Shutting a Shop (temporarily) and Planning a Program

While our Post Mistress joins us back in Birtamod, we have to shut the etsy shop which is a shame.  Not such spectacularly wonderful timing really.  In one way.  But it is a great time to be in Nepal as we hope the Colourful Journey trippers will find out in November.The shop will re-open in mid December which means Australian and New Zealand shoppers may just receive orders made then in time for Christmas but it will be tough for those in other countries.  You will just have to tell your friends and family that you are operating on Nepali time!We have LOTS planned for the next couple of months when Wendy didi is back living with us.  Some of what is planned will happen and other things we didn't plan will happen.  Some things won't happen.  We take things as they come.  That is the Nepali way.  One of the things we hope to finalise is our next training program.  We aim to provide 6 months training for 30 women and to equip them with skills to generate their own income.  This is a very ambitious program and we will be telling you more about it as time goes on.  One of the things we are very careful about is to include very realistic income generation options that REALLY do provide options for the ladies and not just revenue for training bodies who have not really thought about the sustainability of their training.  Sadly, there are some areas in Nepal where people have been to four or five income generation training programs but are still unemployed.  We want to avoid those traps if we can.Wherever possible, we employ local trainers who know about the situation in our region and we employ female trainers when we can.  It is especially encouraging for the ladies to be trained by a woman like them who has overcome obstacles and been able to gain independence.  Many of the ladies from our previous programs will be involved in the new program - in its development and as mentors to the new women coming through.We'll keep you posted about our program.  We are going to need a lot of money to run it and have already targetted the sale of specific necklaces to help.  When the etsy shop re-opens, we will highlight those!  Until next time, ramrosanga januhos (go well).