Our warm blankets & scarves from Nepal will get you through the winter!
24th November and the forecast was correct - it's cold outside! It's the time of year when buying habits at the Silk Road reflect the weather; it's time for scarves and blankets.
First up it's our stripey "Tibetan" blankets. Why the inverted commas? All over the Himalayan tourist towns of Indian and Nepal they're called Tibetan Yak Wool blankets - but if they were Yak wool they'd be heavy, brown/black, oily and smell of yak! In fact they're warm, light weight, colourful, machine washable and made of acrylic. And they're one of the most popular items in the shop.
Less stripey but thicker and a little larger are these Nepalese blankets, they measure 220x110cm and come in about half a dozen colours. Very thick, very warm! One side is slightly stripey with a plain border, the reverse is mostly plain with a stripey border.
Cashmere wool has a long and interesting history in the Himalayan regions of Kashmir and Ladakh and Tibet; the name comes from the old English spelling of Kashmir as Cashmere. The same kind of goats that produce the raw underbelly wool that ends up as the incredibly light warm wool we know as cashmere also exist in Nepal.
We stock a variety of cashmere scarves made by a Co-operative for disadvantaged women in Nepal. They come in neutrals, checks, herringbones, two tones and stripes.
