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Sometimes it’s Just Destiny

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Sometimes things are just meant to be. It’s more than coincidence, it’s more like destiny. That’s what happened in Sertung, Nepal in 2015. We were doing earthquake assessment in an area to the west of Langtang on a 12-day trek that few had traveled since before the Maoist revolution 20 years earlier. We trekked directly east of the epicenter of the enormous earthquake of April 25, 2015, wanting  to understand what relief had come to these remote villages.

As usual, our beloved friend and guide Ram Karki, with who we’ve trekked thousands of miles, was our fearless leader along with his son Pradeep. We set off into this area armed with solar lamps and questions of how Conscious Connections Foundation (CCF) could be of help. Midway through our trek our cook collapsed falling backward into a stream and Pradeep thought he had died. Running to the next village of Sertung, I asked in my simple Nepali, for the local medic. That is where the serendipity happened. I was led by two young girls to the home of Yogendra & Pema Tamang, the Certified Medical Assistant of the Village who helped us revive the cook (who we later found out was suffering from alcohol withdrawal!)

With a warm bed and some scolding from Pema, the cook survived, and because we had to lay over longer in Sertung than we had planned we interviewed Yogendra about what their needs were after the earthquake. He said they had received a few tarps, but their village was too remote to be the recipient of 

much aid. We asked him what they needed and he said “good steady income so they could rebuild”. That’s when my Ganesh Himal hat popped on and we began to discuss their handwork skills. Together we began the exploration of potential products they could make and now 6 years later Ganesh Himal has purchased over $56,000 dollars directly from village women who have used it to rebuild and send their children to school. Because of this serendipity, you get to experience Sertungs handwork when you purchase their beautiful recycled sari-wrapped trivets, bowls, coasters, baskets, and trays. All because our cook passed out! Such serendipity.

CCF has also worked directly with Pema & Yogendra over these years to fund menstrual hygiene & emergency first aid training and distribute reusable menstrual kits to over 500 women and girls in the area. Many of you have helped fund that work!  

Developing products in such a remote area is tricky & challenging. Items have to be lightweight to transport the two-day walk (for Nepali’s)  to the nearest road. That’s why we work with recycled saris. But also developing products in such a remote area can present tremendous opportunity to work with ancient skills. That is how we developed these new market baskets you see featured today. 

Nepali’s traditionally carry items in a handwoven basket (doko). Villagers either make their own or purchase them from someone nearby. These doko’s arephenomenally strong & the weaving beautiful,  but they are in danger of being replaced by duffels, large plastic bags, or encroaching roads. Always being one to want to revive ancient skills I recently asked if there was a doko maker in Sertung and if they could think of anything besides bamboo to work with (bamboo is extremely difficult to import from Nepal). Serendipity again as Yogendra’s uncle is a skilled doko maker and agreed to teach the women of Tamang Handicrafts his skill. Yogendra came up with the idea of using strapping tape (about the same width of a bamboo strip and incredibly strong) and voila, these beautiful, long-lasting market baskets were born. The staff of Ganesh Himal Trading each has one and they are a tremendous success!

So here’s to destiny and to long-lasting relationships. The villagers of Sertung have become a part of our family and we continue to look to their skills and determination for inspiration. We feel it was our destiny to work with them and in Nepal in general and we love those relationships. We also love our relationships with you.  Thanks for supporting all of this wonderful work and for being our face to the world.

Namaste,

Denise Attwood
Co-Owner of Ganesh Himal Trading

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