We are moving the factory, from the southern end of Kathmandu to the northern end. The primary reason is because the ground water here naturally contains too much iron which can affect the dyeing process. The cost of having water brought by truck from an area without the iron is getting too expensive (it's also wasteful).
The new factory will have access to iron-free ground water, more space and conveniently is in a part of the valley which is full of women who are skilled handknitters. So expect to see more items like these 'oh so cute' baby socks/booties on www.mypashmina.co.uk.
Most of the building work in Kathmandu is in concrete. Personally I think it is quite ugly - and the old building style from clay bricks and wood looks nicer. Also the sand to mix with the cement is dredged from the Bagmati river. This is killing the river - as when the river loses it's sand plants grow in from the banks shrinking the river. The other disadvantage of concrete is the amount of CO2 released in the production of cement.
With this in mind, we are keeping the use of concrete in the factory to a minimum. We will have wood floors in most of the production areas, brick walls, bamboo supports and (as in 99% of factorys in Kathmandu) a corrigated iron and glass fibre roof. The wood costs about double the concrete - which explains why nearly all new buildings here are concrete.
We wanted to run the factory completely with solar power (You can import solar panels tax and duty free if you get approved by the government, but can't get approved without having a quality test on 3 types of panels - and they can't test until they have set the fee - which has been in discussion for at least 2 months .... I may be getting cynical, but can't help wonder who benefits from this??).
However we will have the lighting solar powered. This can be expanded later to power the washing machines and dryers. We don't use the horribly noisy 'power looms' so we don't have to have electricity to power them. All our cashmere knitwear and pashminas are made on hand looms.
If anyone wants to find out the test fee , or ask about the testing procedure the email address is sets@ntc.net.np .
We will be back in Nepal in February, at the crucial stage of the building work.
