Despite the fact that most families have small farms, a majority of them have left agriculture. Apart from the paucity of rains, fertilizers and meager returns on selling their produce, animals destroy a significant portion of their crops. The terrain on the hills is such that it is very hard to set up industries that might bring a positive change in the lives of the people. Besides, the setting up of industry, with its large carbon footprint is bad for the environment and therefore, non-sustainable.
As a hemp Home Furnishings manufacturer and bulk supplier, Ukhi is helping out these beautiful Himalayan remote villages by raising awareness and promoting the manufacture of hemp-based products like hemp clothing, handmade hemp Home Furnishings & accessories, etc. We have been encouraging women here to use their conventional artistic skills to produce exquisite hemp Home Furnishings.
As hemp farming is not labor-intensive and hemp-based products are quite in vogue, the women appear to be the best workers. They can work from the comforts of their home, during the time slot that best suits them and become financially independent as well to take care of them and their family.
Just as the famous saying “empower a woman and she will empower the entire community,” we have started to witness some of the positive changes resulting from this.
Our Hemp Home Furnishings.
To the surprise of many, Hemp has become a source of exquisite home furnishings. Called a marvel plant, hemp can be turned into exotic decor used for beefing up the interiors. A plant that was once announced as something exclusive for hippies is now in news for making the furnishings.
Hemp furnishing products that we roll out are intrinsically linked to the daily life of numerous poor villagers in remote areas of Uttarakhand. Thanks to hemp, life has returned to hundreds of hamlets in Kedar valley. These are the same villages that were abandoned by the inhabitants for want of employment and means of livelihood.
At Ukhi, we studied the reasons for this mass migration and found how hemp could resolve the imbroglio. Hemp had been the natural vegetation of the region. However, it was banned due to the lies spread by the cotton lobby. People have now recognized the immense benefits of hemp and it is slowly returning to the economic mainstream.
One of the many uses of hemp is furnishings. Hemp fabric can be used for producing these wonderful chairs, couches, curtains, pillows, and much more. There are no tabs on what you can do with hemp fabrics.
Hemp has strong fibers that can be transformed into twine and woven into different decor products. Though hemp fabric is coarse in raw form, it gets softened after processing. Home furnishing products made of hemp are sustainable and yet, bedeck their homes in the best way possible.
Using handmade hemp furnishings brings in goods for you as well as the producers of these products, dwelling in remote Uttarakhand villages. These are a few benefits you can take advantage of when using hemp products:
The hemp brings along all the warmth and softness of natural textiles. However, what makes it an extraordinary fabric for home furnishings is its superior versatility and durability. When it comes to lasting longer and withstanding harsh conditions, hemp stands out.
When combined with other fibers, hemp blends the desirable attributes of both or more fabrics. The natural strength of hemp joining the smooth texture of silk or elasticity of cotton gives way to a genre of home furnishings.
The benefits of hemp are seemingly endless and its potential is stupendous. It is not an exaggeration to say that hemp décor products will not just dominate the domain in the coming days but also transform the lives of Uttarakhand locals for the good.
Traditional methods to soften fibers used acid to weaken lignin, a natural glue that holds together plant fibers. At Ukhi, however, we refrain from using any product, which is unfriendly to the environment. For softening the fabric, our fabric producers use an enzymatic process that efficiently segregates lignin from the hemp fiber with no impact on its strength. This technique facilitates the de-gumming of hemp fiber. It can be now spun alone or along with other fibers for producing furnishings.
In other aspects, hemp was always superior to other fibers. Loosening of hemp fabric in an eco-friendly manner put hemp at the forefront of home furnishings.
