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Getting Crafty: Blending Trendy Design with Social Development in Nepal
By Ramyata Limbu
When Meera Bhattarai landed her first job in 1975 as manager of the skill development section of the Nepal Women's Organization, the first thing she did was get rid of stock accumulated from all over the country by putting it on sale. In the intervening years, she has shattered the old model of "women directed," static, mediocre crafts production for charity.
Photo courtesy Ramyata
Meera Bhattarai stands in front of the ACP's latest cermic ware
Bhattarai prefers a hard-edged management style that embraces competition, rigorous quality standards, catering to the latest trends, and earning healthy profits with high-margins. Now age 50, she is successful balancing business priorities and social obligations as founder and executive director of Nepal's Association of Craft Producers (ACP), making the association a "socially-oriented, commercially viable enterprise."
Bhattarai's study of human behavior and the human mind has helped her become a social entrepreneur and promoter of Nepali crafts. "It has helped me understand people's attitudes," she says
Bhattarai deals with a wide variety of people everyday as founder and executive director of one of Nepal's most professional handicraft associations. She encounters small craft producers who are primarily low-income women, sophisticated international buyers, businessmen wanting to cash in on the handicraft trade, bureaucratic labor officials, and most recently – and bruisingly – dogged trade unionists.
Finding a Way Through the Mist
"I was 20-something when I landed my first job, managing the Nepal Women's Organization's skill development section," Bhattarai recalls. "I felt like a crow lost in the mist. Despite what I told the interviewers, I didn't have a clue about the handicraft business. I was still recovering from the disappointment of not having received a scholarship to pursue higher studies in psychology."
Bhattarai compensated for her lack of know-how with a desire to do something, and a strong sense of altruism that she inherited from her mother. Like her mother, she wanted to do something to help those less privileged than herself.
"My mother would cook, feed, and clothe people who came to our door," she said. "She never turned anyone away."
Bhattarai started her career at the Nepal Women's Organization by selling-off the accumulated inventory of crafts because she noticed, "much of the local handicrafts were purchased by women political leaders who headed the organization. They had plenty of good will towards their less privileged sisters in the villages, but little idea of how to promote and sell products."
Today, as director of the Association of Craft Producers (ACP), Bhattarai welcomes poor women into the organization. She established the ACP in 1984 after leaving the Women's Organization to strike out on her own.
Photo courtesy Ramyata
Women knitting at the ACP
Bhattarai helps ACP members develop craft and management skills, self-confidence and a sense of ownership about their goods. "Some women work inside the house and are not skilled," she noted. "Some have a basic knowledge of indigenous skills that is limited to their own use – for their dowry, for household use like weaving baskets to store grain, or for personal clothing. But they don't know how to do the costing.
"So sometimes they're exploiting themselves, or are being exploited by buyers. We teach them how to do the costing, add a fine finish and various design aspects, and ensure that the color is fast."
Bhattarai then helps the women develop products and ways to market them so they generate sufficient margin for them to earn competitive incomes and receive a wide array of fringe benefits not commonly found in Nepal today. These benefits include an emergency welfare fund, annual bonuses, a retirement plan, an "educational allowance benefit program" that helps female children go to school, and a variety of other services ranging from a ration shop/cafeteria to informal lectures and counseling.
Rather than receiving professional counselling, they get "counselling through friends, colleagues, their support circle, and whoever is close to the producer," Bhattarai explained. "We tell our staff that it's not enough to provide raw materials to the producers – don't even think that you're too busy to listen to them. I think it's helped many."
Reviving an Industry
When she started the ACP, Bhattarai noticed that Indian craftsmen did the block printing in Nepal. "Our own craft was disappearing," she said. "There was no design support, raw materials, or technical support, and crafts were disappearing among the Nepalis.
"We revived block printing and now 25 to 30 organizations specialize in block printing. There has been a multiplier affect. When I see this, I feel contented."
Photo courtesy Ramyata
Women knitting in the sun at the ACP
ACP's design coordinators, supervisors, and group representatives are always looking for new prototypes to ensure that the ACP creates value and stays ahead. "Nepalis are not a very creative people," Bhattarai said. "But we're good at adapting.
"We get new designs via email attachment, and foreign designers come here as volunteers: Americans, Indonesians, the Swiss. So we try to keep ahead. That enables us to stand out in front and make a successful business."
ACP producers must undergo a training in which they first learn to make a simple cushion cover; then a much more complicated mayal posh surwal – the traditional Nepali garment worn by men.
"We see that they can make not just a good finished product, but a marketable product," Bhattarai said. "If I'm promoting copper, I can't just sell big traditional copper pots – [I must also offer] design copper vases to hold ikebana displays, desk sets, etc.
"The training is diverse: knitting, sewing, weaving, textiles. We teach managerial skills."
It may take 15 days to make an item, Bhattarai said. "But in between they cook, clean, and baby-sit, so group producers must keep track of the costing, otherwise it's impossible to sell.
"They must keep their records otherwise they are not entitled or eligible to receive program benefits. Some organization stress training and some stress production. We stress market-oriented training."
Replacing Charity with the Benefits of Competition
Bhattarai hopes her project will demonstrate that emerging industries in Nepal can treat their employees humanely, and that financial and social profit are not incompatible. She's had to face opposition for her unconventional perspective on skills and handicraft development.
Rather than assume people will continue buying static, mediocre products simply to be charitable, Bhattarai believes her women producers will be better positioned in the long-term if they gain the ability to competitively produce quality handicrafts. "This kind of work doesn't grow with salaries," she said. "We need piecework and piece rates.
"Salaries mean permanence, and permanence means relaxation, low productivity and a check in growth," she adds emphatically.
This attitude led to a recent run-in with the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT), which told Bhattarai she must convert her producers to permanent employees or be blacklisted. But she refuses to kowtow.
Photo courtesy Ramyata
The sewing unit at the ACP
"If they were sensible, they would use my experience rather than threaten to boycott me from the international market," she bristles. "If, in addition to fair wages, I have been able to provide a social welfare package to small producers, they should be able to do the same."
Her words pour our fast and furiously, the product of accumulated wisdom, experience, and a business sense developed over 25 years of producing, improving, and promoting local crafts. The petite "madam" (that's how her staff reverentially address her) doesn't have time for politics or trade unions that want to provoke her workers in return for votes.
Beyond helping producers with buying and selling, the ACP helps ensure its members make marketable, quality finished products. It provides members with design, technology, marketing, and raw material support to maintain its status as a competitive, high-margin business.
The ACP has changed the notion that crafts are only for hobbies and part time work. It has proved that low-skill women can be quickly and effectively trained to produce quality crafts, and that women who work irregular hours can be organized into a competent and reliable work force.
"Of course, people still scoff when they hear of a women-headed project, doing what women have been doing for generations – sewing, knitting, weaving," Bhattarai said. "But when they visit us, they're surprised at the activity."
Taking the Lead
Every day except Saturdays, some 150 producers arrive at the ACP headquarters in Kalimati, a 30,000-square-foot, four-story building located just off central Kathmandu's busy main road. Laughing and chattering, they head for their various departments where they settle down in groups to knit, sew, weave, block print or wash felt products.
Samples of "bright," "earthy," and "Christmas" colors are pasted on a display board at the entrance. It serves as a guide to the colors of the season.
The ACP's campus covers more than 27,000-square-foot and generates annual revenues of 40 million rupees (US$535,000). There are 150 workers at the head office who are trained to work in different departments.
The ACP also has developed a network of some 850 small producers located throughout the country. They are mostly women who supply a diverse range of products such as baskets, copperware, textiles, ceramics, knitwear, leather goods, bamboo products and appliqu?.
"One thousand women may appear to be a negligible number – a handful if you look at the vast number of Nepal's female population," Bhattarai said. "It may be meager support, but when other NGOs and industries look at us as leaders, I feel I've achieved something."
Building this network of artisans has not been a simple process. The ACP first studies a candidate product, and then decides whether the producer's economic background fits its criteria. People with other job options aren't accepted.
Once the producer and product are approved, the producer is asked to develop a prototype. If the prototype is delivered on time, the producer gets a small order of two to three dozen,  which is market-tested at Dhukuti, the ACP's trendy Kathmandu outlet.
"Once a few items sell, the producer feels confident," said Indira Thapa, who oversees all production. "Usually we supply the producer with raw materials. Cash is paid at the time of delivery of the product.
"For large groups, a group representative is selected – she's usually a person who others trust with money, passing on instructions and equally distributing raw materials. She works as a liaison."
One Woman's Story
Laxmi Maharjan, 53, is one of the ACP's oldest producers. She was chosen to represent a group of 60 textile weavers from Kirtipur in surburban Kathmandu.
She comes from a family of traditional weavers and started weaving at the age of 12. Maharjan never saw the money she earned because the male members of her family took total control of it.
"When I met Bhattarai madam 18 years ago, I was supplying cloth to some local shops – what little I could do in between raising four children, looking after house, and working the fields," Maharjan recalls. "Madame had come with some samples and asked whether I could prepare a prototype."
The meeting was the beginning of a relationship that has seen Maharjan's income rise sevenfold. Today, she's a full-time weaver, who, in a busy season earns between 3,500-4,000 rupees (US$40-53) per month.
"Sometimes, it could be more, depending on orders," Maharjan said. Her group's textiles are sent to the ACP's clients abroad. And they are showcased at Dhukuti, a favorite store for tourists looking for something "Nepali" and original to take back home, and with expatriates and Nepalis alike who want unusual home furnishings and decorations.
Dhukuti showcases ACP's diverse products, many which receive input from international designers who volunteer their time and expertise. When it opened on the Kupondole shopping strip, Dhukuti was the only store that sold handicrafts from small producers exclusively – mostly women who receive a fair price.
Setting Trends
Today, the Kupondole shopping strip has become the only place to scout for new trends in Nepali handicrafts, purchase gifts, or "do up" your new home. A number of the shops belong to former ACP producers.
"It's testimony to the fact that poor women can knit straight, coordinate colors, and produce trendy designs," Bhattarai said. "We proved that we could make a business of it, otherwise why would other people follow?"
"As long as ACP serves as an example to others and to the country of what carefully-planned, socially-conscious business investment can achieve, I don't mind the competition, as long as it is healthy."
The chance to make money and help other women has attracted educated, young women like Sudha, Laxmi Maharjan's 26-year-old daughter. Seated next to her mother on a colorful homespun rug, Sudha weaves and warps – and keeps accounts for her mother who never had a chance to go to school.
Photo courtesy Ramyata
Laxmi Maharjan and her 26-year-old daughter Sudha
"I think it's a great job," said Sudha, who recently completed a Masters Degree in Sociology. "It helps continue the family's weaving tradition, and the money is good."
But her face wrinkles in concern. "I'm worried about recent market trends, though – and the technical shortcomings that affect the competitiveness of our textiles in the international market," she said.
It's a concern shared by Bhattarai. The inconsistency of Nepal's color and dyeing techniques causes her to worry constantly that her buyers might be disappointed.
"There's a dire need to centralize management regarding dyeing," she said. "Of course, Nepal has banned harmful dyes. But we share an open border with India, which means our producer groups living in border areas may get those colors. If even one European buyer finds that there is [use of these colors], they'll boycott us. Word will spread and our reputation will be in shreds."
Strength in Numbers
The ACP belongs to the Fair Trade Group Nepal (FTGN), an organization of 11 handicraft associations that has been trying to import in color in bulk, although without succeeding thus far. The FTGN is a member of the International Federation of Alternative Trade (IFAT), the international fair trade body. It seeks to provide consumers with good-quality, reasonably priced products that provide an acceptable profit margin for the manufacturers and resellers.
"We realized that working as rivals wasn't beneficial for anyone," Bhattarai said. "By forming the FTGN, we can [come together to] discuss problems that face the handicraft industry; conduct joint training on salemanship, upgrading of skills, and quality management; and can consolidate packaging. We can even share production."
Joining a group has made it more convenient for buyers to work with Nepali handicraft producers. Moreover it has made it easier to address transportation problems and to prevent police harassment.
Photo courtesy Ramyata
Laxmi Maharjan and Sudha at the warping machine
At one time, the police were harassing women producers who brought in their products from outside Kathmandu, primarily to extort money. "Imagine, in a country where physical contact between men and women is frowned upon, these policemen were taking them by the hand and forcing them to alight from the trucks and asking for money," Bhattarai said.
"What better way to demoralize and de-motivate women who are just beginning to feel a sense of empowerment? A FTGN delegation complained to the Home Ministry, which instantly sent a circular to various police stations and the harassment stopped."
Bhattarai said she understands that once FTGN establishes a substantial and concrete comparative standard, it will be easier to press for public policies that impose minimum standards elsewhere, and to lobby for labor laws.
She is unhappy with the government's decision to tax professional NGOs. "The government doesn't have guidelines or measuring mechanisms to evaluate which NGOs are actually working, versus those that are harvesting dollars," she says angrily.
"We've worked so hard during the past 18 years. I told them it was unfair. The tenth Five Year Plan talks about bringing women into the mainstream, creating employment, and giving priority to organizations that create employment – but on the other hand, the new policy undermines all that."
Overcoming Hard Times
Like most Nepali businesses, the ACP is facing hard times. A global economic recession, the September 11 terrorist attack, and Nepal's current Maoist insurgency has hit businesses hard.
"We've been suffering losses for the last two years," Bhattarai said. "When I tell people that, they point out that we're fortunate. Our losses are about four percent. Other businesses have been suffering 60 percent losses. 30,000 garment workers have been laid off and pashmina wool is down by 80 percent. So far, we haven't had to lay off workers."
But even in these trying times, Bhattarai remains unfazed. She continues to do what she does best – keeping in touch with current trends and continuing the ACP's aggressive strategy.
"If the tourists aren't coming, and hotels don't have the money to redo their interiors, you sell them to your friends, your relatives, and try to sell them to government institutions," she says.
Photo courtesy Ramyata
Laxmi Maharjan working (left) with group producers Jugal Krishna Maharjan (center) and Keshari Maharjan (right) at the warping machine
Despite all the difficulties, Bhattarai is happy, optimistic and still ambitious. She does have a wish, however – she would like to establish a discretionary fund of about 6-7 million rupees (US$80 - 90,000) to upgrade production facilities, dyeing techniques and design input, and to participate in trade fairs.
The range of ACP's products is increasing, as can be seen in is the constantly changing, colorful and trendy displays at Dhukuti. "But the market is not," Bhattarai says. "The association needs more sales space locally, and greater market exposure internationally, to meet its sales needs."
She recently returned from a trip to Europe where the International Federation of Alternative Trade lauded ACP's working style, especially its social package.
Embracing Quality and Risk
"The ACP is already a model organization in Nepal," Bhattarai says. "But I want to see it replicated everywhere in future." She is bent on further increasing the economic independence of her producers, improving their skills, and upgrading the quality of their products.
"Rather than concentrating on increasing members, or being faced with unmanageable growth, it's extremely important to upgrade quality," she said. At present, she is focusing on improving the ACP's textile and ceramic products.
"You pay good money for quality production," she said. "That's the only way you can boost sales nationally and internationally.
"Nepalis are generally not of a risk-taking, aggressive nature. That may be a reason why it's taken time for this sector to grow."
But that appears to be changing. Notes ACP producer Laxmi Maharjan, "Private businessmen approach us and ask us to work for them. I tell them, 'Fine, provide me with the same facilities as the ACP, a similar social package, and the same work rates, and I'll work for you.' They don't come back."
That attitude contributes to Bhattarai's conviction that she's on the right track. "Today, our producers are economically independent," she said. "They can produce quality products and they can do their own costing and bargaining. More important, they'd survive even if the ACP were to die."
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