India, Leshemi Origins | ARTISANS' Sustainable Development Foundation, Thebvo Coaster Set

Product name: Thebvo Coaster Set

Type of product: Set of 6 Nettle Coasters

Description (story of the item):

Thebvo means stinging nettle in the language of the Chakhesang Khuzhami Naga tribe. This design is based on the traditional Thebvora shawl, made of hand spun and hand woven stinging nettle. Nettle is a strong and waterproof utilitarian cloth, perfect for a coaster. 

The minimal black stripe, a key design element unique to local identity, is retained. The natural black dye is a completely local recipe: the cotton yarn is dyed with a mordant of tannin-rich bark (locally sourced from the wild hazelnut, walnut and oak trees), which is then soaked in iron-rich paddy field clay. 

Stinging nettle is foraged from the wild once a year, in early winter. In a long and laborious process, strips of nettle fibre (stripped off the stalks), are retted, dried, thigh-reeled into twine, and hand-spun using a drop spindle. The yarn is then soaked in a coarse local rice broth, which naturally bleaches and softens the fibre. It is repeatedly washed and sun-dried until the desired colour is attained. 

The flexibility of the portable back-strap loom enables women to work from home. This fibre-to-fabric journey is entirely local and self-sustaining (although the cotton yarn, once local, is now sourced).

This contemporary product is exclusively co-designed and woven by indigenous women of the Chakhesang tribe in Nagaland, Northeast India, exclusively for ARTISANS’ Gallery

Care instructions: Dry clean or wash by hand in cold water

Materials: Hand spun stinging nettle (Urtica Dioica), cotton and natural dyed black cotton

Measurements / size: 13 cm x 13 cm

Availability / stock level: On order (Dispatch in 65 days)