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Kirtipur Weaving Group
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_imageframe lightbox=”no” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”none” hover_type=”none” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”none” link=”” linktarget=”_self” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] 
[/fusion_imageframe][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Featured Artisan: Kirtipur Weaving Group[/fusion_title][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_text]
In the village of Kirtipur, Nepal, one brave woman aspired to educate her children and bring her family out of poverty. Her hard work and vision and her partnership with a Fair Trade organization changed her life, the life of her family & the lives of 60 other families in her village.
Laxmi Maharjan is a traditional weaver who never went to school but dreamed of sending her children to school. Raised in a culture that never allowed her to handle or control any of the money made from her craft, she understood that to be able to send her kids to school and pull her family out of poverty she needed to control the money from her work. In 1984 she discovered a Nepalese fair trade organization, The Association for Craft Producers (ACP), which would pay her directly for her work and help her set up a savings account. Now more than 30 years later her daughter and 2 sons have college educations and Laxmi has organized 60 other traditional women weavers in her village to understand fair trade and receive their earnings directly as well! Her work & leadership have transformed their lives and their culture!
ACP taught Laxmi how to calculate the value of her work and how to save. Now after earning fair wages and getting consistent orders, the men in her village value the women’s work and their economic contribution to their community. The women’s management of their income has changed the power dynamic in these women’s lives and allowed their voices to be heard, giving them more decision-making power in their families and in their community.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_6″ last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”3_5″ last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_images picture_size=”auto” hover_type=”zoomin” autoplay=”yes” columns=”1″ column_spacing=”13″ scroll_items=”” show_nav=”yes” mouse_scroll=”no” border=”yes” lightbox=”yes” class=”” id=””][fusion_image link=”” linktarget=”_self” image=”https://dev.ganeshhimaltrading.com/wp-content/uploads/unnamed-1-min.jpg” alt=””/][fusion_image link=”” linktarget=”_self” image=”https://dev.ganeshhimaltrading.com/wp-content/uploads/unnamed-min.png” alt=””/][fusion_image link=”” linktarget=”_self” image=”https://dev.ganeshhimaltrading.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG_5009.jpg” alt=””/][fusion_image link=”” linktarget=”_self” image=”https://dev.ganeshhimaltrading.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG_5045.jpg” alt=””/][fusion_image link=”” linktarget=”_self” image=”https://dev.ganeshhimaltrading.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG_5073.jpg” alt=””/][/fusion_images][fusion_checklist icon=”fa-camera” iconcolor=”#ffffff” circle=”” circlecolor=”#dd9933″ size=”18px” class=”” id=””][fusion_li_item icon=”fa-camera-retro”]GALLERY[/fusion_li_item][fusion_li_item icon=”fa-book”]READ MORE ABOUT CRAFTING THE FABRIC[/fusion_li_item][fusion_li_item icon=”fa-film”]VIDEO[/fusion_li_item][/fusion_checklist][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_5″ last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_text]
The income earned by the women weavers in Laxmi’s village is now so significant that the men work together with the women to help with the weaving production. Laxmi, as director, has become her husband’s boss, which is something that would have been unheard of 30 years ago!
ACP pays wages directly to the women artisans so that they control their money. In partnering with ACP these women also receive the benefits of social programs set up specifically for the producers. They have access to peer counseling, a scholarship fund to help them keep their children in school, access to workshops on topics such as how to vote and how to exercise their rights as women and citizens and much more. This is a long way from the world Laxmi grew up in.
Traditional weaving is a labor intensive process but one which can be done in the home. This is vital to the women of Laxmi’s group. To work in their homes means they can look after their children and the farming. It takes 2 people 16 hours to create 200 meters of warp. The warp once completed is taken to a weaver’s home and placed on a floor loom that has been passed down to the weaver through generations. It will take one hour for a weaver to complete 1 meter of cloth, 200 hours to weave the entire warp. This one warp will make about 500 of Ganesh Himal’s dishtowels or about 200 sets of napkins. These are beautiful and durable products that will last for years. Machine weaving slowly encroaches on these women’s work but Ganesh Himal, ACP and these weavers are determined to keep this home based craft alive.
Women like Laxmi are improving their lives and educating their children, as they have always dreamed of being able to do. They have been given and they have taken the chance to control the money earned from the fabrics they make. They have been educated about the value of their work, learned about business and have been treated fairly.
As more people become aware of the value of fair trade, more women will have the opportunity to change their lives and improve the lives of their children and their communities.
Experience-Savor-Grasp-Integrate and showcase these amazing women’s lives in your home through the purchase of their fairly traded products.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Learn More about ACP[/fusion_title][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_3″ last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_imageframe lightbox=”no” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”none” hover_type=”none” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”none” link=”” linktarget=”_self” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] 
[/fusion_imageframe][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”2_3″ last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_text]The Kirtipur Weaving Group works in partnership with The Association for Craft Producers. ACP is a fair trade organization that provides design, marketing, management, and technical services to low income, predominantly women, Nepalese craft producers. Meera Bhatterai, founded ACP in 1984, with a vision to help women gain social mobility by creating a market where they would not be exploited. Today, women from 15 districts in Nepal have the resources and opportunity to utilize their talent as artisans, become more financially independent, and gain more credibility in their communities.[/fusion_text][fusion_checklist icon=”fa-check” iconcolor=”#ffffff” circle=”” circlecolor=”#dd9933″ size=”18px” class=”” id=””][fusion_li_item icon=”fa-book”]READ MORE[/fusion_li_item][/fusion_checklist][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]A Few of our Handwoven Products[/fusion_title][fusion_text]