There’s a pre- and post-Ladakh version of myself. On an eight-day Pashmina Trail last month, I witnessed how palpable nature’s influence is on every aspect of life in this mountainous region: be it the pursuit of agriculture that’s limited to a mere four months of the year or the locally-sourced materials used in construction. Sadly, despite globalisation — and how …
Antagonisms between Indian and Chinese troops high in the Himalayas are taking a dire toll on traditional goat herds that supply the world’s finest, most expensive cashmere. The months-long military standoff between the Asian giants is hurting local communities due to the loss of tens of thousands of Himalayan goat kids died because they couldn’t reach traditional winter grazing lands, …
Just gusts of howling wind, giving them company from sunrise to sunset, followed by clusters of dazzling stars peeping down from the night sky into their yak-skin tents. Living in the remote, Trans-Himalayan Changthan region of Ladakh, at roughly 16,000-plus feet above sea level where, for centuries, they have been shepherding their world-class Pashmina wool-bearing goats, the Changpa nomads may …
The Changpas are leading suppliers of cashmere wool, who originate in the Changthang region of the Tibetan Plateau. [imgcenter> [/imgcenter> Pashmina goats in the Hanle Valley: Through most of the year, the goats are grazed in pastures located at a height of more than 4,500 meters above sea level. [imgcenter> [/imgcenter> While Changpa women remain busy in the mornings and …
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