Lack of market
mars bakkhu industry
Dev Das Shrestha, August
24
Bakkhu
(traditional Tibetan dress) industries of the district are slowly disappearing
due to lack of proper market management and government concern.
Not only bakkhu
but also many industrial products are disappearing these days after falling to
compete with foreign merchandise.
Bakkhu is made
from sheep wool in this hilly district as sheep are reared commonly in these
parts.
When sweaters
flooded the local market, local looms slowly started to take a backseat. Though
we have plenty of looms here, sweaters are a cause to close down the bakkhu
industries, Tendi sherpa of Lama agar VDC said.
According to
Dal Man Thami, ex- member of DDC, modern fashion also hit the bakkhu industries
hard. There are only few looms in the district now, Tendi Sherpa said.
Bakkhu were widely worn in our times and
winter without bakkhu was just unimaginable. Bakkhu is a durable dress but these
days people prefer sweaters to bakkhus, he complained .
It takes around
eight to ten days to prepare a bakkhu . In bakkhu, only the wool from newborn
lamb is used, which costs Rs 500 per 2.4 kg, while a bakkhu costs Rs 600 to 700.
Shyam Gurung, a
bakkhu manufacturer, said, we don't get the price according to the effort we
make. The garment from Khasa is available everywhere and is cheap also.
It costs around
Rs 400. People just need warm clothes in the winter and if they can get it in
cheaper prices, they go for it. Who would bye expensive bakkhus , Gurung
questioned .
The bakkhu
industries, on one hand have a huge competition to stand up to and on the other,
these days rearing sheep has also become difficult.
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