When news of protests and a toppled government emerged from Nepal in 2025, I was grateful for my memories of this beautiful country.
A few years ago, I led a small group there to visit Thistle Farms’ sister communities and helped distribute $100,000 to local women’s artisan groups supporting survivors.
Two communities, Blessed Hope and Local Women’s Handicraft, greeted us with silk stoles, cakes, and rich blessings.
I always wear Blessed Hope’s beaded bracelets. The women founders are the only ethnic Tibetan women from the mountains of Eastern Nepal who operate a business for their most vulnerable people.
Sitting on the floor in their workshop, they brought out a huge sheet cake with a plane on it to symbolize our journey.
Another member of our group and I had gotten food poisoning the night before, and cake was the last thing I thought I could stomach. Imagining the hours that went into the decorations, though, I took the cake, listened to the songs, and sat in wonder at their elaborate traditional dress with thousands of coin-like bangles and intricate weaving.
At Local Women’s Handicraft, the cooperative strives to create unique fashion while providing a living wage for artisans who have overcome exploitation and hardship. Every wall of their manufacturing space was brightly painted with inspirational quotes and iconic images of powerful women. We sat together on their terraced roof, sang, and joined hands in celebration of the work that Thistle Farms and their community could do together.
The streets of Nepal dissolve the line between the sacred and the secular. People are working and offering prayers at shrines along the path. Prayer flags are intertwined with thick rows of power cords. Monks wander into markets, and busy merchants spin wheels in monasteries. The spirit of the people is palpable.
Now the world is reading that the government has collapsed and there are mass protests on streets where millions of tourists have walked to feel peace practiced daily.
What I know, as always, is that the people who will pay the highest price are the most vulnerable women. They will lose work, suffer violence, and struggle to care for their children. No matter what side of the conflict, vulnerable women pay the highest price.
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Nepal will weather this storm as they have done throughout their entire history, through earthquakes and nightmarish political struggles. We can be a small part of keeping the waters for these two groups from breaching the banks.
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-- Becca Stevens
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Consider a gift to Blessed Hope or Local Women’s Handicraft. You can send a donation to the Contemplative Center for Justice here* and it will directly support these two beautiful businesses operated by women, for women.
*Complete donation details, then enter NEPAL after the question, "Anything else you want us to know about your donation." |