Nomads: Gold of the Himalayas (Enhanced DVD)

In the high altitudes, at the foothills of the Himalayan mountains, live a nomadic tribe called the “Changpa.”  They live in simple, traditional, ways, as they have for thousands of years.  The Changpa are a wandering people, whose wealth comes from the livestock they maintain.  The beautiful fine hair from their cashmere goats is worth more than its weight in gold.  These special goats thrive in cold climates.  They do not have wool like sheep.  Instead, they are covered with hair of two types.  A coarse outer layer of hair protects them from severe weather conditions, and a fine soft inner layer of hair further insulates them from the cold.  Once each year, they harvest and sell this fine hair. 

This enhanced DVD follows the lives of the Changpa as they care for their livestock and their families in the same nomadic ways as they have done for centuries.  The highly prized hair from their goats is in great demand worldwide.  It makes the cashmere scarves and sweaters, which are major fashion items for those with refined tastes. Cashmere is the British spelling of Kashmir, the area of the Changpa nomads and their famous goats.

The Changpa have a saying, which roughly translates to “Don’t give me a wife, unless you also give me two goats.”    The Changpa brush out the fine goat hair each summer.  They separate it from the coarse hair.  This fine hair becomes cashmere wool, which sells in the major city of Ladakh as “pashmina.”  Because of its great value, pashmina is also called the gold of the Himalayas.

Nomads: Gold of the Himalayas

• Enhanced DVD
• ISBN: 978-1-62102-309-8
• Run Time: 52 Minutes
• Copy Right Date: 2008
• CC