Who are we?
The Essenceofhimal is a local community of weavers and artisans settled in the beautiful, serene Himalayan landscape. Our community is primarily engaged in activities related to sheep rearing, weaving woollen products and knitting beautiful, native and traditional handicrafts. The community of weavers historically, the Bhotia community, have been engaged in weaving and sheep rearing for generations and are dependent on the local community for livelihood by selling the wollen products and wool.
Our association with SECURE Himalaya
We became essenceofhimal to promote and present our finest handcrafted products, after our association with SECURE Himalaya project launched by the Indian Government aiming to conserve forest resources, land, and biodiversity with local and global significance. The project covers the high Himalayan Ecosystem spread over Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Jammu & Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh. The main aim of the project is to ensure the reduction in wildlife crime, protection of snow leopard and other endangered species, ensuring a secure livelihood to the people in the region. The project engages 800 households to promote handloom & handicrafts as well as ecotourism in Gangotri and Govind landscapes.
Training and Support
Training and Support: UNDP under the Project in Uttarakhand has been working proactively to promote the handloom craft of the Budera community. The activities under the project aim to empower local women weavers by providing them with training in institution building, stitching, dyeing to match the ever evolving market demands, colour schemes and design trends. The master trainers also enhance their skills through exposure visits to various outdoor events and training programs. In a buyer-seller market organized in Uttarkashi the ‘Budera Himalayan Craft’ brand was launched among 150 participants comprising artisans, handloom entrepreneurs, local buyers, exporters from Uttarakhand & craft connoisseurs from Delhi.
Creating market Linkage
Emerging Support
UNDP under the Project in Uttarakhand has been working proactively to promote the handloom craft of the Budera community. The project aims to empower local women weavers by training them in institution building, stitching, dyeing to match the ever evolving market demands, colour schemes and design trends. The master trainers also enhance their skills through exposure visits to various outdoor events and training programs. The efforts under the project are introducing these handcrafted products in the markets as brands developed and created by local artisans. The project has opened doors for the artisans to reach out to the world of consumers and develop the project as a sustainable business model.
- Project has helped in adding value to the products by providing them branding, packaging, transportation and exhibition at national levels.
- Wide use of social networking sites is also under implementation to promote the products and create awareness among the masses. Website development is underway to bring these products on e-commerce platforms like flipkart and amazon.
Uttarakhand Bhotia Dann received GI (Geographical Indication) tag
Uttarakhand Bhotia Dann received GI (Geographical Indication) tag. Bhotia Dan of Uttarakhand from co-op society ‘Renuka Devi Katkar/Bunkar Swayat Sahakarita’ has received GI (Geographical Indication) tag with the support of SECURE Himalaya, UNDP.