12th October 2023

Hats from Nepal

We now have on the website new hats from Nepal! As most of you know, we are guaranteed members of the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO), and as such we have lots of colleagues in the Fair Trade world. It’s very difficult to knit wool in Bangladesh because the humidity is so high all year around. Basically its just too wet. And so we have teamed up with our lovely friends at KTS in Nepal and they are knitting these new hats for us. I love it when we work with our fair trade partners to increase awareness of the fabulous skills in the fair trade community.

Kumbeshwar Technical School

The quality of knitting at KTS is very high and the women are highly skilled. They knit the hats on 4 bamboo needles so there is no seam or join in the hat. The motifs we add are known as intarsia knitting. Have you heard of this type of knitting? If you tried to learn to knit during lockdown then maybe you will have! It is an advanced technique but these ladies are really super at it. I learnt intarsia knitting many decades ago and I can tell you its quite tricky. The hats they are knitting for us are fabulous quality and I feel so happy to bring them to you. Packing each one is a joy because I know whoever receives it, is going to love it!

KTS import merino wool from New Zealand and then hand dye it themselves, and then wind and knit it. Basically they do everything! And they don’t just do knitting, they are also highly skilled in making carpets and woodwork.

KTS stands for Kumbeshwar Technical School. They are a non-profit organisation working to empower under privileged and low income families in Nepal. They do this through education and skills training. KTS currently employ 2300 women having started in 1983. The proceeds of their sales support the free nursery and primary school, as well as the orphanage. When you buy these gorgeous hand knitted hats you are making a real difference to the lives of women and children in Nepal. xx