Back to news
15 Jun 2015 | KSL

Strengthening the allo value chain in Khar VDC, Darchula, Nepal

2 mins Read

70% Complete

Allo (Girardinia diversifolia), or Himalayan nettle, is traditionally used in Nepal to make cloth. Its bark contains fibres that are strong and smooth, with a silky lustre. In 2014, the Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KSLCDI), under its livelihood component, identified the allo value chain in Khar VDC as an entry point for increasing the income of the poor through value addition, capacity building and forming market linkages. Allo grows abundantly in the forests around Khar VDC in Darchula, Nepal. Poor and landless Dalits are the primary group engaged in the collection and marketing of allo.

Before the project, communities mostly collected allo and sold it as a raw material to middlemen. The few making allo thread used traditional methods, which are labour and energy intensive and produce poor quality thread. Caustic soda was used to boil the thread, which took at least 6 hours and 240 kg of wood. Local tools such as the katuwa (hand spinner) are used and the thread produced is coarse and thick. The balls of thread produced in this way fetched around NPR 800 per kg and were used to make carpets.

A market study conducted in early 2014 revealed a high demand for thin and smooth thread for the fashion garment industry. Hence, the project aimed to uplift the allo thread value chain by improving the quality of the thread so that it could be used for fabric. The initiative mobilised grass-root farmers’ groups, such as the Khar allo processor group, which started with about 20 founding members, of which 70% were women. The group received capacity building training on the benefits of collective action, as well as training on leadership and saving and credit schemes. This was followed by rigorous training on allo processing and thread making. The interventions also had a pro-poor and gender focus.

By 2015 March, the group was happy with the thread they were producing. Soaking it the night before made it easier to boil the next day. They used ash instead of caustic soda, which made the thread look cleaner and whiter. Proper washing and spinning techniques made the thread smooth and thin. Rocket stove technology was introduced, which uses almost three times less fuelwool and takes half the time to boil the bark. Today the group is selling allo thread at NPR 1,100 per kilo, an increase of NPR 300 per kilo (27%). The intervention addressed KLSCDI’s Nepal target output: to strengthen pro-poor and inclusive value chains addressing income improvement, climate change adaptation, and water and energy management in other to cater to the overall project’s outcome that livelihoods and ecosystems management are improved in a sustainable and equitable manner in selected areas of the Kailash Sacred Landscape Region.

Now the project is looking at ways to increase the volume of allo thread produced and the number of beneficiaries, as well as making a finished product like a yarn or woven shawls.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

related contents

Continue exploring this topic

23 Mar 2017 Himalica
Himalica Books on Cardamom Launched at Sixth Nepal International Trade Fair

David Molden, Director General of ICIMOD, and Harish Chilwal, Project Coordinator of the Environment Conservation ...

11 Apr 2016 Gender in Koshi
Water, Women and Livelihood Improvement

Water is the lifeblood of every household in Nepal's middle hills, but accessing it is a challenge. Hill hamlets depend ...

29 Jul 2015 News
Micro-planning in Myanmar

The ‘Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation in the Himalayas (Himalica) Initiative’ facilitated a three-day micro-planning workshop in Kyaung Taung ...

13 May 2019 News
UIBN – India Chapter discusses data gaps and collaborative research

In a bid to address these very regional issues, provide solutions to policy and decision makers, and further encourage collaborative ...

16 Jul 2019 Atmosphere Initiative
South–South learnings for future collaboration in air quality and health research in the HKH

Day 1 of the workshop was dedicated to the existing literature on air quality and health, whereas Day 2 focused ...

8 Aug 2018 Cryosphere
Three students graduate from KU’s glaciology programme

In December 2018, three new students – Aman Thapa, Anushilan Acharya, and Reeju Shrestha – graduated from this MS programme ...

25 May 2016 Himalica
Pilot Village Bee Farmers from Bhutan and Nepal Learn about Honeybee Management

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) conducted a hands-on beekeeping training for Apis cerana bee entrepreneurs from Bhutan ...