ACP · Ganesh Himal Trading

Who is ACP?

The Association for Craft Producers (ACP) is a fair trade organization that provides design, marketing, management, and technical services to low income, predominantly women, Nepalese craft producers. Meera Bhatterai, founded ACP in 1984, with a vision to pay women directly, teach them how to price their work so as not to be exploited in the market & ultimately to give women a greater voice. Today, because of ACP, nearly 1000 women from 15 districts in Nepal have the opportunity to become more financially independent, and have gained more credibility in their communities through the production of their crafts.

ACP’s Weaving Groups

Discover and support our fair-trade artisan groups preserving traditional Nepali handloom weaving.

Lagankhal Weaving Group

A women-led cooperative crafting durable handwoven textiles and traditional goods.

Kirtipur Weaving Group

ACP’s pioneering women’s collective, creating heritage fabrics on traditional handlooms.

Ishwar Maharjan’s Group

Led by a master 3rd-generation weaver, specializing in intricate jacquard scarves and blankets.

ACP Artisan Stories

“Our producers are the heartbeat of our organization. Their tales have a common theme – by becoming more financially independent, their self esteem and social standing has exponentially risen. They command a greater sense of respect within their male-dominated villages and, most importantly, they get it. With more than 1200 artisans in 15 districts of Nepal, here are just a handful of our success stories.”

-Meera Bhatterai

Meera Bhatterai, Director

Meera Bhatterai had a vision in 1984 and set out to create a Fair Trade organization that would provide design, market, management and technical services to low income women craft producers. Meera wanted to help women generate income, raise their standard of living and raise their self esteem. She wanted to give them a voice and a place in the market where they would not be exploited. The Association for Craft producers started with 38 producers and 5 staff in a rented 4000 square foot building. Today ACP is fully self-sufficient working with 1200 artisans from 15 districts of Nepal and 60 staff in a 43,000 square ft building. ACP now exports to more than 18 countries and has created a strong domestic market. Ganesh Himal Trading has worked with ACP since 1986 and from first hand experience knows that they are a success story in Fair Trade.

Chiri Nani Shrestha, Felter

Hailing from the farmer’s community of Kirtipur, Chiri was raised under difficult conditions. Her family’s land was repossessed by the government, followed by the death of her father and estrangement of her eldest brother. Being denied an education as a child because she is female, Chiri, uneducated and without skill, was left financially responsible for herself, her mother, her younger, alcoholic brother and his wife and two children. Chiri sought security in a husband, but was rejected by her arranged groom because of her illiteracy. The humiliation of the shun scarred her so deeply, she refused any subsequent marriage proposals out of fear of being mortified again. Poor and alone, she felt a glimmer of hope when she heard of ACP from a friend in the village. At the age of 25, Chiri joined ACP making thread as a spinner, then later was transferred into the weaving unit and finally found her niche in felting. Now, 43, her compensation has increased tenfold since her beginnings. She is still the sole breadwinner for her ailing mother and younger brother’s family. While her financial standing has greatly improved, she continues to battle the grips of poverty. Sadly, her niece’s education has been halted as she could not afford the fees. Chiri fears for her niece, that without an education, she will be dealt the same humiliation and hardships she had. Chiri shares that through working for ACP, she has gained self-respect and is proud of her responsibility to her family – a duty that is expected from the eldest son. Now when asked, Chiri has no regrets about remaining unmarried. In fact, she enjoys her independence.

Indira Tamang, Weaver

Indira has a similar story to that of many ACP producers. As a small girl, she was denied an education (unlike her brothers) and was instead forced to assist with household chores. At the age of 17, she moved from her home in Tehrathum in Eastern Nepal to Kathmandu to work as a carpet weaver.

Within a year in the city, Indira was married to a Thanka painter, but his work was irregular and proved no return. Their earnings together were barely enough for rent. On the brink of destitution, her husband took out a loan and moved to Malaysia in search of better work. His efforts were unfruitful and anything he earned was used to pay back his loan.

Indira was left penniless and uncertain, with her daughter and two other family members financially dependent on her. Through a fellow weaver, she learned of ACP and soon joined our textile team. Weaving fabrics is much different than weaving carpets, but Indira quickly adapted to the differences and excelled at the craft. She began to earn significant compensation and has taken advantage of our producer benefits. ACP’s “Girl Child Education” program has supported her daughter’s schooling, and the “Saving Program” has helped her during times when her finances were strained. Recently her husband has returned from Malaysia with no intention of going back. He is looking for work in Nepal while Indira continues to receive assistance from ACP’s earning and welfare programs. She is getting closer to realizing her dream of giving her daughter a complete education and owning a home in Kathmandu.

Nara Maya, Ceramics

At 18, Nara Maya married into a poor family in Eastern Nepal. Unable to cope with the hardship and poverty of her small village, Nara Maya and her husband ventured to Kathmandu in search of a better life. In the city where respectable work for an illiterate woman is nearly nonexistent, she discovered ACP. She joined as a knitter, while her husband found work as a porter. Due to a health problem, Nara Maya was transferred to the painting unit, and then to the ceramics unit. At first, her task was to stamp designs on the pottery, but she developed a fascination with the potters wheel. ACP recognized her potential and so she was chosen for formal training in wheel operation. Today, Nara Maya is self-sufficient, confident, and multi-skilled. All of her children are in school, they receive three square meals a day, and she currently out-earns her husband.

Ram Devi Mali, Ceramics

As a young woman, Ram Devi had a strong desire to work to improve her family’s economic condition. Her father, struggling with a gambling addiction, mortgaged the family home and took out a loan to start a poultry farm. Unfortunately, whatever income generated from the farm he wagered away, resulting in shame and debt.

Even with their hardships, Ram Devi’s family banished the concept of her finding a job, calling it “improper” for a woman to work outside of the home. Her financial straps tightened with the addition of her children, adding to her loans and debts.

Dismissing her family’s conservative restrictions, Ram Devi joined ACP in 1992. Initially, she made Christmas ornaments and stamped designs on pottery. After one year, ACP offered artisans training on the ceramic wheel. Ram Devi was selected and after the six month training period she mastered the skill – which, in Nepalese society, is deemed a “man’s work.”

Breaking social stereotypes was not on Ram Devi’s agenda when joining ACP, but since her beginnings, she has been financially independent and commands respect within her home and community. With the income she’s earned, she purchased her own potters wheel and started working from home in the morning and evenings to supplement her income. The death of her husband left her the sole financial bearer of her children and father-in-law, which she attends to with her earnings from ACP. Memories haunt her of her former life in poverty — not being able to visit her sick mother because she didn’t have the bus fair, sending her children to sleep hungry — but today, she is working hard to pay off her mortgage and climb out of debt. She is hopeful for her future and the future of her children.

Vishnu Maya, Weaver

Vishnu Maya never had the opportunity to get an education herself, but she works hard at her job with ACP (Association for Craft Producers) so she can send her three daughters to school. ACP has a girl child education fund to help women like VIshnu keep her girl children in school and all of her 3 daughters have benefitted from this program. Her eldest daughter Heema was the first ever recipient of Conscious Connections Foundation’s Joy Attwood College Scholarship in 2015.

Vishnu has been working with ACP for 18 years and is now a weaving group leader. She specializes in the heavy weaving found in Ganesh Himal’s placements and table runners. Her husband is also a weaver for ACP, and together they work to create the opportunities for their daughters that they never had. They want their children to have plenty of time to study, in addition to passing down their family’s tradition of weaving.