Among the various crafts, Pashmina weaving remained key economic activity in the  state of Jammu and Kashmir for centuries. But unfortunately today the craft of making pure and authentic Pashmina is vanishing thanks to the introduction of high powered industrial machinery.

WHAT IS REAL PASHMINA?

There are several misunderstandings around Pashmina. For one thing, it starts with the word ‘Pashmina’ itself. It is locally known as Pashmina, while in Europe and other countries Pashmina, is known as Cashmere. Both mean the same thing.  It comes from the naturally shedding hair of a particular goat found in Ladakh. 

According to experts, the raw material of genuine Pashmina should be obtained under the fleece of mountainous goat called Capra Hircus and Changra goat, which is collected by combing, since the goat sheds its winter coat naturally.

The most important aspect is that it should be hand spun and hand woven only. This is one aspect that Discovering Roots follows religiously. All their products, whether they are shawls, stoles, cushion covers, throws or even dress materials, everything is hand spun and hand woven. This is also known as Khaddi Pashmina. Once the raw material is acquired, all the process should be done manually by workers, right from spinning to weaving on handlooms since the wool used is known as the finest wool in the entire world ie 11 microns