Photograph — Saffron crocus (Crocus sativus) in flower (representative photograph). Source image unavailable; caption preserved.
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Spices, Aromatics & Dried Foods · Jammu & Kashmir — Pampore, Kishtwar
Kashmir Saffron (Kesar)
The world's most expensive spice by weight, grown on the karewa highlands around Pampore in a six-week autumn flowering window. Each flower yields only three stigmas, so an entire kilogram of dried saffron requires roughly 150,000 hand-picked blooms.
GI status: GI-registered, 2020
Shelf life: 2–3 years, stored airtight in a cool, dark place
Women-led sector
| Category | Spices, Aromatics & Dried Foods |
|---|---|
| Region | Jammu & Kashmir — Pampore, Kishtwar |
| GI status | GI-registered, 2020 |
| Typical shelf life | 2–3 years, stored airtight in a cool, dark place |
| Women's role in production | Corm-planting, flower-picking at dawn and the painstaking hand-separation of the three crimson stigmas from each flower — the step that determines grade and price — is carried out almost entirely by the women of Pampore's saffron-growing households, many organised into cooperatives. |
Why this fits a low-wastage SHG model: A gram of saffron, correctly stored, is essentially non-perishable for years — the opposite of a wastage risk, and its high value-to-weight ratio means even a small SHG-run grading and packaging unit can hold meaningful inventory without tying up working capital.
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