There are approximately 28 million people living in Nepal. Half of the population live below the poverty line, earning less that $1.25 per day. Employment rates hover around 50%. Only half of its citizens can read: only 35% of the literate are women. Most of Nepal lives in the country or mountain regions. They are historically a “village” society, heavily dependent on agriculture, which provides sustenance and perhaps a small income to their families. Most Nepalis live in remote and hard-to-reach regions, where it can take two or three days on foot via mountain paths just to reach public transport. There is very little developed infrastructure outside of Nepal’s few big cities. READ MORE
Understanding why women are in desperate need for opportunity in the developing world is the first step. It is precisely what motivated us to start this business and seek out a partnership with a group of artisans in Nepal. We were not looking to make cheap products with factory labor, nor re-invent the wheel, instead, we sought to find a group who understood the plight of its own citizens, were actively striding towards lifting women out of poverty and saw creativity as a viable vehicle for change. We didn’t know if we would find such a group, but with some research tucked in to our back pockets and heads full of blue sky, off we went to find one such group... READ MORE
Wandering through the markets in Kathmandu, you can’t help but notice there’s something going on with felt in Nepal. Shoes, hats, bags, toys, you name it. Why? Well, come to find out: “Felt is the oldest man-made textile known, predating knit and woven cloth; in fact, archaeologists have found fragments of felt in Asia dating back to the Bronze Age. It is made by wetting layers of wool with soap and water and agitating the fibers so that they form a dense fabric. This can then be stretched into all sorts of items, including shoes, socks, bags, coats, and even shelters. Today, the art of felting is mainly found in the “Felt Belt”... READ MORE
photography: Becky Morley
model: Abba Binns, represented by Maggie Inc.
hair + makeup: Rachael Berkowitz-Conroy