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The Woman Behind the Laxmi Line: Laxmi Maharjan
In the village of Kirtipur, Nepal one brave woman aspired to educate her children and bring her family out of poverty. Her hard work and vision and her partnership with a Fair Trade organization changed her life, the life of her family & the lives of 60 other families in her village.
Laxmi Maharjan is a traditional weaver who never went to school herself but who dreamed of sending her children. Raised in a culture
that never allowed her to handle or control any of the money made from her craft she understood that to be able to send her kids to school and pull her family out of poverty she needed to control the money from her work. In 1984 she discovered a Nepalese  fair trade organization, The Association for Craft Producers, which would pay her directly for her work and help her set up a savings account. Now, 30 years later, her daughter and 2 sons have college educations and Laxmi has organized 60 other traditional women weavers in her village to understand fair trade and receive their earnings directly as well! Her work & leadership have transformed their lives and their culture! Read more here....
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NEW ARTISAN PAGE ONLINE NOW!
Association of Craft Producers
The Association of 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 help women gain social mobility by creating a market where they would not be exploited. Today, women from 15 districts in Nepal have the resources and opportunity to utilize their talent as artisans, become more financially independent, and gain more credibility in their communities.
To read more about ACP or
- Watch their videos
- Download their high quality pictures
- Download a poster
- Read more about the individual artisans
- Learn more about the Power of 5
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