All of the women in the self-made co-op come from family turmoil, in particular spousal abuse, and have managed to escape their situations.
In Nepal this is almost impossible to do, as the majority of women have no money, power or family (as they usually go to live with their husbands family after marriage.)
One by one they all left their domestic abuse lives and found this co-operative of women aiming to make enough profit through the sale of their handmade jewellery to become financially independent, and create a better life for themselves and their children. Trained by an expert in the polymer clay jewellery art, Wendy will spend 6 months a year away from her native Australia to assist in the design and creation of more pieces, and the training of more women.
In the piece below, our Spice Mala Necklace has had actual everyday spices such as chilli, tumeric and coffee added to the clay to create the different colouring.
Our Seto Kalo Necklace below needs to be seen to be appreciated, photo's do not do it justice! The detail in the decorative beads is painstaking, precise work, and the filigree designs defy the naked eye.
We recently received an email from all of the ladies which really touched our hearts ... it is indescribable to receive thanks for something that we do for the love, without expecting anything at all in return. It blew us away to know that we (and you!) are changing lives through our trade, and it motivates us to continue doing exactly what we've been doing:
"Dear Mel
Namaskar
We are very grateful for your loving support. You have loved our work which is so meaningful for us .Your purchasing money is so valuable for us .It goes to the support for women legal cases and also it goes to their living ,education and health care.We are very happy that you have encouraged us so we get lots of courage to work ahead as well.We hope if you have any thought to come to Nepal we will be waiting for you to Welcome to our sweet office house and in my home too.We would like to thank you again.
With lots of love
Ladies of the co-op and Kopila "
A big THANK YOU from Yo and I at Surya for all your support in allowing us to aid disadvantaged members of Nepal's society through our trade work - we really couldn't do this without you!
