01
Allo
Ridge harvest
Trained community collectors harvest Himalayan nettle on rotation — protecting the stand while paying households a fair rate per kilo of clean bast.
§ 06 · Natural FibersSection 06
The wild fibers of the Himalayan foothills.
Nepal's forests, terraces and riverbanks yield a rare portfolio of natural fibers — allo, hemp, bamboo and banana. HFMN develops each into modern, market-ready material streams while protecting the ecosystems they come from.
The Story
The forest as a fibre economy.
Allo, hemp, bamboo and banana — Nepal's forest and farm systems yield fibres that have clothed communities for generations and, done right, can carry those same communities into a modern rural industry.
This programme is about doing it right: sustainable harvest, standardised processing, decent work in the extraction and spinning stages, and finished products that can hold their own on an international shelf.
From the forest floor
Fibers the mountains have always given.
Allo from ridge nettles, hemp from terraced fields, bamboo from riverbeds — Nepal's oldest textiles, now organised for a modern market.
6.1
Allo (Himalayan Nettle)
Used for strong, eco-friendly handmade textiles, bags, fabrics and blended products.
6.2
Hemp Fiber
Potential for durable fabric, bags, ropes, home textiles and eco-fashion products.
6.3
Bamboo Fiber
Potential for soft textile blends, lifestyle products and sustainable fabric innovation.
6.4
Banana Fiber
A high-strength, low-impact fiber for institutional and heritage textile applications.
6.5
Programme Structure
- ◆Fiber collection and cultivation
- ◆Processing and spinning
- ◆Blending with silk and wool
- ◆Handloom application
- ◆Product development
- ◆ESG and sustainability value
- ◆Market potential
In Practice
Forest fibres, at work.
Everything HFMN does — from a mulberry seedling to a finished bolt of cloth — is stewarded by a real cooperative, a real weaver and a real ledger. This is a snapshot.
02
Hemp & bamboo
Extraction units
Small decortication and retting facilities on shared cooperative land let farmers process on site instead of selling raw stalks at a loss.
03
Banana
Byproduct income
Post-harvest banana stems that would otherwise rot are converted into spinnable fibre — a new income line stacked on an existing crop.
“We were already cutting allo. HFMN taught us how to sell it as fibre instead of firewood.