Introducing Sandevi, and Tse-ring Soul Craft

 

I recently had the honour of meeting a young Nepalese woman, Sandevi Tamang. She is in the process of setting up a community enterprise that  both supports single mothers living in rural Nepal and also keeps alive the traditional art of weaving, but using new and contemporary product lines.

It was so inspiring chatting with Sandevi, and she kindly shared her story with me. What follows is written by her, in response to some questions that I gave her. Sit back and enjoy!

 

 

 

1.        Can you say a bit about your childhood and upbringing, family etc

I was born in the Himalayan village of Thuloshyabru, of Rasuwa district a remote mountatenous village situated at an altitude of 2,250 meters, surrounded by mountains, rivers, and a close-knit community. I was born along with my sister and brother, and our parents’ love for us was immense, shaped by the loss of three children before us due to limited access to medical care.

 From an early age, I spent much of my life away from home for school. These experiences taught me independence, responsibility, and resilience, while also making me deeply aware of the importance of family, culture, and community. I came to understand how much our traditions and relationships define who we are, and how essential it is to preserve them for future generations.

 

2.        Where did the idea come from for Tse-ring, and why did you call it by that name

I have always wanted to live meaningfully and purposefully, guided by the principle of helping others and being available to those in need and bring positive changes and empowering people in the vociceless communites like mine. This is the reason I chose to do Masters in Development studies.

From a young age, I noticed the multitasking women in my community managed, from household chores and taking care of family members to herding animals and weaving. Around 2020, I began exploring this vision more seriously, observing the women at work and the crafts they created. I would take photos of woven items, bags, belts, and other product whether displayed in their house, in the process of weaving, or worn by women fascinated by both their beauty and the skill behind them.

In 2022, I even bought bunch of wools with the intention of starting with the women in the village, but a lack of confidence, courage, funds, and guidance held me back. The friends of my circle were leaving the country in search of better earnings but in the name of education abroad and that was also putting me in  dilemma. Whatever happened  but still, the idea of Tser-ring never left me.

I named it Tse-ring, as it means Long life in Tibetan because it align perfectly with my  goal that is to ensure that the tradition of weaving and Himalayan craft continues to thrive, rather than fade away over time. I admired their skill and dedication, burt their creations often had limited access to markets and went unsold despite the immense effort involved. Today, fewer women pursue these crafts, and younger generations are becoming disconnected from this tradition.

Tse-Ring was created to address this. Its core goals are:

1. To keep the tradition alive and ensure it endures over time.
2. To bridge the gap between generations by adapting traditional crafts into modern, everyday products.
3. To create sustainable jobs for women in Himalayan communities.
4. To bring these skills and products to a global market, giving them recognition and their skills opportunity beyond the village.

Through Tse-Ring, I aim to preserve our tradition while empowering women and connecting future generations to the culture that defines us. It is not just a business; it is my way of living purposefully, honoring my roots, and giving back to the community that shaped me.

3    3. What prompted you to take the plunge and start the craft programme now.

       I carried the idea of Tse-ring in my heart for years, always praying for courage more than anything. For a long time, I hesitated to start, unsure if handicrafts had a future and fearing that I might only raise hopes for my community. But my passion never wavered. I was so committed that I even gave a presentation about Tse Ring Soulcraft at my university in, which was very well received.

Finally, using my modest savings and cutting everyday expenses, I made the decision to launch the craft program in July. The longer I waited, the greater the risk of losing these traditions and the skills of Himalayan women. Seeing their incredible effort in weaving, combined with limited market access and declining interest among younger generations, made the urgency undeniable. I asked myself: if not now, then when? This realization, together with my lifelong desire to live purposefully and give back to my community, gave me the courage to take the plunge and turn my vision into reality.

 This sense of urgency, combined with my lifelong desire to live purposefully and give back to my community, pushed me to take the plunge and turn this vision into reality.

4.    4. What crafts you do, who you sell to etc

       At Tse-Ring, we focus on traditional Himalayan crafts, with a special emphasis on weaving. The women in our community create pangab (a traditional lower-back hanging), kara (belts), carpets, and woolen jackets. We have also started adapting these skills into modern, everyday items such as keyrings, pet straps, purses, table runners, and laptop sleeves. Our products are designed for people who value handmade, meaningful items, and we sell them both locally and internationally. Through this work, we not only help preserve our cultural traditions but also provide sustainable support and recognition for the women who create them.

5.    5. What is your favourite part of the work – creating the crafts, or working with the women, or something else….

My favorite part of the work is seeing people appreciate and recognize the skills skills,creativity and  effort of the women behind the crafts. Knowing that their hard work is noticed and celebrated is deeply fulfilling. I especially love it when someone learns the story behind a product, the weaving techniques, the traditions, and shows respect for it, I feel that the women’s skills are finally being valued. These moments remind me that Tse Ring is not just about preserving crafts, but honoring the women who keep these traditions alive.

6.    6. What your vision is for it – short term, and maybe even longer term

My vision for Tse Ring is long-term and deeply purpose-driven. I want to keep these traditions alive for generations, bridging heritage with modern life through products that are both beautiful and functional. I aim to take these crafts global, creating sustainable employment and recognition for local artisans. Ultimately, Tse Ring is a platform to preserve culture, empower women, and ensure that the skills, stories, and creativity of our community continue to thrive far into the future. 

 https://www.instagram.com/tseringsoulcraft/

 

 

Nepal – rural-based reflections

 

What a country! Beautiful doesn’t even touch the edges, the scenery is so breathlessly incredible, it renders me speechless. Massive mountains, twisting and deep valleys, huge-drop waterfalls, and all so green and lush. The roads are insane – the gradients of them are certainly steep at times, but the number of hairpin bends that can be squeezed into a vertical mile are impressive. A reasonable number of the roads have concrete coverings, but not surprisingly there is also a lot of rough surfaces that have potholes galore. They definitely make for bumpy rides, that’s for sure!

Transportation is fairly standard in the cities, but in the rural areas it seems to be motorbike or walking. And the paths that the local people walk along (and ride along) cling to the sides of the hills, but also includes long series of steps weaving up and down between homes and fields. Getting to school for the children can involve a long walk, maybe even crossing from one slope to another via one of the amazing suspension bridges that are so prevalent here.

Despite the gradient of the slopes, there is a lot of food production. Terracing is done for growing rice, and I’ve also seen many squashes and pumpkins etc growing, as well as beans, tomatoes, cabbages, onions, peppers. Chickens, bullocks, and pigs are the main livestock that I’ve seen. And nothing goes to waste – even the weeds that are dug up are carried up to the house to give to the livestock.

Homes can be found so high up in the hills. Today we drove and drove, up and up, along an increasingly unkept and winding, bumpy road. And each time I thought we must have reached the end of the homes, we came across another house, perched precariously but sturdily on the hillside, with a thriving vegetable garden.

I think that the lifestyle here in the remote villages is more different to any other place I’ve been. Just the logistics of getting from one place to another are something else – no popping to the nearest shop when you run out of milk! Self-sufficiency is definitely the name of the game. But despite the remoteness, there is no lack of access to internet – I’ve been able to check WhatsApp, emails and search the web more easily here than along many parts of the M4!

I do wonder though how the people here view their surroundings. Living here every day, with no light pollution, and massive views is just incredible. But when it is every day – does familiarity get in the way, and instead the struggles of daily life take over? I asked Bishnu, my host in Nepal, about this. He feels that people do appreciate their surroundings, and do know just beautiful they are, but that is not stopping the younger generation from migrating to the towns, cities and even overseas in search of work. Yes, they still view their rural village as ‘home’ but there clearly isn’t the same desire to stay and work the land, or earn money in a small community. Instead, the lure of bigger opportunities call, and it tends to be older people that are seen working the land.

This is also seen in schools where the numbers on roll are falling year on year. A challenge for the government, because how to combine two small and vaguely viable ‘neighbouring’ schools when the resultant commute for some of the children might be 2 or 3 hours, with an altitude difference of 1000m or more. And a not insignificant proportion of the children living in the villages live with their grandparents, because the parents have gone to work overseas, just to bring in more money.

Nepal is a stunningly beautiful place, and to the tourist, it paints an unforgettable picture of creation at its finest. But behind that façade, life is complicated, and there is no simple solution to the challenges being faced – impact of climate change, political unrest, it’s geopolitical position….Being here has been such a treat, and I feel overwhelmed with it in some ways – what have I done to deserve this gig? That is one of those questions without answer, but I am forever grateful to God for this opportunity, and I thank Nepal for welcoming me as they have done and pray that they will find solutions to the way forward in peaceful, positive ways. 

 

Plastic bottles, trekkers and Nepal

 

Today I visited the first of a few projects run by PSD-Nepal, the CRED Partner that I'm visiting out here. Situated in the Langtang district of Nepal, high up near the border with China, the project focuses on addressing the scourge of plastic waste - especially plastic drinks bottles.

Langtang is a national park, and one of the key areas for trekkers in Nepal. As a result, its a key area for trekkers who are consuming lots of fluids, but then maybe not so keen to carry the waste home with them. And so it gets dumped by the side of the track.

Over the years, the piles of bottles have grown and grown, without much in the way of ideas of what to do about it. But now, thanks to a wonderful team of locals here in Langtang, and the incredible input from Samuel Johns, sadly now departed, a plastic collection and upcycling programme is running.

Local Nepali people collect the bottles, bring them to the collection and segregation centre and get paid based on weight of bottles. When the collection centre is full, the bottles get collected by truck and taken to a plant near Pokhara that does the required processes (no I don't understand that bit) to result in recycled and upcycled plastic products that are then sold in markets and other outlets.

Such a good project, and lots of potential for more collection and sorting sites, and maybe even more processing plants, so as to reduce the cost of transportation.

I'd heard about the project before, but it was great to see it in action, and to visit the collection site, and also a plastic 'house' that was built along the trekking route, as an awareness raiser. Unfortunately landslides have rendered that route inaccessible at the moment, so few trekkers get to see the 'house', but there are hopes that it can be repositioned, or another one built, as it really is such an excellent visual image about the importance of not dropping bottles.

The project is also a beautiful legacy to the much loved and sadly missed Samuel Johns, RIP.

 

Walking Together in Hope

 

The reason for my visit to Cape Town was to take part in, and help facilitate, a consultation run by Micah Global. MG are an international network of organisations, from the big to the small and everything in between. All have a Christian ethos underpinning their work, and their foci range from humanitarian relief and disaster response, to development, to advocacy, to creation care.

Delegates came from over 80 countries, and numbered over 200 individuals. It’s been thought provoking, inspiring, challenging and uplifting. We started with a time of lament for the current state of the world. This included lament for the big scale issues: poverty, wars, climate change etc, but also lament for the individual and hidden issues, but those that are just as significant to the victims - children, trafficked people, victims of gender based violence, displaced people etc. Although done in a plenary session, this was very much a personal time of lament as well, with time for silent reflection on our role, and the role of our own nations in the historical context that has led to where things are at now - challenging reflections for the Brits and Americans in particular!

The theme of the consultation was ‘Walking Together in Hope’ and so having started by lamenting about, and locating ourselves in the real and broken world, the rest of the consultation included times of listening to the voices of those with lived experiences. So in my group we visited, and heard from programmes working with children at risk, people who have been trafficked, women caught up in prostitution at the harbour side, and those living with disabilities. Other groups visited other projects, including a wetlands restoration programme, disaster response programmes, and organisations that are advocating for marginalised groups here in the city anf across the country.

Listening to the voices directly is so powerful and important, and the voices informed the thinking with regard to the next steps.

The consultation ended with a time of group conversations identifying steps that can be taken to move forward. Small quick actions, as well as larger and longer term actions that need a bit more interaction with each other and the teams back home to firm up processes.

But actions all the same. It felt positive and hopeful to be leaving the consultation with thoughts on what next, connections on how to implement the what next, and, particularly for ‘sole workers’ like myself, a sense of togetherness and mutual support.

For me, the really impacting aspects were 4

1. the lament, as a Brit, as one from an over-consumptive nation - it was tough, but it was needed, and it reignited the passion to do all I can to make a positive difference.
2. The networking and getting to know others working in the same field. No longer do I feel quite so alone in what I’m doing.
3. The time of discerning the next steps - having space and conversations to be able to hear God’s nudges and glimpses of what should be my next steps with 360life in particular.
4. But most of all - a session when various women leaders shared their reflections on what it means to be a female leader in their country. The countries represented included Lebanon, Uganda, Guatemala, South Africa, Kenya, India, Philippines. And as they shared about the challenges of gender-related expectations and assumptions that they have to navigate I was reminded yet again just how fortunate I am to have the freedom that I do have, but also how far the world still has to go with regard to reducing the gender gap. It’s a huge issue, so very multifaceted, and steeped in politics, religion, and cultures, but that’s no excuse for not pursuing it step by step, wherever we can. I salute those who are so bravely and selflessly stepping up and raising their heads above the parapet to speak up for women’s rights, often in potentials dangerous situations. May I do what I can to not be found wanting.

Much to process, much to think through, but so grateful for being able to participate in this consultation.