Village women weave anti-allergic scarves from giant nettle plant

Anti-allergic scarves woven by Panchachuli women from giant nettle plants have become immensely popular among tourists and residents alike here. The increase in the demand for these scarves can been gauged by the fact that only a couple of nettle scarves are left at the Panchachuli shop in Kulri Bazar.

The Panchachuli women, apart from weaving scarves, are expert in making shawls from the giant nettle plants. According to salesperson Dharmsattu, the village women gather the giant nettle plants that are found in abundance in the Almora region during autumn. After gathering the bark from the plant, they boil beat it to pulp, bleach with chalk and then soak them for a few days. After that these are washed before processing the fibre. Then it is weaved and the end result is beautiful anti-allergic scarves.