Hope for Tibetan antelope as Pashmina makes a comeback

New Delhi: There was a time when the Tibetan antelope Chiru used to be slaughtered en masse for wool to make expensive Shahtoosh shawls.

But today more and more Kashmiri artisans who produce these are switching to Pashmina, giving the endangered species a new lease of life.

Officials said this transformation - aided by the government and community groups which are helping artisans market Pashmina - is a positive step towards protecting the Chiru in their main home in China's Changthang Nature Reserve.

In the past, these animals were killed in large numbers to obtain its wool for making shawls. Chiru wool, famous for its softness and warmth, is called Shahtoosh.

Fuelled by global demand, the illegal Shahtoosh trade continued despite a government ban. Today "their (Kashmiri craftsmen) perceptions that higher incomes are possible only in Shahtoosh have been changed in a major way", said Aniruddha Mookerjee of the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), an NGO.

Weavers swap wool

"In the last three years, we have proved to workers that they can earn more through Pashmina than through Shahtoosh, if Pashmina is rightly positioned in the market. At the same time, the artisans have more control over the production process."

Pashmina shawls are made from the wool of Changthangi or Pashmina goat. These goats are farmed in the Ladakh and Lahaul Spiti regions of Jammu and Kashmir. The wool is combed to derive Pashmina, through a process that does not threaten the lives of the goats.

Each combing of an adult male goat yields 250-270 gm of wool each year during summers.

Pashmina goats are also found in Tibet, China, Mongolia and some other central Asian countries.

Shahtoosh

In 2001, a study conducted by WTI found that 15,000 people were directly working in Shahtoosh and 50,000 people were partially affected by the ban.

Not all of them have switched to Pashmina. Some still occasionally work on Shahtoosh that still has demand in the clandestine market.

"Most of these artisans are still lured by high remuneration in the Shahtoosh industry, although the production has seen a major decrease in the past five years," said Ashok Kumar, member of the advisory committee of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau under the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

"At least five Chirus are killed to obtain the wool for making a single shawl for a man. Only the workers in the Kashmir Valley have the know-how to make the shawl," he added.

To promote Pashmina as an alternative to Shahtoosh, WTI and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) helped the artisans form the Kashmir Handmade Pashmina Promotion Trust (KHPPT).

Till date, 35 groups with some 450 members are affiliated to KHPPT. A majority of these groups are in Srinagar and adjoining areas where Pashmina is mainly produced.

"Many of the workers who were previously reluctant to join our process have joined us after realising our success in different craft exhibitions in which we participated," said Mookerjee.