About Us
Our Story
Local Women’s Handicrafts was founded with a big goal: To lift artisans up who have been exploited in fashion industry; to provide them dignified jobs that give them opportunity, skills, and a sense of independence; Nasreen Sheikh founded LWH as a small shop in Kathmandu when she was still a teenager. As a survivor of Modern Slavery, she opened LWH to take control of her own destiny and give herself the kind of hope she’d previously never thought possible. Nasreen soon began supporting artisans who made handcrafted textiles they could sell at her shop and receive living wage. As she saw the artisans gain confidence and light return to their eyes, she realized she had the opportunity to support disadvantaged artisans. With your support we have touched 100's of artisans life. Our goal is to support all artisans and create a textile industry that honors sustainability, human rights and dignity.
Our Empowerment Center
Our focus is on responsible & Transparent fashion, we model sustainability by collaborating with local farmers and small businesses. The artisan design, sew, embroider and weave, creating hemp backpacks, yoga mats, home decor, unique clothing, jewelry and shawls. With the support of a dedicated and passionate team, we have established a safe community that’s changed hundreds of lives. We are determined to continue building resilient and self-sustaining communities of smart, empowered women.
Our Brand
Empowerment
We believe in survivor leadership and true empowerment by providing artisans with the tools, resources, and opportunities to thrive. This includes fair wages, sustainable practices, and a strong support system to ensure their craft leads to lasting economic independence.
Sustainability
We protect handicraft sustainability by ensuring traditional craftsmanship thrives while safeguarding artisans and the environment. Through fair wages, ethical production, and sustainable practices, we empower artisans to preserve their heritage, strengthen communities, and create a future free from exploitation and modern slavery.
Eco Conscious
Environmentally friendly fashion is our movement to reduce the industry's negative impact on the environment. We achieve this by sourcing sustainable materials, reducing waste, upcycling, recycling, and ensuring transparency in the supply chain to promote ethical and sustainable production practices.
Preserving Local Handicrafts
Preserving local handicrafts is crucial for cultural heritage and economic sustainability. We support traditional techniques, designs, and stories by partnering with diverse artisans to blend heritage and innovation, ensuring that craftsmanship thrives while empowering communities and sustaining artisanal traditions for future generations.
7 Keys For Global Human Rights
Providing basic human rights to artisans, including access to clean water, nutritious food, safe shelter, quality education, healthcare, and access to technology can be ensure when artisans are paid fair wages for their work, Recognize and support the cultural significance of artisan work, which contribute to the preservation of cultural heritage.
Empowering artisans with these basic rights requires a holistic approach that considers their unique circumstances and needs, with a focus on sustainable, community-driven solutions.
Our Philosophy
Safety
Protecting the safety of artisans is essential to ensure their well-being while they practice their craft. Ensuring artisans have access to safe and well-maintained working spaces with proper lighting, equipment, protective gear, environmental safety and fair wages.
Ensuring the safety of artisans is not only a moral obligation but also contributes to the sustainability of their craft and the preservation of cultural heritage.
Community
At the centers, our staff holds activities that help build bonds within the community and support mental and physical well-being. They have daily greetings of hugs, group yoga and meditation sessions, and all the women grow and cook food together. Our centers also provide support for women to participate in local fairs and festivals.
LWH also connects our women with mentors from other countries. Our mentors are women who have a sense of personal and professional purpose and support the women in the centers. By connecting with mentors, our women have the opportunity to form personal bonds outside of the centers that will last beyond their time in training.
Healing
In communities in Nepal, men dominate traditional societies. As a result, there are many human rights abuses and atrocities against women and children that go unpublished and even unnoticed. All of the women that come to LWH have experienced some sort of trauma or societal oppression by their husbands, families, or communities.
At our centers we seek to help heal trauma through a safe, supportive community and use techniques such as yoga, meditation, and pranayama (breath work). We also help traumatised women and children cultivate a sense of hope and let them discover their own identity as individuals through education, skills development, and economic empowerment.
Pathway to Income
Women in Nepal are largely involved in subsistence farming — unpaid labor which rarely provides substantial income. Through offering skills development in handicraft production and literacy education, LWH empowers women to generate their own income and support their children in a healthy and sustainable way. Women receive a stipend during their time at the center to cover their costs, as well as food from the garden to reduce their need for outside income.
After going through the training, LWH continues to support women as they create a sustainable income for themselves. Some women continue to work for LWH as trainers and managers. Everyone is eligible for micro-finance loans to open their own small businesses in their communities.
Education
In many countries, including Nepal, women are not educated. In fact, they’re often kept from school for most or all of their lives. This is a huge barrier that keeps them from being empowered as business owners and social changemakers. LWH addresses this by connecting women with education in literacy, feminine hygiene, environmental sustainability, and more. We also work directly with young girls to help them understand and express themselves in relationship to social issues that affect them using drama and art.
Poverty is a by-product of modern slavery. We are changing that by providing our artisan a living wage.
Take A Tour
Have you ever wondered whose hands made those souvenirs in Kathmandu tourist shops? Do you want to buy responsibly and empower local artisans? Come take a tour of our production facility or take a craft class at our workshop!
Learn how to make unique, local crafts with local artisans women who will teach you first hand and leave Nepal with a unique souvenir while empowering local women!