Himalayan Wild Fibers produces a sustainable fiber that generates economic and ecological impact in Nepal’s Himalayas.
We commit to equitably sharing with our Nepali stakeholders the financial benefits derived from the sale of Himalaya™ fiber, and to measuring and documenting the impact of harvesting Himalayan nettle.
Himalayan nettle “…is a vote not just for novel and sustainable materials, but [for] equitable farming led by tribal stewards of the Himalayas, economic prosperity in developing countries, gender equality, and educating children.”
— Brooke Roberts-Islam, Senior Contributor
PANGAIA’s Trailblazing Nettle Denim Is A Victory For Social Sustainability
Forbes, October 19 2021
WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT HIMALAYAN NETTLE?
It comes from regenerating forests.
Nepal has flipped the story of forest destruction on its head — a rare example of land being more densely forested now than it was 20 years ago, instead of being ravaged and left bare.
Himalayan nettle grows in rugged and inaccessible, biologically complex forests of the Himalayas. The villagers call them jungles because they are so dense and lush with life.
Over the last four decades, Nepal’s mountain forests have been regenerating,
and Community Based Forest Management (CBFM) is the reason why.
A picture says a thousand words…
Community Based Forest Management was put in place to protect and regenerate Nepal’s forests long before regeneration was a thing.
Under CBFM, Indigenous and local villagers who have traditionally used the forests can organize into Community Forest User Groups (CGUGs). They can manage and use the resources as they see fit, with oversight by Nepal’s Ministry of Forest and Environment.
CBFM creates full transparency and traceability of forest resource supply chains.
CFUGs function like small businesses with environmental and social responsibilities., with binding rights and responsibilities assigned to them under law. They are required to improve forest ecosystems under their stewardship and equitably and sustainably manage the resources.
The success of Nepal’s Community Based Forest Management and
the harvesters’ indigenous wisdom are validated by
decades of international scientific research.
The sustainable harvest of wild-growing Himalayan nettle generates many benefits.
Sale of the harvested raw material creates income for Indigenous people and local communities.
At the same time, harvesting the stalks of this rhizome helps maintain the health of forest ecosystems where it grows, while also conserving biodiversity and increasing the overall productivity of the forests.
— Dr. Bhishma P. Subedi, Executive Director
Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture and Bioresources
(www.ansab.org.np)
The Plant
Himalayan nettle is endemic to the Himalayas, thriving between 1200 and 3000 meters, with only the natural inputs of strong sun at altitude, cold mountain nights, monsoonal rain, and the occasional bit of natural fertilizer from grazing yaks and other livestock.
The plant is a rhizome with its primary stem growing horizontally underground, often extending for meters. It generates many stalks each year and sends an extensive root system into the soil.
The Harvest
To harvest Himalayan nettle, Community Forest User Groups travel into dense, remote forests, cut and peel stalks, and carry their harvest to roadheads for transport to our factory.
Harvest takes place in the autumn when stalks have reached maturity and gone to seed. Some CFUGs wait until after the snow, which makes their work a bit easier but our work to refine the fiber a bit more difficult.
The stalks are cut above the ground, leaving the rhizome intact. Harvesters peel off the outer bark, with fiber adhering to the inside of the peeled bark, and leave the stalks to decay and sustain the forest as they have for millennia.
Beneficial Impact Confirmed by
INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE & SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
LIVELIHOODS
Community Forest User Groups harvest Himalayan nettle. Small units of mostly women who are subsistence farmers and day laborers cut, prepare, and sell to HWF the raw material. For the farmers, this is often their only opportunity to earn cash income that they can spend on children’s education, medicines, supplemental food, seeds, and livestock.
Our mission is to improve livelihoods in these villages, and we are firmly committed to fair payment. Through our Responsible Sourcing Program we are building trusting, long-term buying relationships so villagers can count on this income year after year.
CLIMATE
Known for soaring mountain peaks, the Himalayas are also one of the most biologically rich areas on earth. In the Eastern Himalayas alone there are some 10,000 types of plant, 750 species of bird, and 300 species of mammal - many of them found nowhere else on the planet.
Harvesting Himalayan nettle changes the economic equation in Himalayan forests. With income from the harvest, intact forests become more valuable, protecting the ecosystem from deforestation and preserving and promoting healthy, productive forests.
BIODIVERSITY
Harvesting Himalayan nettle generates ecosystem and climate benefits. We will measure and verify these benefits in our Responsible Sourcing Program.
Without harvesting, Himalayan nettle diminishes over time. Cutting back the stalks strengthens the rhizome, promoting rhizome creep and allowing it to send up more profuse and leafier shoots in the following year. This absorbs more carbon and sends it down into the extensive root system.
Root system extension improves soil stability, mitigating general erosion and the potential of landslides, which are a dangerous threat in the Himalayas.
The broad leaves of Himalayan nettle break the hard fall of torrential monsoon rains. This protects the forest floor, decreases runoff, and helps to improve water absorption and filtration.
The Himalayan range is one of earth’s most vulnerable climate and biodiversity hotspots. Harvesting Himalayan nettle is one action we can take to mitigate global climate change.
What’s been said about Himalaya™ fiber.
…It’s a premium fabric in terms of price, but according to [denim developer, Alberto] Candiani, also in appearance:
‘The fabrics are beautiful. I was shocked when I saw the early trials. [When] you put hemp with cotton, the fabric is much nicer, but with Himalayan nettle, it is even more beautiful.’
There are mechanical benefits, too.
‘Himalayan nettle fibers have elongation properties of 12-14% compared to cotton’s 8-9%,’
meaning that they naturally provide comfort [in terms of stretch] that cotton doesn’t… it makes the fabric more comfortable than 100% cotton, or a cotton/hemp or cotton/linen blend.”
The Fiber: Himalaya™
Himalayan nettle is a bast fiber, meaning that it grows in the plant stalk. Flax and hemp are also bast fibers and all three are long and strong.
We convert raw material to Himalaya™ using our proprietary process to yield a soft, lustrous fiber.
Its large hollow core provides thermal potential and a light handfeel; it does not hold wrinkles the way flax does.
Himalayan nettle is unique among bast fibers with its exceptional elongation properties. Spinners find this makes blending with other fibers easier and the results often more interesting.
We are working on conversion techniques to retain the fiber’s flame retardant and anti-bacterial qualities and hope to deliver in the coming year.
FIBER IN THE PLANT
One of our customers refers to
Himalaya™ as
Vegetable Cashmere
RAW MATERIAL
CONVERTED TO FIBER
Responsible Sourcing
With our Responsible Sourcing Program (RSP), we commit to equitably sharing with our Nepali stakeholders the financial benefits derived from the sale of Himalaya™ fiber. We also commit to measuring and documenting the impact of harvesting Himalayan nettle.
We are guided by three principles as we build relationships with our suppliers:
Respect
Support & Strengthen
Verify
We are forging our RSP on top of the foundation established by Community Based Forest Management. We respect the indigenous and local knowledge embedded in CBFM and the forest stewardship of CFUGs.
Through our Responsible Sourcing Program, we are:
Improving the harvest process to increase harvester earnings and decrease our costs
Organizing an equitable raw material supply chain from forest to factory
Optimizing the growth of the plant
Implementing a Data Program to validate indigenous knowledge and verify positive ecological and socio-economic impact
We are implementing the program with support from a variety of stakeholders and we welcome inquiries.