One of the finest wools is actually an undercoat of the Changra goats, which live on the vast Changtang plateau in the Ladakh region of the Himalayas. The term Pashm refers to the threads made of these hairs, while Pashmina designates the textile produced with them. The word is of Persian origin and originated in the Kashmir region. In the 17th and 18th centuries, this textile became very well-known in Europe, and hence the name cashmere , as it came from the Kashmir region.
We only use cashmere from highland goats, which are herded by the nomadic Changpa tribe. This tribe lives on the vast Changtang plateau, located between the Indian Himalayas and Tibet. They emigrated to Ladakh around 1960, seeking asylum from the Chinese invasion of Tibet. Today, the Ladakh region is home to around 4,000 goats. During the spring, the nomadic herders remove around 30% of the undercoat with a comb (formerly made of wood). The goats are not sheared, but combed, so that they can survive the intense cold of the region, which in winter reaches temperatures as low as -40°C.
The undercoat is the softest part of the coat, being very fine and light, in addition to having incredible thermal performance, which allows these animals to survive in an environment of freezing winters. It is a completely manual and time-consuming process, but it guarantees the high quality of the product, while at the same time valuing the culture of these absolutely heroic nomads, who have adapted over many centuries to life in this region. Goats, shepherds and their families move throughout the summer, adopting a rotational grazing system so as not to destroy their habitat.