“Herding sheep is our dharma rather than a mere occupation, entrusted upon us by the divine.”
– Neelkanth Mama, a Deccani sheep herder from Unchgaon village of Belgaum district of Karnataka
Humans and sheep have coevolved because of their faithful association for over 10,000 years
Anthropologists believe the use of wool came out of the basic challenge to survive in harsh climatic conditions
In seeking means of protection and warmth, humans in the Neolithic Age wore animal pelts as clothing. Wild sheep, which were more hairy than woolly, were domesticated around 9000-11000 years back. The selection of woolly sheep started around 6000 BC while the earliest woven woollens are dated between 4000-3000 BC.
India's vast animal genetic resources, especially that of sheep, yak and camels, have been conserved and bred by the nomadic pastoral communities. Until about two and a half decades ago, wool was used extensively by pastoralists for domestic consumption and also fetched a market price on par with meat. Wool-craft, for centuries, was a small home and village-based craft industry but grew into an industry and now largely works with imported wools.
Story of Commercialisation of Wool
Desi Oon: Orphaned By Policy and Policymakers
The elimination of tariff barriers on wool in the mid-nineties led to the Indian hosiery sector moving to the softer, longer staple wool from New Zealand, Turkey and other parts of the Middle East. But sheep have to be sheared twice, sometimes thrice a year, and the bulk of this ends up on the roadside with no takers.
The economics of wool is skewed due to a lack of demand and a huge supply of sheep wool given the population of sheep.
The decline in the use of Indigenous wool by the carpet industry has also been caused by enormous changes in trade policies, which have discriminated against wool by letting imported wool flood the market with relative ease.
Bishwanath Goldar, a researcher, notes that “The reform process began in early 1995 with the removal of QRs on imports of wool tops, synthetic fibres, textile yarn and some selected industrial fabrics. Though most cotton fabrics and about half of the apparel tariff lines were omitted from the treaties, the EU/US agreements constituted, for India, a major commitment towards liberalization of textiles Imports.” Quantitative restrictions on woollen textiles import fell from 100 per cent in 1988-89 to just 27.27 per cent in 1995-96. This is in contrast to carpet weaving which continued to enjoy 100 per cent protection and ready-made garments 93.90 per cent protection.
This had an immediate impact on the import of Woolen Yarn and Fabrics which grew from 103 million rupees in 1999-00 to 1679 million rupees in 2003-04 an astounding jump of more than 16 times in a space of 4 years. Similarly, the Raw Wool imports grew from 4919 million rupees in 1999-00 to 8706 million rupees in 2003-04; a jump of 70%. The wool board website corroborates the trend: The import of raw wool (Merino/ New Zealand- Greasy/Scoured) increased from 68.2 million kilos in 2001-02 to 110.1 million kilos in 2006-07, a 60% jump in a period of 5 years.
Mill owners from the western state of Rajasthan buy most of their wool from overseas producers while the local produce is ignored. This is both because the wool from overseas markets is cheaper (also driven by state subsidies, none of which Indian pastoralists enjoy) and the wool is cleaned and easy to use (thanks to the investments in infrastructure by the governments of major wool-producing countries of the world; this again is sorely lacking in India).
We believe wool remains valuable, it is a resource waiting to be appropriately harnessed, an economy waiting to be unfurled.
Meat Over Wool?
There has been an increase in demand for sheep meat, and with governments promoting meat breeds over wool breeds, pastoralists have, over the years, begun to crossbreed their native breeds and switch towards meaty breeds. Herders now realise that these are more vulnerable to disease and less resilient than the hardy local breeds.
Wool Markets Today
The coarse wool that does manage to reach the markets - and all of it produced by pastoral communities - nearly 95% is used as carpet grade wool or as some form of bulk filling in blankets with only 5% used in apparel.
Across regions, numbers of indigenous sheep have declined drastically, and correspondingly, the production of local wool has gone through a sharp decline.
In a globalised world, the artisans have lost their long-standing patrons, and have been left to fend for themselves. The artisan does not have a choice but to respond to the guesstimated needs, choices, and the whims and fancies of a consumer who is completely distanced, and disconnected from the craft process.
They are expected to work with new materials, new designs- some of which may push the craft practice to new horizons, but simultaneously also to substandard products. This has also given birth to new actors- practitioners, enthusiasts, and market intermediaries - in the craft economy.
The capabilities and perspectives of these new actors vary - some are well-versed and grounded in the region, the local ecology and community knowledge, and are able to take a holistic view of many cogs that constitute the craft economy, while others are geared primarily towards commercial interests, oblivious or unwilling to engage with the nuances of the craft system.
Things as they stand today
As things stand today, some indigenous sheep breeds, which are carriers of precious genetic resources, are at the threat of extinction. Conserving these breeds is especially important in a regime of climate change and increased climatic volatility since losing these breeds will mean the loss of precious genetic resources. But where do they begin?
Investment in research and technology development to enhance the quality of coarse wool yarn has been meagre over the past many decades. Persistent and renewed efforts to refine this versatile khadi textile are waiting to happen, without which the narrative cannot change. We believe that the combined efforts of State-run wool research institutions, grassroots organizations, pastoralist associations, and professionals can rewrite the script for the future.