The Nettle In Nepal "Allo"

In the mountains of Nepal, Nettle has been used for centuries because of its strength and durability. it is indigenous and regenerates quickly after harvesting. it grows like a weed and requires no irrigation, pesticides or mechanical processing. It is one of the best green fibres with an enviable environmental profile. Known locally as "Allo", Himalayan Giant Nettle occurs naturally as a forest undergrowth and on land unsuitable for farming between the altitudes of 1500m to 3000m.
The bark is stripped, which can be later used for basket weaving. The inner fibres are boiled and simmered overnight in a solution of water and wood ash before being beaten and rubbed in soil to help separation. After the fibres have been dried in the sun, they are spun on a hand spindle. This spinning process is time consuming and may take one person one day to produce 100 grammes of nettle yarn.


A great number of Nepal's population live in the hill areas and self sufficiency is usually a necessity. Nettle is a valuable raw material that provides a source of food, medicine, fodder and most importantly fibre. With farms unable to provide food all year round, nettle fibre provides the necessary income to ensure there is food on the table all through the year. One village that is well known as a nettle fibre producing area is Sankhuwasava which lies about 60km South-East of Mt. Everest. Sankhuwasava is an area that interests us greatly and provides some of our products, for example our 100% nettle shawl. Sankhuwasava is the subject of a very informative book written by Susi Dunsmore, titled "The Nettle In Nepal" it provides details of all aspects of harvesting , production and the farmer's lifestyle. This book comes highly recommended to those with an interest in nettle or traditional textile crafts. Through the promotion of Himalayan Giant Nettle we believe nettle can become a valuable commodity for the villagers and an international demand for this fibre would guarantee a stable income. This income would be vital for ensuring the continuation of traditional skills and improve access to some of life's basic needs, ie. healthcare and education.

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THE USE OF NETTLE FIBRES TODAY

The concept of using stinging nettles (Urtica doica) to

produce clothing is not new. Clothing made from nettle

fabric has been worn for the past 2,000 years. During

the 16th century, cotton was introduced to Europe which

led to nettle fabric losing its popularity. Why was this so?

For harvesting and spinning, cotton is far easier and

became a firm favourite for fabric manufacture. The last

time nettles were used in large scale production was

during the first world war. Germany found their trade

routes blocked and had to look closer to home for the

production of military equipment and uniforms. An

abundance of nettles in the German countryside forced a

return to nettle fabric. After the war and reopening of

international trade, the import of cotton resumed.

Cotton requires an exotic climate to flourish and with the

climate in the UK being far from exotic, cotton has to

travel long distances to reach our market. Main cotton

producing countries include China, India, Pakistan and

Sudan. Another disadvantage of cotton is the amount of

water required for its farming, It is a plant greedy for

water and nearly a quarter of all pesticides used in the

world are used in cotton farming. Nettle, however,

manages well without much water or protection from

pests or weeds. As I am sure you are aware, nettles

flourish well in the UK and can be found wild all over the

country.

The world's over-reliance on cotton needs to be halted
with the manufacture of alternative crops. The
resurgence of nettle is beginning and I am sure it will
become even more relevant as we look to use more
sustainable environmentally friendly fabrics in our daily
lives.


At sorazora, nettle has already established itself as an
important member amongst our natural fibre collection.
As both a hand-spun fibre and a processed fibre, Giant
Himalayan Nettle (Girardina diversifolia) is widely used
across our range of products. This Spring/Summer
collection includes our first 100% nettle garment. 

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Where does your clothing's colour come from?

  There are several laws that require clothing labels to detail information about textile fibre composition. This makes life easier for end consumers who care about the fibres used in their clothing. The information not required by law is the dye composition. With imports from developing countries flooding the market, I feel consumers should be made aware of how their bright red organic cotton T-shirt became bright red!

  I like to classify dyes as either natural or synthetic dyes. Compounds extracted from plants (or other naturally occurring sources) can be called natural dyes. Synthetic dyes are those that came into being  through technology. Considering two of the world's most polluting industries are synthetic dye manufacture and dye use, we have good reason to worry.

  Without a solid background in chemistry, the complete understanding of azo verses azo-free synthetic dyes is a little difficult, but basically azo dyes are synthetic dyes containing nitrogen atoms. Many  azo textile dyes can cause hypersensitivity and trigger existing allergies by being absorbed into the body through skin contact. Toxic dye production and use has already taken it's toll on rivers and  waterways in some developing countries that export to the rest of the  world. I am not convinced that third world dye houses are totally  unaware of the effect of allowing toxic waste to enter the local water  system. Education will always be important in helping to combat industrial pollution, but lack of enforcement still allows a large number of dye houses to continue putting profit above environmental issues.

  I have heard claims that azo-free dyes are 100% safe for the end user  and the environment. I certainly agree that the removal of azo  dyes will reduce the risk of health problems to the end user, but I am yet to be convinced that an exhausted synthetic azo-free dye bath will not have a negative effect on the environment if dumped into the water system. Natural dyes, on the other hand, are much safer to dispose of after use without damaging the earth.

  Sadly, it is left to the consumer to research all the facts. I still find it strange that organic textiles have already gained popularity, but little to no thought is given by the average consumer into the dyeing process. Surely these two issues should go hand in hand. At sorazora we believe in providing as much information as possible regarding fibres and dyes.

The above photo shows the Bagmati River flowing through central Kathmandu. Taken in January this year, it illustrates the problem of pollution caused by human, industrial and household waste.

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Kathmandu's Pollution

The major deciding factor in our use of natural dyes is that no chemical pollutants are produced as a byproduct. The rivers of Kathmandu (Bagmati river shown above) are now so heavily polluted, not just from waste chemical dyes, but also human sewage and general garbage. Pictured below is a common scene of garbage in the street. At the time of taking the photograph, garbage collectors had been on a week's strike. A lot of infrastructure is required to start the slow process of cleaning, but it appears that the main hurdle is education and awareness. People in Kathmandu face many problems and challenges (made no easier by their ever failing government that is comprised of self serving politicians). I have faith that things will get better, but only after things get much worse.

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RITHA

From our website, you may have seen some photos of "Ritha" otherwise known as "Soapnut".

We have managed to get some of the seeds from Nepal to germinate here in the UK and now have 8 little plants.

The latin name is Sapindus Mukorossi and strictly speaking it is a berry, not a nut, that we use for natural soap. These plants will take a very very long time before they start to produce fruit (which usually happens around August and then ripen by December). I am interested to see if they survive the coming winter and are able to flower come next summer.

For more information about Ritha AKA Chinese Soapberry go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapindus

Other species of Sapindus are also covered in Wiki's article.

Natural clothing, bags and so on...

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