Giant Himalayan Nettle

Growing wild in the eastern hills of Nepal between 1200 and 3000 metres, the Himalayan Giant Nettle has been used for generations around homesteads in Nepal to make fishing nets, ropes, mats, sacks, paper, bags and waistcoats. Nettle grows wild in Nepal as part of the undergrowth in forests – and because it grows wild the nettle is naturally organic. After the end of the rainy season villagers leave their farms to gather the nettle before the plant starts flowering. Covering their hands with a cloth to avoid the giant stingers, teams of harvesters cut the nettle above the ground without disturbing the soil. The nettle then grows back with the next rains.
The fibre is then drawn out using the traditional tooth and spindle method by hand and then it is spun into yarn which we buy for a fair price from mountain villages in Nepal.