Himalayan Giant Nettle
The Himalayan Giant Nettle or 'Allo' is another fantastic wild fibre.
This enormous plant grows wild in the hills of Nepal up to three metres tall and has long, stinging hairs covering its stem and leaves. Yet from its fibre comes the most delicate of shawls, fine nettle-cloth for shirts, tops, and dresses - even fibre for carpets and upholstery.
Nettle is great to wear. With the cool touch of linen, nettle garments wick moisture away from the body to keep you comfortable in the warmest sun, while in colder weather the tiny hollow structures in the fibre trap body heat. Nettle is gentle on the skin as well as being naturally anti-bacterial and mould resistant.
Growing wild in the eastern hills of Nepal between 1200 and 3000 metres, the Himalayan Giant Nettle has been used for generations around homesteads in Nepal to make fishing nets, ropes, mats, sacks, bags and waistcoats. Nettle grows wild in Nepal as part of the undergrowth in forests - and because it grows wild the nettle is naturally organic.
After the end of the rainy season villagers leave their farms to gather the nettle before the plant starts flowering. Covering their hands with a cloth to avoid the giant stingers, teams of harvesters cut the nettle above the ground without disturbing the soil. The nettle then grows back with the next rains.
The fibrous inner bark is stripped from the plant and boiled in water and wood ash for about three hours and then left to simmer overnight. The plant material can then be beaten and the fibre removed. It is then rubbed with soil containing mica, which lubricates the yarn and makes separating and spinning the fibres easier. The fibre is dried in the sun and teased and is ready for spinning. This is done using a hand spindle. It takes ten days' work to make one kilogramme of nettle yarn.
Wonderful to wear, nettle is a strong and versatile natural fibre that grows wild, is harvested sustainably and is naturally organic. The sale of nettle yarn and nettle fibre products such as mats and the beautiful, whisper-fine nettle scarves provides a cash income to families living in remote hilly areas of Nepal.
© Copyright Rosie Thapa 2009. All rights reserved.
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