MAHILA handbag made of wild hemp

This handbag is lovingly handcrafted with meticulous attention to detail. The main material, wild-grown hemp from Nepal, is spun, woven, and processed into the finished product directly at our partner workshop. This workshop, "Local Women's Handicraft," is a women's empowerment initiative that provides its employees with education and training, collective support in emergencies, and fair wages.

Outer material: Organic hemp from Nepal, leather from naturally deceased animals from Mustang, a Buddhist-influenced highland region in Nepal
Inner material: Polyester, Intermediate layer: EVA, Piping: Alcantara
Shoulder strap: Hemp with leather reinforcement (In the pictures the reinforcement is still made of Alcantara – we have improved this!)

We use not only organic hemp, but also wild-grown hemp that thrives entirely without herbicides and pesticides, is harvested by small farmers on their land, and used as medicine for their livestock. The hemp fibers are then transported to our partner company for further processing, where all remaining production steps, from spinning and weaving to the finished product, are carried out.

Mass:
MAHILA small: Width approx. 24 cm, height approx. 22 cm, depth approx. 7 cm

WITH LOVE FROM NEPAL

+++ Raw materials from organic farming +++

We use not only organic hemp, but also wild-grown hemp that thrives entirely without herbicides and pesticides, is harvested by small farmers on their land, and used as medicine for their livestock. The hemp fibers are then transported to our partner company for further processing, where all remaining production steps, from spinning and weaving to the finished product, are carried out.

+++ Fair & Social +++

This product is manufactured in Nepal in a factory that processes hemp from fiber to finished product. This factory is committed to training its workers, supporting them in case of family illness, and providing childcare. Production in Nepal costs about one-fifth of the retail price in Europe, which must also cover export, import, sales, and tax costs. Product development, technical documentation, quality assurance, design, and marketing (including product photography) are currently handled entirely by volunteers supporting the HIMAL HEMP project. Himal Hemp's entire concept is based on fair and social value creation and aims to enable as many people as possible in Nepal to live a life of dignity through their own work. While we are still too small to have our production certified at affordable costs, we document the entire production process and work directly with the workers. In Nepal, this direct and personal approach is currently the only way to produce under reasonable working conditions, pay fair wages, and ensure quality. Nevertheless, we are continuously working to improve the working conditions there.

+++ Recycled & Recyclable +++

The hemp (outer layer) and the cotton (inner layer) are both naturally biodegradable. This textile product can easily be separated into its components for recycling.

+++ Resource-efficient +++

The hemp originates from Nepal and is processed there into the finished product. We use wild hemp, which requires no pesticides or herbicides. The buffalo leather visible on the front is sourced from naturally deceased animals in the Mustang mountain region of Nepal and is used in Kathmandu to reinforce material connections and enhance the product's appearance. The closures consist of several zippers and a durable magnetic snap.