At the beginning of 2004, I took a holiday to Nepal to go trekking in the Himalayas; at the time I didn’t know that this holiday would change my life forever. After the holiday I returned to my job and my Western way of life, but could not forget Nepal and its friendly, beautiful people, so I traded West for East and moved to Nepal.

In 2005 I started teaching on a voluntary basis for an English Registered Charity called The Esther Benjamins Trust.  My students were girls who had been unwittingly sold or tricked into circuses in India and become victims of child abuse. The Esther Benjamins Trust had rescued and returned these girls to Nepal to be reunited with their families where possible, but where not, to undergo rehabilitation and training.

My interest in and compassion for these victims of human trafficking and society led me to research organisations whose purpose is to help disadvantaged and stigmatized individuals lead a self-sufficient and independent life. It quickly became clear to me that, although Nepal is half the world away from the UK in geographical terms, it is a world away in terms of women’s rights and progress.

Women are still considered second-class citizens in Nepal.  If a woman becomes divorced or separated from her husband, even through no fault of her own, she will end up with no house and no family and no means of support. There are no social services, NHS, Child Welfare, Income Support or free education. Moreover, due to extreme poverty, especially in rural areas in Nepal, there is a huge problem with trafficking of children and women into brothels and exploitative bonded labour in India (like the circuses).

Charities like The Esther Benjamins Trust and Maiti Nepal lead the fight against trafficking and help these girls escape their degrading life and return to Nepal.  Unfortunately, once they are back these girls often remain stigmatized by their past and cannot return to a normal life in their villages with their families. These charities help tackle this problem by offering training in a variety of skills in order to give them a means to start a new independent life. There are also organizations such as the Association for Craft Producers and the Women’s Skills Development Project who provide skills training, marketing and business experience to help some of these most disadvantaged women to get back on their feet.

I found that many of the women supported by these organisations were making handicrafts and handbags.  To sustain an income, however, they needed a market and products suitable for western tastes.  It was clear that many people in the UK support fair trade and make conscientious purchase choices; however, they will only buy if they actually like the product, even if it is a great cause, so we started providing designs and ideas which would appeal to our western fashions.  

After trying out samples of the handbags on my friends in England, I started Hatti Trading to meet this need. This is a socially conscious business selling fairly traded products. Hatti Trading supports these humanitarian organisations directly and indirectly. Hatti Trading already accredited as a Fair Trade Importer by BAFTS (British Association of Fair Trade Shops)and the Ethical Junction.  I also intend to register Hatti Trading as a Fair Trade Organization with IFAT, but the company must be in operation for a long minimum trading period before an application can be made.

Emma Triplett
Founder/Chief Executive
Hatti Trading Ltd