On site with our producers in Nepal

In: TGIFW On: Dienstag, Mai 7 2019

We spent April 2019 in Nepal. This was the first time we went on a long journey with our baby. In Nepal we visited our family and spent a lot of time with our producers.

We spent April 2019 in Nepal. Together with the baby we went on the long journey for the first time. In Nepal we visited our family and of course spent a lot of time on site with our producers. We developed new designs, discussed with our producers about different fabrics and their origin and came back home with many new ideas in our luggage.

	Natural Fibre At Natural Fibre in Kathmandu we produce our clothes from hemp, organic cotton and bamboo. We have been working with Ram Sharan (far right in the picture) since the start of TGIFW. When we meet, we always first discuss current world affairs and the political and economic situation in Nepal. After a cup of tea we then move on to our business topics. Together with him we chose new colours for the so popular bamboo fabric and we took some new fabric samples to discuss with our designers in Switzerland.
	Lehna Lehna is a producer specialising in the high-quality processing of wool and cashmere. Together with the boss Tsering we selected new colours for the autumn/winter. We are very much looking forward to the new scarves. For all Lehna products, we know 100% where wool and cashmere come from and we know that the animals are well kept and worked without mulesing (removing the skin around the tail without eliminating pain).
	Women’s Foundation It all started with the Women's Foundation in Nepal and thanks to the wonderful work of the women's organisation, hundreds of women in Nepal are supported and promoted. The women traditionally weave our scarves by hand. On site we learned a lot about the current social projects of the organisation and together we finalised our latest collection. "The legally prescribed minimum wage is 13400 NPR (about CHF 122). With us, business managers and production managers earn 30 000 - 40 000 NPR (CHF 275 - CHF 366). And a woman who starts work fresh in production receives 15 000 NPR (CHF 138). Working hours: seven hours a day."
	Blessed Hope Nepal We have only been working with Blessed Hope Nepal for a few months now and are delighted with the great work the team is doing on site. It was great to visit the organisation personally for the first time and to meet the women who hand crochet our ornaments. We created a jewellery collection matching three scarf designs and are excited to present it to you in autumn. "Most of the women here earn their own money for the first time. They get their wages once a month. They are paid per piece. They decide for themselves how much they want to work and all work from home. On Thursdays they all meet here in the office. There's a lot of talking and, of course, eating."
	Himalayan Chengra With Pandey from Himalayan Chengra we also work with cashmere and we recently designed a new linen/cashmere foulard collection with print. In Nepal we worked on the colours until we were all convinced of the result. And we were amazed at the traditional techniques used to sew fabrics in the factory. Tashi talked to the employees and learned how much they enjoy working at Pandey.
	Milha Custom Rugs Of course a visit to our carpet production was not to be missed. It was exciting to see how fast the weavers work on the carpets - loud music in the background spread a good mood. We discussed some of our designs and new weaving techniques with the chief designer on site. Now we are having a carpet made of wool and banana silk to show the effect of this mixture to our customers in Switzerland.