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Interview with Denise Attwood,
Co-owner of Ganesh Himal Trading

by Meredith Pietzman
Fair Trade Winds

What inspired you to start Ganesh Himal Trading and work with artisans in Nepal? 

When we arrived in Kathmandu in 1984, Ric and I had no idea that the experience would be a defining moment in our lives. Having just graduated from Huxley college of Environmental  Studies at Western Washington University, Nepal was one of our first stops on an 8 month trip to explore what other countries were doing in regards to the environment. Prior to departing on a month-long trek through the Himalayas, we bought two wool sweaters from a Tibetan refugee family. We were amazed by how well the sweaters performed in harsh conditions and when we raved about them to the family, they replied: “Do you know how we can market them?”

Unprepared for that response we weren’t sure what to do but recognized that putting money directly in people’s hands allowed them to build the lives they wanted. So, with an initial investment of $400, we bought sweaters and socks and shipped them home to Spokane, Washington. Six months later, returning from our trip, and surprised to see the boxes had arrived, we presented a community slideshow and put the Nepali goods out for sale. People loved it! They loved the items and the concept that these families were making them to send their children to school. It became apparent to us that providing a fair wage and access to the U.S. market could offer economic empowerment. This could change lives. We had made the initial contacts and decided to dive in.

Our venture soon turned into a full time business. With the goal of supporting work that enhances people’s lives and traditions, we began establishing partnerships with small cottage industries and development aid projects. When we chose our partners in Nepal we looked for groups that were focused on women, the environment, refugees and other marginalized groups. We wanted people to have a place at the economic table and we saw this possibility through creating solid, caring mutually beneficial relationships through trade. When we started in 1984, there was no “Fair Trade Federation” or “fair trade criteria.” We used our own principles to guide our work: 

• treat people with respect, 
• make sure they get a fair return for their work, 
• provide continuity over time along with safe working conditions, design assistance, and financial support. 

At the heart of Ganesh Himal Trading is long term partnerships that empower each partner. We are committed to respectful and long term partnerships. We believe that building long lasting relationships based on trust, dialogue and mutual respect is key to community building and helps move us all toward a more equitable future.

Our partnerships are grounded in reciprocity. We work diligently to establish mutually beneficial relationships with our producers in Nepal by encouraging a balanced level of give and take. We work directly with producers as a team, expanding each other’s talents and ideas. We believe everyone’s insight and perspective is needed to create systems that address the changing nature of our world.

Striving for economic justice is where our business began. When Ganesh Himal Trading was established, we decided to seek out producer groups that worked with marginalized individuals (e.g. women and Tibetan refugees) so they could gain access to trading relationships for economic mobility. This has led to years of partnering with women producers to co-create a world where women have control over their money, are empowered to make their own decisions, and have a respected voice in all discussions. Overall, we believe that trade is interrelational and that access to trading relationships is key to enhancing people’s lives and traditions. After 36 years we are still firmly committed to this path.

How is Ganesh Himal Trading organized (i.e. Do the artisans work from home or go to a workshop, etc.)? 

We work in partnership with 18 producer groups that employ hundreds of artisans from Kathmandu to the most remote rural areas in the country. Each group is organized based on how it works best for them. For example, many of the knitters work from home allowing them to tend to their families, knitting allows women to work for their own income in between caring for children and completing housework. But it does so much more.

For Ganesh Himal knits, women gather together in village or neighborhood teams, select a leader who can travel to get supplies, learn a new skill which gives them confidence, make money they can manage, discuss problems in their lives and community, all while staying at home. Their income earnings and greater confidence result in greater voice in their homes and communities resulting, over time in an increase in status and community leadership. This income gives them a greater voice and ultimately leads to more choice for them, their families and their children. Ganesh Himal also has created “social development funds” for each knitting group where an extra payment is made into a special fund that the women can manage together as a group. Some of these funds have been collectively used to pay for children’s school fees, funeral expenses and given as small loans to members to help pay for emergency services.

Most of Ganesh Himal Trading’s woven products come from The Association for Craft Producers (ACP).  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 pay women directly, teach them how to price their work so as not to be exploited in the market & ultimately to give women a greater voice. Today, because of ACP, nearly 1000 women from 15 districts in Nepal have the opportunity to become more financially independent, and have gained more credibility in their communities through the production of their crafts. Each of these groups is set up according to what works best for their producers in their villages. 

For example, The Lagankhal Weaving Group joined the Association of Craft Producers (ACP) in 1985 with the hope of earning money for their families and children.  Starting with four women who had no weaving skills, ACP trained the group in simple flat weaving. After receiving their training the group chose to create their own communal workshop near their homes in Kathmandu so that they could work in their spare time and be near their children when they needed them.  Since 1985 the group has expanded to thirteen women weavers, of which a majority are the main breadwinners in their families. Ganesh Himal Trading has worked with the Lagankhal Weaving Group since they joined ACP in 1985. We help them to design products and order from them every two months on a year round basis so that these women are constantly receiving orders and income. They make many of Ganesh Himal’s most popular and beautiful table runners, placemats and rugs.

The Lagankhal group chose to work in a rented space so that they could be close to their children and families.  After 25+ years their workspace had become run down yet their landlord was not interested in remodeling.  Ganesh Himal Trading knew how important the community workspace was to these women so in 2011 we agreed to raise $5000 to remodel it.  In partnership with our wholesale customers Ganesh Himal agreed to donate $2500 if our customers raised the other ½.  By January of 2012 the money was raised and with ACP’s leadership the workshop restoration was finished by October of 2012!  This was a wonderful collaborative process between Ganesh Himal Trading, our customers, ACP and the weavers.  Now they have a beautiful, well-lit workspace and it even survived the 2015 earthquakes!

Each group has their own story about where they want to work and why. It is their decision what works best for them and Ganesh Himal Trading works alongside them to help them make their work spaces safe and comfortable for them within their cultural settings. Now our partner non-profit Conscious Connections Foundation (CCF) has also worked with artisans to help provide safe, earthquake resilient work spaces. In 2015 after the devastating earthquakes in Nepal CCF along with Ganesh Himal and many of our retail partners in North America, helped weavers who had lost their looms and homes in Kirtipur, Nepal, build a community weaving workshop that now not only provides a safe earthquake resistant workplace but also provides a community safe space in the event that another earthquake occurs.

There are so many other stories to share but I hope this gives a sense of how we work with artisans.

We know that every business has had to pivot during the pandemic. How has COVID impacted the way the artisans work (and/or how you work with them)? 

Ganesh Himal Trading has had one continuous goal during Covid and that is to keep artisans working and getting paid in a safe environment. We are lucky in that many work in their homes which allowed them little exposure while they continued to work. For those who come into facilities to work it was harder since Nepal was in a complete lockdown for many months. Facilities for ACP had to be paid for and artisans and operating expenses needed to be paid. Since there were no PPP loans in Nepal, Ganesh Himal worked with our non-profit to raise funds for operational expenses in Nepal and was able to send $40,000 to ACP to help them survive during the lockdown. You can read my detailed blogpost on this relief here .

Usually GHT has shipments that leave every two months from Nepal and each artisan group has orders that are in those shipments. This allows them to continually receive income and ship orders. Covid changed that because we could not get flights for our goods out of Nepal for what would normally be our May 2020 shipment. Luckily that was the only shipment that had to be postponed and we stayed in close contact with all groups to make sure that if they needed funds to survive we would be there to help them out. Luckily they had each received large payments right before the lockdown in April and so all were able to survive. ACP was the group that had the largest operational expenses to maintain so that is where we focused most of our relief efforts for the artisans.

One thing I was very proud of with the groups that we work with is that because of our long term relationships with them they had resiliency. Now we are coming back to more of a “normal” shipping schedule and orders are coming and going more regularly. 

What is your personal favorite product and why? 

That is a tough question! I have so many. If I had to chose one item it would probably be our recycled sari placemats. I use them every day and they incorporate so much of what Ganesh Himal stands for. They are made by an amazing group of women who control their own money, they use recycled materials, I designed them, they are long-lasting (I think I have had one of my sets for 12 years) and they are beautiful. I love all of our products because they are not only beautiful but they are long lasting, affordable, many use recycled materials and all help marginalized makers create the world we all want to live in, one that is good for our families, our communities and our planet.

When women work, the impact of the investment is greatly multiplied. What benefits or positive changes have you seen in the communities where the artisans work and live? 

There are many powerful stories to tell here but my favorite is the story of Laxmi Maharjan and the weavers of Kirtipur. Ganesh Himal has worked with them through the Association for Craft Producers since 1986. 

Laxmi 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, 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 34 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.

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 34 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, menstrual hygiene 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. Laxmi is retired now but her daughter, Sudha, with a masters in social work and trained as a traditional weaver herself, has taken leadership of the group. 

We love your commitment to empowering others. What advice would you give to women and girls who are interested in getting involved in causes they are passionate about? 

My advice is to look at the story of Laxmi above and understand that these women who have been marginalized are incredibly powerful and when given the opportunity can achieve great things. You have to be patient and allow them to work their magic according to their own culture and traditions. You have to stand beside them as an equal, not as a superior and you have to understand that real, lasting change takes time. You have to really understand that it is not your say, but theirs, that matters for their future. As Westerners we want to fix things and do it quickly but in reality as a person who is interested in empowering others you have to realize that it is about facilitating the change they understand needs to occur. I see our role as helping people cultivate the ground and plant the seeds that will sprout in their climate and conditions and which will ultimately make us good friends and partners for a very long time. 

What woman artisan or woman in your life has had the biggest impact on you personally? 

Again, there are so many! I would say Laxmi has had a huge impact but someone else I have not yet mentioned is my dear friend Pema-la Lama. Pema-la fled Tibet at the age of 12 with little schooling and no money. A refugee in Nepal, she taught herself to read and write in Nepali and learned how to knit and sew, all the while caring for 6 younger siblings and tending to a father dying of cancer. In 1984 she lived with her husband Namgyal , also a Tibetan refugee, who fled when he was one, and their baby daughter, Chimi in a small room in Kathmandu with no water, bathroom or kitchen. They supported themselves with sales from a small shop where they sold bags and knitwear that they made.

As we came to know Pema-la and Namgyal we quickly learned that as Tibetan refugees they had little help from the Nepalese government and that to survive they needed to make their own way. They wanted to partner with us to create a business that would support them, their young family and their dreams. They recognized the need to educate their children and give them skills. They wanted their educated children to become ambassadors to the world and expose the brutal takeover of their country by the Chinese. As Tibetan Buddhists they wanted to pursue their path with compassion and respect for others. Ric and I wondered, as we heard their stories, how we could work together to help make their dreams reality. They were one of the inspirations for us beginning our own venture into Fair Trade and creating Ganesh Himal Trading.

Since 1984 we have worked together with Pema-la and Namgyal as families, friends and business associates to develop businesses that work to benefit all involved. Pema-la has worked harder than almost anyone we know to create this reality. From their humble beginnings, she and her husband have built a strong fair trade business that has helped send their three daughters to good schools and improve the lives of many others. They have set an example of how a successful business can be run with compassion at its core.

In February of 2007, more than 20 years after our first meeting, Pema-la and I sat and reflected on what they have done. Here is more of their story.

As their business grew Pema-la needed to bring other tailors and knitters in to help. She worked side by side with people who had been dispossessed to help create meaningful and profitable work for them. Men like Durba Pariyar who was no longer able to support his family through his small sewing shop. Pema-la asked him to become her master tailor and taught him cutting and patterning. When he wanted to provide work to young men in his village she brought those young men to Kathmandu and taught them to sew. When they had all worked together as a good team she set up a profit sharing plan for all of them so that as the business grew they would all benefit. This profit sharing plan gave them all a voice in the decision making process and a percentage of the profits. It was the first example of its kind in the Kathmandu Valley. When the Maoists came into Kathmandu during the early 2000’s demanding that workshops be closed because owners were not present, Pema-la’s group told them they couldn’t close their workshop because they were all owners. Their workshop was one of the few that was allowed to remain open.

Pema-la and Namgyal did not stop there. As the Nepalese countryside was ripped apart with civil war they reached out to village women who had been widowed in the conflict.   As women fled to the cities to escape the fighting, some were given shelter by a friend of Pema-la’s in Nepalgunj. There they had shelter and food but no work. Pema-la heard of their plight and brought 10 of these women to Kathmandu and put them up in a hotel and gave them a month-long intensive training course in knitting. These women then returned to the shelter and taught others to knit. They are now making many of the knit socks, hats and other knit accessories which Pema-la provides to us at Ganesh Himal Trading.

Early in our business together Namgyal-la taught himself the intricacies of cargo freight forwarding so that we could all avoid the graft and corruption of existing shipping agencies. Over the 30+ years we’ve worked together this cargo company has become one of the best and most respected freight companies in Nepal. He was so well respected for his work and dedication that he was elected as the head of Nepal’s Freight Forwarding Association and as such brought forward the need to treat all workers within the cargo arena with care and respect. As head of the Freight forwarders association he even locked high government officials out of their offices when these officials denied the cargo porters needed work just because the officials wanted the day off. His work with government officials to promote trade and graft free shipping won him the “Civil Voice for Peace and Development “ Award in 2006. He was thrilled to have been handed this by the Prime Minister himself.

Pema-la and Namgyal’s three daughters are grown now. They all finished college in the US and their daughters have been the pride of their lives. Tragically, Pema-la’s husband and our dear friend Namgyal died suddenly of an aggressive liver cancer in 2007 leaving us all with a great sense of loss. It would be to his great pride to know that his middle daughter, Kesang, an accomplished and well educated young woman returned to Nepal to take over her father’s role in running the freight cargo business he had built from scratch. Kesang and her elder sister Chimme also created their own fair trade business, Padhma Creations, working with the abused and trafficked women their mother had trained to knit in Nepalgunj. Namgyal and Pemala had taken Kesang to the shelter in Nepalgunj when she was younger and it had a profound impact on her. “I remember being shocked at the sight of a 13-year-old village girl being rescued from trafficking by the police,” Kesang once said. “The story was that a distant relative of hers had intentions of selling her to a brothel in Mumbai. This incident created a lasting and profound impression on my life.”

Kesang and Chimme are now the second generation of a family committed to fair trade practices. They are both strong believers in helping others and Ganesh Himal has partnered with them since the inception of their business to bring their products into the North American market. It is remarkable to partner with these young, strong and compassionate young Tibetan women.

Ganesh Himal now works closely with Kesang and her company Padhma Creations. Our goal together is to provide Nepali women who have been trafficked or abused, economic development skills so that they can gain economic self-sufficiency. Understanding that it takes more than just a fair wage to bring women out of severe crisis together we have sought to provide women with health, education and social welfare programs. Since 2012 Ganesh Himal has contributed $1.00 for every item purchased from Padhma Creations to a Worker Development Fund. This money is set aside to provide a social benefit package that will give the infrastructural support lacking to women in Nepal and to compliment the already existing fair wage. The women have used a portion of this fund to provide scholarships for education, medical expenses, funeral costs, family emergencies and retirement. Originally, the educational scholarships were prioritized for the women most in need, but as the fund grew the number of recipients grew and now, all of the children of Padhma knitters are on scholarship (49 children as of 2015).  Microloans are also available and each month a knitter can borrow up to $200 at 1% interest. From 2013 to 2016 Ganesh contributed -$21,532 to Padhma’s social welfare fund and is proud to have given them the financial stability in the fund to create lasting change in the lives of these knitters and their families.

Pema-la continues to work with her group of knitters and manages 15 tailors in Kathmandu. Each employee is paid on a per piece basis and she pays 50% higher than regular tailor’s wages.  Free lodging and electricity is available for the producers near the workshop if needed.  They receive a one hour break for lunch, afternoon tea with snack are provided daily, and they can work for paid overtime if they choose.  They are given a one month extra salary for a holiday bonus and are paid medical leave. Many of the tailors have worked with Pema-la for over 15 years.

As Pemala nears her own retirement she has realized that she needs to begin to think of the retirement of those, particularly the women, she has worked with for so long. I got an email from Pemala stating “I am writing to ask you a request on behalf of my knitters.  Many of the knitters have been working with Ganesh Himal for the past 25+ years, they are my extended family. Last month, one of our old knitters was having a personal family issue where her husband was cheating on her and I felt very bad and tried to console her. It is a very complex family matter but I would like to help her with a retirement savings fund. As I am nearing retirement, I have been thinking of setting up a small retirement fund for all my knitters who have worked with me for many years.

This is a small request on behalf of my knitters. If it is possible, for each item they knit could you add 70 cents so I can set up this fund just like Kesang has set up the education, festival and emergency fund for her knitters. All this money will go directly towards helping the women and by helping the women, we realize that we are supporting her entire family.”

You can tell the type of woman that Pema-la is from this email. She has always done her work from a perspective of offering help to others, especially those less fortunate. We at Ganesh Himal have been thrilled to help develop this retirement program alongside Pema-la. It is reflective of the strong and trusting relationship that we have that she can send a request such as this to her trading partner. Throughout 34+ years of relationship, we have created a close bond between our two companies and are able to have honest and direct communications about our needs. This is the value of fair trade and the long term relationships it requires.

I can tell you so much more around the work that Pemala, Kesang and Ganesh Himal Trading were able to do around earthquake relief for the artisans but that would require more time than I know that you have!

So, in reflecting over these years together and our shared path of fair trade it’s amazing to see the work that has been done and the lives that have been affected just in this one family. Pema-la and Namgyal’s dreams of compassionate work, educating their daughters and creating sustainable, lasting partnerships that benefit those with the least advantage have all been realized and continue to grow stronger and provide more benefit despite a 10 year civil war. Tibet is not yet free but Pema-la and her children continue to remain proud of their heritage and promote its enhancement, in their adopted home and throughout the world. These amazing people have helped to create big change in the lives of many less advantaged people, including their own. It has been a great gift for us at Ganesh Himal Trading to work with them these many years. 

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