completed· Livelihoods

High End Cashmere Goat and Wool Project in Gorkha, Nepal

Nepal is one of poorest countries in the world and suffered tremendously from the devastating earthquake in 2015. Once famous for its cashmere products, Nepal seized to produce cashmere wool due to the indigenous goats being kept for meat production to feed local communities and foreign goats not being suitable for Nepal’s geographical circumstances. Furthermore, political tension and competition in the region are rising, causing Nepalese cashmere garment production to decrease, skills being lost and livelihoods of many families being threatened. Dutch company So Good to Wear, that works with famous Dutch fashion brands such as Wendela van Dijk and Margreet Olsthoorn, has the ambition to bring back Cashmere goat keeping and Cashmere wool production to Nepal by establishing a fully sustainable and fair ‘from goat to garment’ wool production chain that meets high market segment demand. In order to validate the market and to prepare for future investments, Technical Assistance (DGGF-TA) provides support to set up a local breeding program and spinning program for high quality cashmere wool production, as well as a guarantee for its first shipment of garments to Europe. By developing this new breed that is suitable for Nepalese climate and by training families and communities to become goat herders and to set-up their own small scale franchised goat farms entire communities will be able to build a sustainable incomes. Through its unique cooperative ‘fair chain’ model, profits and goats will be shared equally amongst all people within the entire chain, including the farmers and spinners. The project already supports 18 direct jobs and 22 indirect jobs and provided training to 20 people. The first 200 baby goats have been born early 2020 and the first shipment of garments is expected early 2020. Further investments in a local production facility of Cashmere wool products and expansion of the number of goat farms are planned. In 2022, the first goats will be shared amongst farming families, with the potential to develop a growing number of farms per year. Each farm will create 6 to 7 jobs and support 3 to 4 families. The program has the potential to build more than 230 farms support 750-1,000 families by 2030.