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Rosie's visit to Friends Handicraft Producers of our Young @ Heart Range      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 2004 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 90 girls, who have all come from villages in and around
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 a couple of years ago as a cutter, sadly she passed away and left two children behind, Shanti and Nirjala stepped in and now pay for both of these girls educations.
Unlike England, Nepal does not have government funded schooling so all the schools are set up by organisations and run privately, to attend you need to pay an annual fee, usually this is the equivalent to £200 per student and when you compare that to an average wage of £500, most families can’t afford it and have more than one child.
Out of the 90 workers they have, 8 of the girls and the only boy 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 cushion covers to pretty bag charms.
During a working day all the girls receive tea and biscuits and regular breaks, as a special annual outing Shanti and Nirjala take all 90 employees out for a picnic which costs them about £400. Should anyone need a loan they will also provide this with no interest added, it was quite obvious from my day with them that all the girls love what they do.
Hatti is responsible for providing around 80% of the income for Friends handicraft, working with our designer Jessica they have created the New Young @ Heart range early 2009 and we aim to continue this successful partnership. Friends handicraft have now committed to providing employment opportunities from Maiti
The Association For Craft Producers (ACP)  ACP is a truly inspiring organisation, they provide professional services in technology, design, marketing and managerial skill for over 1,200 low income, primarily female,craft producers. ACP are also committed to undertake precautionary measures to prevent industrial pollution for the preservation of Nepal's fragile environment including:-
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. Certain criteria were established from the very start, and the primary objective of the organization is still to provide handicraft-related skills training to poor, unfortunate Nepalese women so that they may become self-supportive.The women being trained at the Women’s Skills Development Project come from a variety of social, economic and ethnic backgrounds. Many of them come from rural villages and are widowed, divorced, disabled or abused; some have been cast out from their homes and villages. All producted are 100% handwoven cotton, chemical dyes and land-dyed with A20-free dyes. The products made for Hatti Trading are natural dyes. WSDP is the member of International Fair Trade Association (IFAT) and Fair Trade Group Nepal (FTGN). Maiti Nepal 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 labor and various forms of exploitation and torture. A group of socially committed professionals like teachers, journalists and social workers together formed Maiti Nepal in 1993 to fight against all the social evils inflicted upon the female populace of Nepal. Most of all, its special focus has always been on preventing trafficking for forced prostitution, rescuing flesh trade victims and rehabilitating them. This social organisation also actively works to find justice for the victimized lot of girls and women by engaging in criminal investigation and waging legal battles against the criminals. It has highlighted the trafficking issue with its strong advocacy from the local to national and international levels. As part of the rehabilitation process Maiti Nepal trains the women in income generation skills, but they have the same problems with security jobs, they are stigmatised and no one wants to know them. So in 2005 we started working with Maiti Nepal to provide valuable experience and input into their income generation scheme. Today they make the beautiful beaded jewellery. |
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