forest.
The women in the group have acquired the skill of weaving clothes from Himalayan nettle fabric through the activities of the Risheshwor Community Forest. The women, who started sample production with everyone’s help, are now producing clothes professionally.
Green Foundation Nepal, an organization working for the development of forest-based enterprises, is supporting the standardization and marketing of enterprises, informed Aarti Pathak, the organization’s treasurer. She said, “We cannot develop women by just providing capacity development training. For this, it was seen that the economic situation needs to be improved, so we have launched a campaign for women’s enterprise development.”
Pathak, the organization’s treasurer, informed that efforts are being made to make women entrepreneurs through forest-based enterprises. She emphasized that financial resources and willpower are needed for this. She informed that direct support is being provided to six forest-based enterprises in Makawanpur and indirect support is being provided to 37 enterprises.
Local women of Thaha are becoming self-employed through the production of Himalayan nettle fabric’s cloth and are also increasing their income. There is a good market for clothes in industrial trade fairs, shops in tourist areas and in local areas. Its demand is also increasing in the local area.
Women spin Himalayan nettle yarn, weave clothes, make ‘money purses’, sew bags and stock coats for women and men. Women entrepreneurs say that those who visit Daman carry the same as a souvenir. Common consumers say that the fabric of the Stinging nettle variety of Himalayan nettle is beneficial for skin diseases and provides warmth.
