dZi Handmade

Artisan Organization: dZi Handmade

Country: Nepal

“In 1990, the company was incorporated and began by working with Tibetan refugee artisans in Dharamshala, India. We organized training workshops and our first product lines… clothing and accessories, wind chimes and traditional items such as prayer flags and incense. Soon enough we were packing for the trade shows in NY! As we grew... We started working with other artisan groups in Nepal. We developed new lines with handmade paper, jewelry, singing bowls, and especially hand felted wool. When we launched our Fair Trade Holiday line in the late 1990’s our felt producer employed 20 women. Today they manage over 500! We now work with 7 groups in India and 13 in Nepal, with over 1,000 artisans indirectly employed”