Why is cashmere so expensive?
At an altitude higher than 4,000 meters, where winter temperatures can drop to -40 degrees Celsius, it’s hard to believe that anyone or anything can survive, writes Bored Panda. It’s like a vast, frozen desert, and it’s the Changtang Plateau. Located between the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges, it is the highest permanently inhabited plateau in the world and home to an extremely hardy and rare breed of goat, the Changra or cashmere goat.
The high altitude, freezing temperatures, and harsh winds in this unforgiving mountain region are crucial for stimulating the growth of the super-soft wool of these goats. The fibers are only 8 to 10 micrometers wide, making them about 10 times thinner than human hair and 8 times warmer than sheep wool. This luxurious fiber is known worldwide as pashmina, the softest and most expensive type of cashmere in the world.
The breeders of these precious animals in such harsh conditions are the Changpa nomads. For centuries, these nomadic herders, as resilient as their animals, have roamed the “roof of the world,” moving their herds of yaks, sheep, and goats along traditional paths in this high-altitude desert every few months in search of fresh pastures. This ancient way of life is now threatened by climate change, the import of fake pashmina from China, the need for better education, and the desire for an easier and more comfortable life.
Both nomads and scientists believe that climate change is the greatest threat to pashmina production in the region. The Changtang Plateau usually has very little snowfall, and if there is any, it usually starts in January or February. However, in recent years, it has become harder to find snow even from December or November. As a result, food supplies must be brought here to prevent animals from starving. Additionally, winters have become warmer, reducing the quality and quantity of the precious pashmina wool.
During a relatively short period, dozens of nomadic families from the Changtang Plateau have moved to their quarter called Kharnak Ling on the outskirts of Leh, 180 km away.
“These are troubling times we are living through,” says the head of Kharnak village.
“If weather patterns continue as they are, it could have an irreversible impact on pashmina goat breeding on the Changtang. There were once more than 90 families in Kharnak, and now there are only 16. If the number of Changpa families in Kharnak drops below 10, life will become too hard for us to continue. The younger generation would rather work in the city and does not want to continue this physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding life here.”
Cashmere is expensive, and it is rightly so.
The Indian Ministry of Textiles is trying to help turn the tide before it is too late by providing $1.2 million for livestock feed and 50 animals to each breeder as a way to encourage the nomads to return to livestock farming on the plateau.
In recent years, however, due to a shortage of cashmere wool from Ladakh, weavers in Kashmir have started importing raw pashmina from China and Mongolia to meet the increasing demand for their products. A large portion of this pashmina is not what it claims to be; the goats are not raised under the extreme conditions necessary to stimulate the growth of super-soft wool to be officially classified as 100% pure pashmina. Ladakh produces less than 1% of the world’s raw cashmere, but it is known for being the best in the world.
Cashmere is expensive, and rightly so. These nomads carefully comb the hair during the spring season to collect the underlayer, and then the good fibers are meticulously, manually separated from the bad ones. Once cleaned and processed, the wool from one goat amounts to only about 113 grams. When the fibers are hand-sorted, cleaned, and spun, the weaving process can begin, which is equally demanding and laborious. It takes several months to a year for highly skilled artisans to work their magic on wooden looms and weave a masterpiece that will be exported worldwide and sold for between $200 and $2,000.
Cloning the pashmina goat
Due to the declining number of this rare Himalayan goat and the increasing demand for authentic cashmere from the Ladakh region in Kashmir, scientists at the University of Kashmir decided to clone the pashmina goat. The project, which was partially funded by the World Bank and mainly by the Indian government, was successful, and on March 9, 2012, a female named Noori was born. Scientists planned to exchange knowledge about cloning goats throughout the Himalayas to help others breed their goats, but this was not well received by the Changpa herders, mainly due to their Buddhist beliefs.
Another concerning issue is the increasing number of snow leopards in the region, which puts the animals at risk of attack.
The threat to pashmina goat breeding not only means the end of the survival of about 300,000 people in the Jammu and Kashmir states who directly or indirectly depend on pashmina but also signifies the end of the unique culture of the Changpa nomads; most are followers of Tibetan Buddhism and have complex customs centered around livestock.
The Reference Article Zašto je kašmir tako skup?
