GUWAHATI: Long coats made of
Yak fur may soon help soldiers serving in the high altitude areas of the country to fight the freezing winter. The Kolkata-based National Institute of Research on Jute and Allied Fibre Technology (
NIRJAFT) in association with the National Research Centre on Yak (
NRCY) has successfully tested the garment and said that it can withstand freezing temperature at an altitude of 12,000 feet above sea level in
Arunachal Pradesh.
NIRJAFT director (in-charge) AN Roy told TOI that the garment is made of 50% mix of both Yak fur and jute.
"We has given long coats made of Yak fur to the Army in Arunachal Pradesh for trial in January this year. After getting positive feedback, we have now started working on further developing the product by incorporating some inputs from the Army," Roy said.
Director of NRCY, based in Arunachal Pradesh's Dirang, P Chakravarty said the long coats have successfully met most of the parameters given by the Army including the vital one - fighting the freezing temperatures at high altitude.
Roy said NIRJAFT is planning to provide long-coats in large quantity to the army during August-September this year. He added that 100 kg of "coarser" Yak fibre can be used to produce approximately 200 pieces of long-coat for the Army after blending with jute fibre.
"Generally Yak fur comes in three grades: outer coarse, middle and premium down. A Yak can produce about 3-5 kg of coarser fur and 400-500 grams of fine fur per year. Presently, in India approximately 150-250 tonnes of coarser and 20-25 tonnes of fine furs are available," Roy informed.
He said that NIRJAFT and NRCY have been working on Yak fur for the last three years for producing quality fibre by blending with jute with an aim to improve the value-chain of yaks through value-addition.
Chakravarty said the idea is to help Yak farmers 'Brokpas' retain their traditional occupation by showing them the path of getting high returns from selling Yak fur for producing the blended fibre used in manufacturing winter garments.
Yak population in India is estimated to be 76,237, according to livestock census in 2012, with an estimated 14,000 found at an elevations of 3,000 to 6,000 meter above sea levels in Arunachal Pradesh's West Kameng and Tawang districts. In 2003 there were only 9,000 left in the two districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
Other states with Yak population are Ladakh, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Uttarakhand.