About the Producer

Member of the World Fair Trade Organization

• Located in Nepal
• Provides financial and technical assistance to around 1,200 artisans, primarily women
• More severely disadvantaged artisans receive health and education assistance
• Funds an ashram for destitute women and children

Visit the Mahaguthi website

Mahaguthi Craft with a Conscience is a non-profit organisation supporting the development of micro-enterprises and helping marginalised and disadvantaged producers to improve their quality of life in Nepal.

In 1927 a follower of Mahatma Gandhi had a dream of starting an ashram, or spiritual community, where women "refugees" (widowed or deserted by their husbands) could come with their children and find a safe haven. The ashram he founded in Kathmandu, based on Gandhian principles, continues to provide shelter, food, clothing, medical care, education, and vocational training for destitute women and their children. In 1984 Mahaguthi Craft with a Conscience was set up to provide marketing assistance for the women of the ashram and other handcraft artisans in Nepal. Today, 40% of the proceeds from Mahaguthi Crafts with a Conscience help support the 50 women and their children who live at the ashram.

Mahaguthi Craft with a Conscience works with around 150 producer groups with a total of 1,200 artisans. They aim to create a self-help network among these producers, while seeking to preserve their traditions and to improve education and health care in their communities. All producers receive financial and technical assistance, and particularly disadvantaged artisans receive health and education services. Most producers work at home. Special attention is given to women in difficulties, who are offered housing and free primary education for their children.

Thanks to fair trade Mahaguthi is able to offer a fair remuneration to all producer partners. As a result the producers are becoming progressively more independent and are gradually expanding their economic activities.

The Allo Cloth Production Club

The Himalayan giant nettle, or allo, is from the same family as the stinging nettle, and occurs naturally at altitudes between 1,200 and 3,000 metres. Allo produces fibres which are amongst the longest found in plants, and which when treated are highly lustrous and smooth, and can be made into cloth ranging from the finest texture to coarse sailcloth. It has been said that up to the nineteenth century, half of the farmers of Bhutan dressed in nettle cloth.

People in the remote hilly areas of Sankhuwasabha district, (18 hours by bus and four days on foot from Kathmandu), have made allo products for generations. Allo ropes, mats, bags, fishing nets and clothing are still used for household needs, and sold or exchanged in the local haat bazaar.

The possibility of producing allo products on a commercial scale was first promoted in 1984, as an alternative income-earning opportunity for the people of this region. Allo was one of the natural resources of which the region had more than was presently being used. Several women saw the opportunity to extend their traditional skills to their own and the environment’s advantage, and formed the Allo Cloth Production Club.

Today they produce many products, from home furnishings to clothing, and stationery to accessories, and with the assistance of Mahaguthi Crafts with a Conscience, are finding a niche export market amongst many people who appreciate allo for its natural look and texture.