What Is Allo?｜A Fiber from a Wild Himalayan Plant

Allo grows wild in the Himalayan mountains. We look at the plant itself, the processing skills passed down among Kulung Rai women, and its relationship with everyday life.

What Is Allo?

Allo is a plant fiber taken from the stems of Girardinia diversifolia, a perennial plant that grows wild in the mountainous regions of Nepal.

Also known as Himalayan giant nettle, it grows at elevations of approximately 1,500–3,000 metres in Nepal. In the Everest region we visited, Allo was not cultivated in fields but gathered from plants growing naturally in the mountains.

Like ramie, Allo is a bast fiber. Fibers are taken from the outer part of the stem and become material for yarn only after washing, beating, drying, and other processing.

The fibers have an airy softness and a subtle sheen, while also offering strength and quick-drying properties. Their colour varies as well: fibers from plants grown in sunnier locations are said to be relatively darker, while those from shaded areas are lighter. Differences in the growing environment remain visible in the fiber itself.

Allo and Everyday Life

In the Himalayan region, Allo has been used for grain, bean, and chili storage bags, traditional clothing, belts, blankets, and other objects needed in daily life. Its use is also documented in nineteenth-century sources.

In the Kulung Rai village we visited, women handled the process from harvesting and fiber preparation to hand spinning, weaving, and knitting.

Hand Weaving and Hand Knitting

At mrak, we work with both handwoven and hand-knitted Allo textiles. Even when made from the same yarn, weaving and knitting create different structures and textures.

The next article follows the process through which the plant becomes fiber.