SIKKIM: Life was gradually returning to normal months after the Covid-19 pandemic, with employees heading back to offices and businesses reopening. Yet in Pelling, at the foothills of Mount Khangchendzonga in Sikkim’s Gyalshing district, silence lingered. Hotels and homestays remained empty, and the town’s tourism-dependent workforce, mostly women, faced a bleak future. This was in 2021.
Phuntsok Ongmoo Bhutia had just returned from Delhi after completing her post-graduation in international relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University. Witnessing the hardships faced by local women, she was inspired to act. This desire gave birth to Bayul Creations, a women-led, socially conscious start-up that aims to empower rural women of Sikkim through hand-woven and crocheted fashion.
Before the pandemic, many women from villages near Pelling earned a living as housekeeping staff or hotel helpers. When guests stopped arriving, they lost their income.
“They were at their wits’ end. I noticed many small-scale businesses thriving online. I thought I could start a venture to help our women. That’s how our journey began,” Phuntsok recalls.
Knitting and crocheting are traditional Himalayan art forms, and many Sikkimese women are skilled in them. Phuntsok approached a few women to create bags based on her designs. She supplied the raw materials—wool and colour—and once each piece was completed, she posted it on Instagram, sharing the story behind its creation. The response was overwhelming, and orders began pouring in.
“I started with three women. Slowly, others joined, seeing that working with me earned them an income. It wasn’t a lot, but enough for basic necessities. Today, 20 women from Chumbung village near Pelling are part of Bayul Creations,” she says.
Launched in 2021, Bayul Creations initially focused on handmade bags and gradually expanded to cardigans and home décor items.
Products are crafted from acrylic or natural yarn, depending on demand, with natural yarn offering a more sustainable option. “I don’t have a big factory. I give them the raw materials and designs. They craft the products at home and bring them to me. I sell them online,” Phuntsok explains.
The creation process is collaborative: one person makes the sleeves, another the patches, and someone else joins and finishes the piece. Phuntsok conducts quality checks before products are shipped.
Her team, including two divorcees, comes from families living below the poverty line, earning around ₹10,000 a month. Occasionally, Bayul Creations showcases its products at exhibitions and expos in mainland India. Customers can also customise their orders, making each item unique and special.
“We crochet every piece carefully and with love. We want each item to be treasured, using natural wool and dyes whenever possible. We offer both premium and non-premium products,” Phuntsok says. Products are sold online, at a boutique in Chumbung village, and in select shops in Gangtok.
Bayul Creations once collaborated with an NGO supporting single mothers in Uttar Pradesh and now plans to work with women from other states. Phuntsok explains that “Bayul” is another name for Sikkim, historically known as the sacred or hidden land.
Her efforts have been recognised by the Sikkim government. The Gyalshing district administration awarded her the “Young Innovation Award” during Independence Day celebrations, marking the year she focused on empowering women. The central government also tasked her with organising training under the Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance program, a World Bank-supported initiative.
“We provided basic apparel manufacturing training to a group of women with the help of two master trainers. We plan to train more women and bring them into our brand,” she says. Her goal is to teach crocheting skills that enable women to earn a living while preserving traditional crafts.
Phuntsok hopes to expand Bayul Creations to include other local arts and crafts, keeping hand-made traditions alive in a mechanised world. She laments that hand-crafted products are undervalued in India, despite their beauty and uniqueness, and expresses concern about the excessive textile waste generated by fast fashion.
“I’ve always been passionate about creativity and design. I didn’t have formal training initially, but I learned hands-on and turned my passion into something meaningful,” she adds. Through Bayul Creations, Phuntsok has revived traditional Himalayan crafts and offered women an opportunity to reclaim their independence, weaving hope, creativity, and livelihood together.