Pashmina, Looms of Ladakh and a Decade of Building a Herder-Producer Owned Cooperative Institution
1. GI Recognition: An Important Milestone for Ladakh's Manufacturing
Capabilities
The GI application for Ladakh Pashmina Textiles, Classes 24 and 25, was taken forward through an institutional
process initiated by the Ministry of Textiles, together with Human Welfare Association. In this process, Looms of
Ladakh Women Cooperative Ltd. locally demonstrated textile manufacturing capabilities in both classes, with
the support of affidavits and technical documents.
For us, this is an important milestone in the development of Ladakh's textile ecosystem. It reflects years of
hard work spent on strengthening artisan skills, developing new products, building manufacturing capabilities,
and creating opportunities for greater value addition within the region.
"We had hoped that demonstrating Ladakh's textile manufacturing capabilities through the GI process would be an opportunity to celebrate the progress of the entire region. We want this achievement to be seen as an opportunity to strengthen Ladakh Pashmina and to move forward with a shared vision with all stakeholders in the sector."
The public discussions and media coverage that followed have been quite distressing for us. We have worked
for years to develop an institution and build capabilities that can serve the entire region. It is difficult to see this
regional milestone being seen as a controversy due to misunderstanding about credits, when our aspiration
has always been to take Ladakh Pashmina forward.
We understand and respect the importance of questions, scrutiny, and constructive dialogue. Our only appeal
is that the achievements of Ladakh's textile sector, the hard work of producers, and the possibilities of
manufacturing development in the region remain at the centre of the discussion
2. A Cooperative Run on Producer-Members' Ownership and Governance
In its General Body meeting held on 14 October 2026, Looms of Ladakh Women Cooperative Limited passed a
special resolution, in which the importance of producer ownership, democratic decision-making, and women's
agency and leadership was reaffirmed. The respected Deputy Commissioner was also invited to this meeting.
The General Body wanted to raise important matters in connection with the recent reportage in the media.
Therefore, this resolution reinforces the principle that the ownership and governance of the cooperative should
remain with eligible local women producer-members. These are women who are actively engaged in
production, in whose bank accounts payments related to their production are received through NEFT, and who
fulfil applicable local residency and membership eligibility requirements.
The resolution also affirms that the decision-making authority of the cooperative will remain with its eligible
producer-members through the General Body and elected Board of Directors. The Chairperson will be elected
from among the Board members.
This is a fundamental expression of the cooperative principle: those who produce, contribute to the institution,
and sustain its work should have a meaningful voice and agency in its governance and future.
"Looms of Ladakh is not just an enterprise that sells products from Ladakh. It is a women-owned,
producer-led cooperative, in which eligible women producers should remain at the centre of ownership, decision-making, agency, and leadership."
It is necessary to protect this institutional character, so that the growth of Looms of Ladakh creates lasting
opportunities for those women and producers whose skills are the foundation of this sector.
3. Encouragement Received at National Level Has Continued to Strengthen Our Journey
The encouragement and recognition that Looms of Ladakh has received over the years has been an important
source of strength for our members and team.
- Mann Ki Baat: In November 2023, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi mentioned Looms of Ladakh in his Mann Ki Baat programme, which gave wider recognition to our work related to Ladakh Pashmina.
- Ministry of Cooperation: The journey of the cooperative was also featured in the public communication of the Ministry of Cooperation, which gave visibility to the development of the women-owned cooperative.
- Economic Survey of India: In the Economic Survey 2022-23, Looms of Ladakh was presented as an excellent cooperative.
These moments mean a lot to us. They have strengthened our confidence that building a women-owned
institution, developing textile manufacturing capabilities, and creating livelihood opportunities through
collective enterprise, and most importantly contributing to the design vocabulary of Ladakh Pashmina Textiles,
has value far beyond immediate production.
"The encouragement from national institutions gave us the strength to keep working continuously. We had hoped that the progress made through the GI process would also be an opportunity to share Ladakh's achievements and discuss what can be done together."
That is why the current situation has been particularly disheartening for us. We want the discussion to move
towards greater understanding, respect for institutional development, and a shared commitment to take
Ladakh Pashmina forward.
4. From Grants to Ground-Level Assets: Infrastructure, Tools and
Manufacturing Capabilities Developed in Ladakh
A very important outcome of the work of Looms of Ladakh is the development of physical infrastructure, tools,
machinery, and decentralised production facilities within Ladakh.
Institutional and programme support has helped in developing a functioning manufacturing ecosystem, rather
than limiting the work to training activities and temporary interventions. The objective of these investments
has been to build the facilities and capabilities necessary to gradually expand local processing, textile
production, skill development, value addition within the region, and the Ladakh Pashmina design vocabulary.
For us, it is important that these assets are seen and understood in their full context. The impact of grants
should not be assessed only from reports, training numbers, or expenditure statements. In this assessment, it
should also be seen how much physical infrastructure has been developed on the ground, what tools and
machinery are available to producers, what technical capabilities have been built, and what opportunities can
be created from these assets in the future.
Central Atelier and Head Office: An Identity of Producer Ownership
The Central Atelier and Head Office of Looms of Ladakh is not just a production facility. This building, made of
rammed-earth construction, represents a larger institutional vision: women who make Ladakh's textiles should
have a place of their own from where they can engage with the business world with dignity and confidence.
The vision was to create a statement building for a producer-owned institution - a place where the women of
Ladakh can be proud of their collective achievement, present their work and manufacturing capabilities with dignity, and where brands, designers, buyers, institutions, and other partners can come to meet them.
Behind this was a simple but important thought.
Producers should not always have to go to brands' offices and present their work as wage earners. Brands should also come to the producers' own institution and engage with them as skilled manufacturers, collective owners, and potential business partners.
The Central Atelier was envisioned as the physical expression of this shift in relationships - to strengthen
institutional confidence, bargaining capacity, and local ownership over the production process, moving beyond
dependence on external markets.
Its rammed-earth construction also reflects the importance of developing the building keeping in mind
Ladakh's local environment and material context. The land for this Atelier was purchased from Co-founder Smt.
Bahuguna's school scholarship savings, members' contributions, loans, and cooperative sales.
Chushul Workstudio: Decentralised Manufacturing in Changthang
It is a passive-solar-heated building, developed with NABARD funding to support decentralised production in a
challenging high-altitude environment.
The objective of this workstudio is to bring productive infrastructure closer to those women and communities
whose skills and traditional knowledge are the foundation of Ladakh's textile traditions. Its passive-solar design
is important in a region where climatic conditions influence the feasibility and cost of working throughout the
year.
The purpose of decentralisation is not just to create additional workspaces. Its objective is to make production
accessible to local artisans, strengthen skills in their own communities, and develop a regional manufacturing
network rather than concentrating all activities at one location.
Other Decentralised Production Centres
Apart from the Central Atelier and Chushul workstudio, Looms of Ladakh has also supported the development
of additional decentralised production centres operating on rented premises.
These centres are part of a hub-and-spoke approach, which connects the institutional base of the cooperative
to production activities in Changthang, Leh, and Kargil.
This model recognises that Ladakh's different textile traditions, communities, and production capabilities
cannot be strengthened through a single uniform facility or a completely centralised approach.
Operating on rented premises also means that not every production centre is the owned property of the
cooperative. It is important to understand the distinction between infrastructure created or developed through
institutional investment and facilities being used through rental arrangements. For some decentralised centres,
members in Kargil have also been requesting the administration for a subsidised unutilized community hall for
quite some time.
These centres together have helped develop the foundation of a more distributed manufacturing ecosystem,
so that local skills and production can be strengthened in different regional settings.
Tools, Machinery and Actual Manufacturing Capacity
Manufacturing capabilities are not developed just by making buildings. For this, appropriate tools, machinery,
production systems, skilled people, and the technical knowledge to use them effectively are also needed.
The development of the cooperative has also included the provision and use of tools and machinery to support
textile processing and production. Along with this, training, advanced skilling, product development, and
experimentation on finer-count yarns have been done.
These capabilities support the wider production process from working on local fibres to spinning, weaving,
knitting, and developing finished textile products. Their objective is to retain a greater share of production and
value addition within Ladakh.
The development of finer-count yarn, including 1/56-count yarn, and the estimated technical fine-count
weaving capacity of approximately 400 metres per month reflect the skills and production capabilities
developed over the years.
This figure represents technical capacity, not actual monthly production or sales.
The Cooperative is ready to give constructive cooperation in examining its infrastructure, production systems,
and relevant institutional records through an appropriate and organised process.
What Was Developed on the Ground from Grant Support: It Is Important to Understand
This
Support from institutional and programme partners has played an important role in the development of the
cooperative.
- NABARD/NABFOUNDATION: Support in advanced skilling, marketing, and decentralised manufacturing during 2022-2024.
- Royal Enfield Social Mission: Support in regional scale-up during 2023-2026.
- WWF Leh/Charles Darwin Initiative: Support in handloom consultancy during 2024-2025.
In our opinion, the assessment of such support should not be done only on the basis of received and spent
amounts. In this, it should also be assessed what infrastructure and capabilities were developed, for how long
assets can be used, what skills were developed, what production opportunities were created, and how many
benefits reached local producers.
Grant-wise amounts, asset values, ownership, utilisation, and expenditure should be reported with reference to
relevant sanctioned grants, audited accounts, and asset records. We believe that this is the transparent and
evidence-based way to understand what became possible on the ground from institutional support.
We invite journalists to come to the ground and see these outcomes, so that the assessment is not based only
on competing claims or isolated accounts. In the Annual General Meeting 2023, renowned journalist Lalit
Shastri gave a motivational address to members and praised Looms of Ladakh, commending its vision and
democratic leadership. According to him, the infrastructure that has been built is a monument symbolising
hard work and the bright future of the women herder-producer owned cooperative.
5. A Decade of Institution-Building and Manufacturing Progress
The development of Looms of Ladakh has been gradual. Starting from an initial vision, today it has developed
as a functioning producer-owned cooperative, whose technical capabilities, institutional infrastructure, and
regional footprint have grown over time.
| Period |
Institutional and Manufacturing Process |
Funding and Financial Pathway |
| 2013 | The initial thought to strengthen Ladakh's textile value chain and create opportunities for artisans was developed, inspired by the dwindling numbers of Kashmir artisans and the Gujarat dairy model. |
|
| July 2016 - March 2017 |
Laktsal Skill development project | District Administration training for knitting |
| 20 May 2017–2020 |
The Cooperative was established and member participation, systems, and manufacturing foundations began to consolidate. | There is no record of institutional grant support in the early-phase timeline up to 2020. In 2019, Looms of Ladakh received a showroom evacuation notice for the Brand Ladakh space, for which the cooperative filed an RTI. With the intervention of the Honorable LG, payment of competitive market rent began, which Looms of Ladakh had offered. |
| 2021 - 2023 | The institutional base of the cooperative was strengthened by permanent Central Atelier and Head Office infrastructure. |
Infrastructure development and institutional consolidation supported the transition towards an organised manufacturing model. |
| 2022 - 2024 | Local production capabilities were strengthened through advanced skilling, finer-count yarn development, and decentralised manufacturing in Changthang, including Chushul workstudio. |
NABARD/NABFOUNDATION programme support contributed to advanced skilling, marketing, and decentralised manufacturing. Key persons – Shri Devasis Padhi, CGM OFDD, Shri Sanjeev Rohilla, CEO Nabfoundation, Shri Harsh Deshmukh, DGM Key Project Officer |
| 2023–2026 | Work expanded in Changthang, Kargil, and Leh and focus remained on further developing the regional textile value chain. |
Royal Enfield Social Mission support contributed to regional scale-up. Key Person – Smt. Tsewang |
| 2024 - 2025 | Pastoralist communities and local textile capabilities were supported through handloom consultancy and technical work. | In WWF Leh/Charles Darwin Initiative, the pro-bono co-founder provided handloom consultancy service and arranged salary for young professionals. |
| 2026 onwards | The Cooperative is working towards a more sustainable financial model, in which working-capital requirements are increasingly being linked to commercial operations and institutional finance. |
Transition towards institutional bank credit for working capital is an important step in moving beyond dependence on grant support. |
The technical progress of the Cooperative includes the development of finer-count yarn, including 1/56-count
yarn. The estimated technical capacity of fine-count weaving has reached approximately 400 metres per
month. This is the developed technical capacity, not a claim of actual monthly production or sales.
By 2024, the reported average monthly artisan earnings had increased from the earlier level of approximately
₹3,000 to around ₹15,000.
This progress shows that along with the value of finished products, it is also important to measure how much of
the value is retained within Ladakh and how much benefit reaches the producers.
Behind these achievements has been the sustained hard work of cooperative members, personal contributions,
institutional partnerships, and years of investment in skills and manufacturing capabilities.
6. Constructive Way Forward: Ladakh Pashmina Transparency and Value Addition Index
We propose to develop an Annual Ladakh Pashmina Transparency and Value Addition Index. Its objective is to
strengthen the region's textile sector through measurable disclosures, independent assessment, and
transparent reporting.
This framework should apply equally to both cooperatives and individual enterprises engaged in the Ladakh
Pashmina value chain.
An institution with recognised statistical and research expertise like the Indian Statistical Institute, or any other
suitably qualified institution of national importance, can be invited to develop the methodology, assessment
tools, and verification framework.
The proposed annual disclosures can be organised around four key indicators.
1. Fibre Sourcing and Composition
Annual disclosure of the origin and composition of fibre, including Ladakh Pashmina, local sheep wool,
non-local fibres, and blends. Where appropriate, information should be supported through traceability records
and independent testing.
2. Local Manufacturing and Value Addition
Annual disclosure of production stages undertaken within Ladakh, including spinning, weaving, knitting,
dyeing, finishing, and garment manufacturing.
This indicator can also reflect production volumes, employment generation, and participation in villages and
regional production centres.
3. Producer Earnings and Value Distribution
Annual disclosure of the value reaching artisans, pastoralists, and other local producers. This includes
production payments, producer earnings, and value distribution at different stages of the supply chain.
Relevant public support and its reported outcomes can also be disclosed, so that it can be assessed how
institutional assistance contributes to manufacturing capacity and producer livelihoods.
4. Product Information and Traceability
Clear and verifiable information about products, including fibre composition, sourcing location, manufacturing
location, and, where applicable, whether the yarn is handspun or machine-spun.
The framework should support independent verification, consistent annual assessment, and public reporting of
comparable findings, while also respecting legitimate commercial confidentiality.
The purpose of this Index is not to target any individual enterprise. Its purpose is to develop a common,
evidence-based framework that strengthens credibility, encourages responsible practices, and helps identify
opportunities for further investment in Ladakh's textile manufacturing ecosystem.
"Our proposal is for cooperation between competitors. Enterprises can compete in the marketplace, but they can also work together to strengthen Ladakh Pashmina's reputation, transparency, and long-term future."
We believe that an annual, independently assessed Transparency and Value Addition Index can take the
discussion towards measurable outcomes - local manufacturing, producer earnings, product authenticity, and
the value retained within Ladakh.
This is an opportunity for all stakeholders to develop a stronger and more transparent Pashmina economy,
which can move forward with constructive cooperation and in the spirit of Sahkar Se Samridhi.
7. Our Appeal: Let Us Work Together for the Future of Ladakh Pashmina
Looms of Ladakh is committed to strengthening a women-owned, producer-led cooperative, in which eligible
local women producers have meaningful participation in ownership, governance, and leadership.
We are grateful for the encouragement received from national institutions, administration, cooperatives,
enterprises, and all stakeholders who are interested in the future of Ladakh's textile sector.
We are committed to transparency, accountability, and constructive engagement.
We do not want the GI process to become a source of division. We want constructive discussion to start
through it on steps to develop the region's manufacturing capabilities, producer livelihoods, cooperative
ownership, and a more transparent and sustainable Pashmina economy.
We invite journalists from India and around the world to come to Ladakh to see the Central Atelier, visit the
Chushul workstudio and other decentralised production centres, observe tools and machinery, talk to artisans
and cooperative members, and understand the hard work that went into building the institution.
We are open to sharing relevant institutional documents, infrastructure records, manufacturing information,
and governance decisions through an appropriate and transparent process, subject to applicable legal
requirements and protection of legitimate personal and commercial information.
We believe that seeing the work on the ground and talking to the people directly involved will help in
understanding the opportunities, challenges, and institutional questions related to Ladakh Pashmina.
"We do not want confrontation. We want a constructive path where Ladakh's textile capabilities get recognition, producer ownership is strengthened, and transparency becomes the shared commitment of the entire sector."
Our sincere hope is that the work done so far will be understood in its full context, differences will be addressed
with dignity, and the growing recognition of Ladakh Pashmina will translate into lasting opportunities for the
producers of the region.
Let us turn the recognition of Ladakh Pashmina into a shared opportunity for Ladakh -
through transparency, cooperation, local manufacturing, and confidence in the collective
capabilities of our people.
8. A Final, Heartfelt Appeal: Respect for the Human Effort Behind
Institution-Building and the Founder's Contribution
Behind the development of Looms of Ladakh has been the sustained and pro bono contribution of its founder,
Smt. Abhilasha Bahuguna, Co-founder and Pro Bono Strategist.
For years, she has dedicated her professional expertise, time, and continuous hard work to building the
institution, without taking any honorarium from the cooperative. She has also invested her personal resources
in the development of the institution.
Her contribution includes institution-building, developing Zoho Books accounting systems, supporting artisan
skills, establishing partnerships, fundraising, strengthening manufacturing capabilities, and helping the
cooperative move towards financial sustainability.
Public institutions sometimes engage professional consulting firms to prepare reports, conduct studies, and
give technical advice, on which substantial public expenditure may occur. Such professional services have their
own place and importance.
But similarly, the professional expertise, personal resources, and pro bono contribution given over years in
building a grassroots institution should also be understood and recognised in its full context.
"Institution-building does not happen only through a report or a short-term intervention. It requires years of professional work, personal commitment, investment, and sustained engagement with the people whose livelihoods depend on that institution."
Many producer collectives and small enterprises face considerable challenges in sustaining their growth after
initial funding cycles.
Looms of Ladakh has worked for years on developing its systems, manufacturing capabilities, and institutional
readiness, so that a financially sustainable, producer-owned institution can be built.
The Cooperative has progressed beyond early-stage institution-building and project-specific support towards
funding readiness and institutional credit for working capital. This transition is an important milestone in the
journey towards a more sustainable financial model.
In this context, the distress caused by recent developments is even more significant. We strongly condemn any
treatment that amounts to harassment or undermines the dignity of those who have contributed years of
unpaid professional work and personal resources to build the cooperative institution.
We recognise that public scrutiny, institutional accountability, and examination of records are legitimate and
necessary. Our appeal is that such processes are conducted fairly, respectfully, and in proportion to their
purpose. In this process, years of hard work, assets created, the institution developed, and the interests of
those producer-members for whom the cooperative works should not be ignored.
We want the founder's contribution to be seen not as a claim of personal privilege, but as an important part of
that institution-building journey which has helped create opportunities for the women producers of Ladakh.
Our simple request from the heart is: the human effort behind the institution should also
be given respect and recognition.
Years of unpaid professional work, personal investment, and sustained commitment should not become
invisible in the midst of controversy. Differences of opinion and questions related to institutional processes can
be addressed, without diminishing anyone's dignity and without disregarding their contribution.
We hope for a fair and constructive environment where the cooperative, its members, and all those who have
contributed to the development of the institution can continue to work for a stronger future for Ladakh's
producers.
We are grateful to every artisan, member, partner, institution, and individual who has contributed to this
journey.
Above all, we want the women who own and sustain this cooperative to continue to consider it their own
institution - an institution built to strengthen their skills, livelihoods, voice, and capacity to engage with the
wider world on fairer terms.
Local Fibres. Local Value Addition. Regional Empowerment.
Issued by Looms of Ladakh Women Cooperative Limited, Ladakh