12 Days of Christmas: Win a Wool Shawl from Looms of Ladakh
In Ladakh’s high-altitude landscape, textile traditions are inseparable from the communities that sustain them. Wool is gathered, prepared and woven in small villages where herding remains a way of life and craftsmanship is shaped by environment as much as by skill. It is within this context that Looms of Ladakh emerged as both a brand, and as a cooperative model designed to strengthen a fragile industry from within.
Image courtesy of Looms of Ladakh
The initiative was founded in 2017 by Abhilasha Bahuguna and G. Prasanna, both of whom recognised the growing pressures facing Pashmina artisans. Bahuguna had witnessed declining interest in weaving despite the global demand for fine cashmere, while Prasanna encountered women’s self-help groups in remote communities producing high-quality wool textiles with limited economic return. Their shared concern led to a simple idea: that Ladakh’s herder-artisans needed greater ownership and visibility in the value chain if the region’s textile heritage was to have a future.
Gyal Cotton-Silk Overlay by Looms of Ladakh
Looms of Ladakh has since developed into a democratically run, farm-to-fashion cooperative. Decentralised village studios allow first-generation weavers to train close to home. Raw materials are sourced ethically, in line with long-standing pastoral practices. And every stage of production — from fibre collection to spinning, weaving and finishing — remains rooted in local knowledge and community involvement.
Aikyamatya 26 Poncho, created from Ladakhi Indigenous Wool + Eri Silk and manufactured by Looms of Ladakh Women Cooperative Ltd
The work also forms part of a wider initiative, Aikyamatya Luxury, which brings together four artisan-led textile cooperatives across India. This collective shares resources, co-creates collections and distributes profits among its members, offering a more equitable approach to luxury production. Under the @aikyamatya social media handle, the group showcases textiles ranging from Ladakhi Pashmina to Indian silk and cotton.
Today, we also share more from Abhilasha Bahuguna in our Five Minutes with a Friend interview series. Read on to find out more, but first, a little information about this prize:
12 Days of Christmas: Win a Wool Shawl from Looms of Ladakh
The Mentok Shawl (Detail), today's 12 Days of Christmas prize. By Looms of Ledakh
This month, we are pleased to offer readers the chance to win the Mentok Shawl, a design inspired by the spring flowers that appear briefly across Ladakh’s valleys. The shawl features extra-weft motifs — a technique newly introduced to the region — paired with a traditional black-and-white rib stripe that recalls the Challi patterns found in local home textiles.
Handwoven by women of the cooperative, it is made from a blend of down hair from the Changluk sheep and fine Merino wool, producing a soft, lightweight textile with notable warmth and structure. The yarns are mill-spun and dyed using Azo-free dyes to ensure both quality and environmental responsibility.
Composition: 50% Ladakhi Sheep Wool, 50% Merino Wool
Size: 82 x 37 inches
Value: £450
To enter, click on the button below, or visit the Selvedge Enter a Prize Draw page — and don’t miss the daily prize draws running until 12 December.
Winners will be announced on 13 December.
Five Minutes with a Friend:
Abhilasha Bahuguna, Co-Founder and Director of Looms of Ladakh
Abhilasha, what is your first memory of a textile?
My maternal grandmother’s jamdani sarees worn with classic gold sarees and hair tied into a bun. She engaged in a lot of social work, helping parents who could little afford their girls’ education or wedding, as well as helping a couple with seed funding for people to open small grocery stores in her small town. She was a widow of a self-made wealthy man, but she lived with poise and grace. As such, I associated affluence and luxury with a heart to share. This is what Aikyamatya Luxury is about. Co-creation, co-branding and profit sharing with the textile cooperative the brand is building in Indian states.
Can you put into words what you love about textiles?
We would like to believe that confidence is intrinsic, coming from our nurturing. But my co-founder and I have also realized that some part of the confidence also comes from what we are wearing. I feel different when in a saree or a blazer. This power that a textile has is wonderful. Also that this power is being given to us by rural artisans who are following their crafts since generations.
Where did you learn your craft?
I am a development economist by education. My co-founder is an alum of National Institute of Design Ahmedabad and National Institute of Fashion Technology Delhi. However both of us learnt by doing, mostly in our first endeavour, Looms of Ladakh Women Cooperative Ltd. Now we are working to replicate the cooperative model in other Indian textile clusters.
Where is your most inspiring space or place to create?
I feel disconnected to the everyday life and most connected to myself either in Rishikesh or Ladakh where nature is in bounty. My co-founder Nishant finds his inspiration during quiet times in his room after days of interaction with textile clusters.
What has inspired you recently?
I travelled to Marrakech in Morocco recently, and it would be trite to say the museum of Yves Saint Laurent and the Berber museum. But I felt that my co-founder and I have the same opportunity and dreams with Ladakh Pashmina, Uttarakhand Hemp, Odisha Ikat and Tamil Nadu Kanjivaram Silks under label Aikyamatya Luxury.
What is your most cherished textile, and why?
Banarsi Silks which I designed and got woven for myself for my wedding in Varanasi. Linen, light silk sarees is what I prefer for routine formal occasions.
Which colours, textures or materials say “Christmas” to you?
Aikyamatya’s own indigenous wool handwoven fabrics with ‘Challi’ braids and tartan checks.
If you could spend Christmas anywhere in the world to discover festive textile traditions, where would it be?
Christmas in North East India and explore how they use their traditional backstrap tribal weaves during the season.
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Further Information:
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Image Credits:
All images courtesy of Looms of Ladakh and Aikyamatya, and as credited in image captions.