The journey started in July 2019. We documentary the whole process of the famous pashmina shawl. You might hear about it, Pashmina shawl is an Art, it’s a process, it’s one of the most royal craftsmanship.
Pashmina or Pashm is the finest cashmere wool obtained from Kashmir, India. The word Pashmina is derived from the Persian term “Pashmineh” that’s meaning is “made from Pashm” and Pash means wool in the Persian language. It is obtained from a special kind of goat living in high altitude regions of India. Making the pashmina shawls in Kashmir is unique and is still practised in the traditional way by local artisans.
Origin of the Pashmina
we are tracking the path through generation to find those special goats only lives in high-altitude mountains in Himalaya range.
We drove 12 hours from Srinagar, the capital city of Jammu and Kashmir to the Himalaya range of Ladakh.
Through 12 hours highways and unexpectedly bumpy road, The highway in India is very narrow but all the trucks are trying their best to squeeze in the road. And their traffic signal board is really memorable.
“After whiskey, drive risky”
“If you married, divorced speed”
“It’s better than Mr. late than Late, Mr”
“Don’t game on the land of lama”
...
The view of city Leh.
Spinning and Weaving
Dyeing
Dyeing is also performed by hand. Azo-free and metal dyes are used during the process to make the complete eco-friendly shawls. Pure water is pumped up from deep under the surface. The dyeing is done at a temperature of just less than the boiling point for around an hour.
The everyday temperature here is above 30 degrees, to keep the water running as the dying needed, the hot steam is pushing the heat. The workshop is like a sauna house.
Embroidery
Each one is unique. Masters would work in there from months to years to finish one final product.
sometimes, the women would join the process too.
Through their life, emboridy is the only work they have in their life.
After all the process and masters I've met. This is truly a stunning piece of art that human could craft.
