Allo Hemp Woven Cloth
The natural fibre of Allo comes from the bark of giant nettle, 'Girardinia diversifolia', which grows at the altitude of 1200m and 3000m in the Himalayan region of Nepal.Traditionally, the plant is harvested and the bark fibre is naturally composted for one month. Once the fibre has decomposed, it is beaten and then spun by hand. During quiet times in the farming season, this is a particularly good source of income for rural farmers in Nepal.
Although Allo is traditionally woven into a fabric using an open back strap loom, it can also be used as a knitting yarn. For a lighter coloured smooth allo yarn, the fibre is boiled for many hours and washed to reveal the off-white colour yarn.
