|
Friend's Handicraft      Rosie's visit to Friend's Handicraft: I was thrilled when I arrived in Having been best friends since school they decided to start up a business together in early 2004. They began by making cotton shopping bags and soon realised after some market research that there was a demand for felt products. It was towards the end of 2006 that Friends Handicraft started making products for Hatti after they employed two girls rescued from trafficking by The Esther Benjamins Trust.
After taking training in felt construction and stitching they went onto source large rolls of felt from other companies, things moved at a rapid speed and they soon realised that they needed to start up their own felt factory and hired 4-10 girls to keep up with the growing demand. As things continued to progress they divided the company onto two campuses one for felt production the other for felt stitching and cutting.
Today they have successfully trained and have working for them more than 100 women (and one man!). These girls are all highly stigmatised; women who have been rescued from the sex trade, single mothers, divorcees, women from very low income and low caste families, or women at high risk of being trafficked.
Shanti and Nirjala told me their aims are to help women who have a poor quality of life and give them the ability to bring home an income to help feed, cloth and support their families. They told me about one lady they employed who sadly she passed away and left two children behind. Shanti and Nirjala stepped in and now pay for both of these girls' educations.
Government funded education in Nepal is patchy to say the least (for instance teacher attendence is not compulsory so there are many teachers who quite literally never teach) so to guarantee any decent level of education most Nepalis have to turn to the private system. The annual fee for this is usually the equivalent to £150- £200 per student depending on the age.
Out of all the workers they have, 8 of the women and the only man are paid a monthly wage while the others are paid per piece; there are 3 different job roles:
1. Cutting: every single flower and felt piece is hand cut and measured to size
2. Sewing: each piece cut is then stitch by hand into place
3. Moulding: all the felt has to be worked and moulded into shape. Raw wool imported from
I was surprised at how versatile and strong the felt became after it was moulded, and the extent it can be used, making it into a one piece bag or cut from sheets and stitched to create anything from a decorated purse to a keyring.
During a working day all the girls receive tea and biscuits and regular breaks. As a special annual outing Shanti and Nirjala take all the employees out for a picnic which costs them about £400. Should anyone need a loan they will also provide this with no interest added. From the day i spent there it was very obvious that they are all happy to be working there.
Hatti is responsible for providing around 80% of the income for Friends Handicraft, and we aim to continue this successful partnership. Friends Handicraft are as passionate as we are at helping disadvantaged and stigmatised women and the latest example of this it that they have committed to providing employment opportunities for girls from Maiti The Association For Craft Producers (ACP)  For over 25 years ACP have been providing design, marketing, management and technical services to low-income Nepali craft producers. ACP currently has over 1000 producers, 90% female. They also put a strong emphasis in environmental issues which unfortunately not the norm in a poor country like Nepal eg:
ACP is the member of International Fair Trade Association (IFAT), Asia Fair Trade Forum (AFTF), Fair Trade Group Nepal (FTGN), Federation of Handicraft Association (FHAN). Women’s Skills Development Project (WSDP)  Established in 1975 the WSDP has always aimed to employ women who are most in need. The primary objective has always been to provide these women with handicraft related skills so they can become self-sufficient. These women come from a variety of social, economic and ethnic backgrounds. Sometimes their need comes from extreme poverty or they may be widowed, divorced, disabled or abused. The products made for Hatti Trading are all made from natural dyes. WSDP is the member of International Fair Trade Association (IFAT) and Fair Trade Group Nepal (FTGN).
MAITI Nepal was born out of a crusade to protect Nepali girls and women from crimes like domestic violence, trafficking for flesh trade, child prostitution, child labour and various forms of exploitation and torture. As part of the rehabilitation process for women rescued from these situations Maiti Nepal trains them in income generation skills, but it's extremely difficult for them to find employment due to discrimination they face based on their pasts. The silver jewellery on our website is made by Maiti Nepal. |
Your Order
|
|
|
|
Special Offers
|
|
