Ganesh Himal

We are so proud to be working with Ganesh Himal. They have been doing fair trade work since 1985, before fair trade was really a thing. In the fair trade community, they are know to be the leaders in bringing fair trade to the Spokane area. Locally you can find a collection of their products, and other fair trade products, at Kizuri in downtown Spokane, or find us at one of our pop up events!

Here is some of their story, taken from their website, and why we love working with them so much!

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Ganesh Himal

With the goal of supporting work that enhances people’s lives and traditions, we began establishing partnerships with small cottage industries and development aid projects. When we chose our partners in Nepal, there was no “Fair Trade Federation” or “fair trade criteria.” We used our own principles to guide our work:

-treat people with respect,

-make sure they get a fair return for their work,

-provide continuity over time along with safe working conditions, design assistance, and financial support.

Anchored by a shared vision with Nepali partners (many of whom were women), we established a solid base for our business that was successful despite skepticism, political uncertainty, and economic recession. In the early 1990s we were excited to become members of the newly formed Fair Trade Federation and join with others in the alternative trade movement to form a unified front.

We believe that building long lasting relationships based on trust, dialogue and mutual respect is key to community building and helps move us toward a more equitable future.

Our partnerships are grounded in reciprocity. We work diligently to establish mutually beneficial relationships with our producers in Nepal by encouraging a balanced level of give and take. We work directly with producers as a team, expanding each other’s talents and ideas. We believe everyone’s insight and perspective is needed to create systems that address the changing nature of our world.

Striving for economic justice is where our business began. When Ganesh Himal Trading was established, we decided to seek out producer groups that worked with marginalized individuals (e.g. women and Tibetan refugees) so they could gain access to trading relationships for economic mobility. This has led to years of partnering with women producers to co-create a world where women have control over their money, are empowered to make their own decisions and have a respected voice in all discussions. Overall, we believe that trade is interrelational and that access to trading relationships is key to enhancing people’s lives and traditions. We have also committed to facilitating solutions to other economic barriers (i.e. healthcare, education) through our non-profit, Conscious Connections Foundation.

Conscious Connections Foundation

Conversations with Nepali friends (and a lot of trekking) helped us recognize the need for, and lack of, basic rural healthcare and so in 2010 we built a clinic to provide medical help in an area that had none. Our Nepali family, and their insight into barriers other than economic, then helped us launch a long term initiative to raise funds for children (with a focus on girls) who lacked access to education. Understanding that these issues are closely allied with, but laid outside of, the mission of economic empowerment of Ganesh Himal Trading, we created the non-profit Conscious Connections Foundation in 2014.

The mission of Conscious Connections Foundation is to facilitate the advancement of marginalized individuals in Nepal by promoting access to education, healthcare, skills development, and facilities improvement so they can create strong, vibrant, economically viable communities and to educate North Americans on their ability to positively impact these individuals lives with direct donations.

On April 25, 2015, Ganesh Himal’s community and CCF’s work all came powerfully together when two devastating earthquakes struck Nepal. Our caring communities jumped into action. Our business, with the valued support of retail stores and community members, helped raise significant funds for CCF to help our Nepali partners rebuild, feed people and maintain livelihoods. Although CCF’s primary work is not disaster relief we do find ourselves often engaged in it because Nepal’s communities remain extremely vulnerable. In 2020 we are working in Covid related food relief efforts and assisting our partners in Nepal as they reach out to identify and help those most in need.