Overview
The weavers of Lhuntse are famous, especially for ‘Kishutharas’ from Khoma and Kurtoe Geogs.
Girls as young as seven, many of them school-going, join their parents to weave. Except during the rice cultivation season, Khoma thrives with weavers.
Most weavers take between two and three years to master weaving lungserma and kishuthara. Khoma weavers weave a variety of textile including mentse mathra and aii kapoor. The weavers in Lhuntse use only the back strap loom (Pangtha).
Weaving is the major source of income for the people living there. What they earn from farming can hardly sustain them through the year. In winter, women weave while men look after cattle and collect fuel wood.
The price of a silk kisuthara ranges from Nu 30,000 to Nu 60,000 depending on the material used and the intricacy of the pattern. Yarn Among men’s dresses, lungserma is the most expensive. Three pieces of lungserma (which make a gho) cost up to Nu 60,000.
