Textile Production

Bhutan boasts of a rich and diverse textile tradition which is almost exclusively practised by the female gender. With materials ranging from yakhair and sheep wool in the alpine highlands to silk, cotton and fibre in subtropical lowlands, Bhutanese women practise a wide variety of textile production using vegetable dye and backstrap and treadle loom. Local textiles are still very common and highly valued although Bhutanese designs and patterns are now being produced in bulk with machines in India.