hemp clothes natural organic nettle hemp bamboo cotton from Wildweaves

Bags to buy made from 100 per cent Wild Nepali Hemp to keep your passport safe yet accessible when travelling, or useful for any other time of year!

Cute hemp bags in gorgeous colours - you will be spoilt for choice.  We only use Swiss azo-free dyes which are more environmentally friendly.

You will also find plain wild hemp bags and others decorated with Mithila Art.

A local Nepali artist has hand painted our hemp bags with Mithila Art. Mithila Art is traditionally a woman's ritual art from Nepal and India and is composed of geometrical forms and magico-religious symbols. It is done on mud plastered walls and floors and the skill is passed down through the generations from mother to daughter.  The paintings and drawings mainly represent Hindu deities, animals, and human beings. By purchasing this bag you will help Heaven Hemp give employment to Nepali artists.

Hemp has been used for generations in the mountains of Nepal because of its strength and durability. Farming families use it for ropes, clothes and bags. Hemp is indigenous to Nepal and grows wild in the hills. It flourishes on waste and marginal land, as well as binding the soil and holding upland slopes together. The plant regenerates quickly after it has been harvested.

The wild hemp is gathered and processed by hand in the traditional way by farming families using water retting (separation of the fibres from the woody core). This is achieved by soaking in a pit of water until the fibres start to separate and they are then picked apart. This is hand-spun into yarn and woven into lengths of cloth which are then walked to the nearest road - maybe three hours away - before coming to Kathmandu by bus. The farming families who produce this beautiful Himalayan textile receive a cash income from this business. This Wild Hemp is naturally organic and the fabric made entirely by hand. The products are then designed and crafted into finished products by Heaven Hemp.