About us

Sherpa crafts & Collection is a fair trade micro-enterprise working in the private sector to develop and promote the fine craft traditions of Nepal. Driven by values and principles of fair trade, Sherpa Crafts & Collection is committed to a shared partnership with low income artisans, cooperatives and producer groups to improve their livelihoods by increasing their access to markets and resources.

Sherpa Crafts provides an integrated range of services that delivers high quality information, strategic contacts, market access and skill-development in craft and business management. We work as a marketing platform to the individual artisans and producer groups scattered across the country.

Our goods are handmade and we aim through fair trade to provide much needed employment to women and people from deprived community - particularly in rural areas. We also aim to keep traditional craft skills alive.

We trade with individual artisans and co-operatives and by working together to introduce new products, hope for long term working relationships and continuous employment for the craftsmen. All workers enjoy excellent working conditions and are remunerated fair wages. No child labor is permitted and our goods and production techniques are environmentally friendly.

Buying our handicraft items supports our beneficiaries, many of whom support their own immediate family in addition to extended families of grandparents, sisters, brothers and their children. The profit made from the sale of the products is shared within the administrative costs, trainings and welfare projects of the artisans.
Our plans for the future include promoting collective business of the project; locally and at international levels, and becoming a member of the fair trade network, whose philosophy Sherpacraft has already embraced. 

Our team

Informations

Challenges

1. To identify artisans displaced across the nation, particularly those who are skilled and in dire need, and bring them together in standard workshops
2. To incorporate their leisure time into the production schedule of the workshop
3. To maintain uniformity in the products made by various artisans
4.   To meet the volume of products in a timely basis
5. To manage the diverse range of resources, locations, and markets
6. To adapt to the changing technological developments in order to compete with mass production of the factories
7. To ensure timely delivery of wages and raw materials to the needy artisans while ensuring the satisfaction of customers
8. To promote the products and gain access in the global market while competing with large specialized corporations

Bio Data of the Founder

Rabindra Maharjan, from Patan (Lalitpur), grew up in a farmer’s family in the Newar community and was exposed to the traditional arts and crafts of the indigenous nationalities of Nepal from his early childhood. He went on to study at the Budhanilkantha School, an elite academic institution, thanks to a scholarship program that was awarded to talented students. Since then, he has traveled extensively around Nepal’s remote regions. He has worked in the social sector for many years including in the National Scholarship Program (NSP) and was active in the formation of a conglomeration of human rights NGOs called Collective Campaign for Peace (COCAP). He has extended his interest of social service in his brainchild Sherpa Crafts and Collection Pvt. Ltd.

Conclusion

Even in the short time since its inception, Sherpa Crafts and Collection has already had an impact in the lives of many women and people in the underprivileged community. One such example is the story of Chandra Kumari Maharjan (26), whose story is also told in our webpage.

 Sherpa Crafts and Collection hopes to make a deeper impact in Nepal as we expand our horizons. Our vision of prioritizing marketing and access to a global marketplace is unique in Nepal. Our program called the “Manka Jyasa” (community workshop in the Newari language) will act as a platform for social development for the underprivileged people and communities of Nepal. We believe that our work will actively empower and make a difference in the lives of many Nepalese.