Kashmir has a mild climate during summers, which is ideal for growing Lavender plants.
Lavender is harvested for its fragrant flowers and oil.
Lavender cultivation employs around 5,000 farmers and young entrepreneurs in geographically remote areas of Kashmir. More than 1,000 farming families cultivate it on more than 200 acres.
IMAGE: A bee sucks nectar from Lavender flowers in a field in Pulwama district, south Kashmir. All photographs: Umar Ganie for Rediff.com
IMAGE: People work in a Lavender field in Pulwama district, here and below.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
