Handicraft

Woolen Handicrafts

Chamoli the abode of Gods, reputed for its shrines and temples, is one of the hill districts of Uttarakhand, India. The Indo-Tibetan people who have made their homes in the High Himalayas for centuries (Mana and Niti valleys of Upper Chamoli) were called “Bhotiyas”. The Bhotiya tribes, from ancient times when they had trade with Tibet, accepted the woollen industry as an essential part of their lifestyle. For centuries their women have been moving their small “pithachan” (Loin-loom). Ptdu, thulma, carpets, chutka, lava, shawl, asans, pankhi, gudma etc. were prepared very artistically. The entire mountain belt, from the Western Himalayas to the Northeast frontier region, produces wide range of woollen articles, each distinctive in its own way.