The Kathmandu Project
The Dhami family comes from the village of Bajhang in north-west Nepal. They sold large parts of their land and moved together to the capital Kathmandu to set up their own company for processing hemp and alloy fibres. "The beginning was really tough," Prem Bahadur remembers today. He, his wife and the almost 50 employees, some of whom were born with a disability, still had to spin the yarn themselves by hand. He now sources the finished yarn from the village of Sindhupalchowk, which is around 3.5 hours' drive from Kathmandu, close to the Tibetan border.
"The beginning was tough as we were new to this business. But we gradually improved and now I am in a position to run a sustainable company."
Prem Bahadur Dhami
Bags and rucksacks from "The Kathmandu Project"
Sangram Rokaya, his wife Sauni and daughter Sushma Rokaya used to make garments from hemp in their village of Bajura, a neighbouring village of Bajhang. Due to a lack of work, they also moved to the capital, where they first started out as simple seamstresses in Prem Bahadur's company and later founded "The Kathmandu Project" together as business partners. Their eldest daughter Radhika, son-in-law Bishya and their three grandchildren joined them some time later and now also work in the company. Good quality pays off and the company is now doing well enough for the Rokaya family to employ their own craftswomen. They continue to invest the money they earn from producing various textiles from hemp in their company and thus in the future of their grandchildren.
"By working in the factory, we can send our children to school. This gives them the chance to lead a better life in the future."
Bishya Rokaya
