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Denise Attwood with husband, Rick,
and son , Cameron, in Nepal. |
Since 1984, we have been supplying shops and retail customers in North America with high quality, handcrafted clothing, jewelry, textiles, and paper. We import directly from small cottage industries in Nepal, including development projects working to improve the lives of Tibetan refugees and women. We have worked with many of our producer groups for over 20 years.
Our goal has always been to support work that enhances people’s lives and traditions. We work directly with the producers as a team, expanding each others’ talents and ideas. It is rewarding to work with such skilled artisans who enjoy what they do and to know that they realize a fair return for their work.
We are a member of the
Fair Trade Federation, an organization dedicated to promoting respect and fair interaction, at all levels, between producers and consumers. We are also a part of the Green America Business Network with a listing in the
National Green Pages. Denise is a past board member of the
Fair Trade Resource Network working to educate North American’s about the benefits of fair trade. We are also co-founders, with Sita Gurung, of the Baseri Health Clinic in Baseri, Nepal. It has been very rewarding to be involved with the growing interest in the support and promotion of fair trade and with enhancing the lives of our producer partners in Nepal.
Please
see our website for retail locations that carry our products throughout the US and Canada.
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| Fair Trade Weaving in Nepal |
Mission: For those of you who are new to Ganesh Himal Trading we would like to give you a brief introduction to who we are and how we practice fair trade. We have worked with producer groups in Nepal since 1984. By assisting in product development, purchasing and importing these artisans’ products our goal has been to create mutually beneficial, long-term partnerships with low income, refugee and fair trade artisan groups in Nepal. The principles of fair trade are central to our philosophy and the way we do business. In 1998, four key international organizations created a widely accepted definition of Fair Trade:
“a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency, and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions, and securing the rights of disadvantaged producers and workers-especially in the South” (FINE, 1998)
As we look back over the past 25 years we are thrilled to see that the concepts of “fair trade” do work to bring economic, spiritual and cultural health to all of those involved. We have watched with humility as the producers we work with have done well and then reached out to others in need.
We have watched a country go from peace to civil war and seen the strength and resolve of our friends as they deal with even more adversity and again reach out to those who have been so tragically affected by this war. As we look to the future we hope to provide the producers we work with in Nepal with a more just and stable future, through fair trade and to educate more consumers about the need to support this movement for economic justice.
Finally, we hope to help more fair trade retailers in North America gain access to items that are practical and useful in our every day lives so that more fair trade outlets can become available to North American consumers. It is our retail customers who are the visible presence of fair trade. Without you none of this would be possible! Our dream is to work together with you in partnership toward an economically more just world.
Location: Spokane, Washington, USA
Online shop: Ganesh Himal Trading (Wholesale only)
Blog: Fair Trade News Blog
Memberships:
Fair Trade Federation
Green America
Fair Trade Resource Network
Languages spoken: English, some French
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Hand Knit Accessories by Ganesh Himal Trading
Fair Trade in Nepal |
Tags: Fair trade, Nepal, kitchen, potholders, placemats, tablerunners, housewares, clothing, felt
Love of color, the sense of translucent depth and the surprise of the unexpected have fueled my re-entry to dyeing silk. I have spent the last few years working with a variety of printmaking techniques prior to succumbing to the urge to once again make textiles. The images are produced through a variety of resist printmaking and direct painting techniques using dyes and discharges. The richness and variety of silk surfaces, sometimes combined with stitching and fusing, is endlessly fascinating to me.
