SHIMLA : Save Lahaul-Spiti society, a local NGO, has secured a patent and geographical indication(GI) tag for the rare hand-knitted Lahauli socks and gloves that is set to boost up the depleting handloom and handicrafts sector in the tribal belt of the Himalayan region.
Lahauli socks and gloves are unique for their eight different knitting colour pattern locally called Dashi which has made its mark in the entire Trans-Himalaya and Himalayan region over the centuries. Lahauli socks and gloves are handiwork of magic hands armed with five knitting sewings, says Pushpa Harpa from the valley.
Dashi Lahauli socks and gloves are woven from wool of local sheep in every house hold, a century old tradition that has survived the onslaught of commercial Ludhiana high tech hosieries over the decades just because locals preserve, protect and promote it in their own traditional quiet way whether they work in fields, walk on the road or sit in the verandah of their house basking in the sun.
Knitting of the socks starts from the leg part designed with Dashi pattern down to the ankle and toes, says the local weavers. Then the two parts are joined together in such a way that the tags are tagged inside carefully to make it comfortable for the users, they add.
After Kullu and Kinnauri shawls, Chuli oil of Kinnaur, Chamba chappal, Himachal Pradesh Council for Science Technology and Environment (HIMCOSTE), has given GI tag and patent to the Lahauli socks and gloves after the council noted its unique traditional hand knitting patterns and style and colours that have been indigenized in each household in the valley over the centuries.
President of the society Prem Katoch said the Lahauli socks and gloves have got the GI tag that would prove a boon for the hitherto neglected handlooms and handicrafts of Lahaul-Spiti. HIMCOST has given the GI tag and recognized Save Lahaul-Spiti society is its sole owner and promoters, he says.
There was no historical written record of the hand knitting socks and gloves in the valley. The handloom survived from household to household through an oral traditional way of learning. It was Moravian missionaries who arrived in Keylong in 1856 and made its written record and set up the knitting school that went a long way in promoting the handloom and handicrafts in the region, Katoch said.
Though the Lahauli socks and gloves are found in the tourist towns of Keylong, Manali, Kullu, Shimla, but the demand is not meeting the supply and it needs international markets to explore to give a boost to the industry. At present Lahauli socks pair is sold at Rs 200 to Rs 500 depending upon the quality of the work, says the weavers.
The members said the society would get bulk orders from the big markets. “We would market the socks and gloves, but it is a big challenge as we need infrastructure for that”, they say.
