In 2013, Delhi resident Abhilasha Bahuguna saw her landlady bargaining with Kashmiri Pashmina sellers. On this, he shared a social media post on why this sector is disorganized and if artists form a corporation then they can benefit a lot and also will not have to get stuck in the hassles of bargaining. Abhilasha Bahuguna has completed her education at Panjab University and the University of Tilburg, Netherlands.
Abhilasha's idea of creating a platform for artisans came from her husband Prasanna, who was posted as Deputy Commissioner in Leh in 2015. IAS G Prasanna was impressed by the pashmina socks woven by a group of women from Chumur village and told the women of the area about a skill development initiative called Project Laksal and inspired them to be a part of it. In which 150 women in the area were given weaving training.
Bahuguna did not get funding for the first four years. But it became a boon for them when the women united and after getting their raw material, they started production at their place and also started selling their products to local tourists. In 2018, Bahuguna attended IIM Ahmedabad as a guest, where she met Gildo Zegra, CEO of Italian luxury brand Zegra. She was inspired by the looms of Ladakh and wanted to make it a global luxury brand.
Later, Abhilasha was given funding of Rs 1 crore by the NBA Foundation of NABARD and which allowed her to spread the talent of the women of Leh to the international level. In just three years she helped form a farm-to-fashion group with over 450 women from 16 villages in Ladakh to create a pastoral artisan-led luxury brand called Looms of Ladakh.
(PC: Freepik)
