People in Bhutanese village earn money by producing, selling nettle yarn

The nettle plants are used for manufacturing  ropes, jackets, bags and blankets among others.

The tradition remains alive in  Lauri Gewog despite losing popularity in other parts of the country with the advancement of cotton.

Villagers say the easy availability of imported clothes affected their practice of producing nettle yarns. The tradition nearly disappeared, reports The Bhutan Live.

The practice was revived in 2016 with the help of the Agency for the Promotion of Indigenous Crafts.

Lhazom from Lauri chiwog is one of the villagers who produce nettle yarns.

She told The Bhutan Live that most of the villagers sell nettle yarns directly and weave fabrics only when they get an order.

“From clothes to blankets, our parents used to make everything from nettle yarns. The tradition nearly disappeared until the government intervened. The practice was revived and we were trained by the government to produce yarn and started producing it again. Although I cannot spin the nettle yarn every day, I can earn Nu 5,000 to 6,000 from whatever I can produce during my spare time. We will earn more income if we are able to spin more yarns,” said Lhazom.