The Local Project Nepal, co-founded by two friends Binam Shakya and Sachin Shrestha, aims at encouraging local entrepreneurs of Nepal. “We had seen many creative Nepali products being sold at online portals such as Instagram and Facebook. These small entrepreneurs obviously did not have the resources to open their own store.
So, we wanted to provide them an effective platform to display their products,” says Binam Shakya, co-founder of The Local Project Nepal. Located at Evoke Café and Bistro, Jhamsikhel, The Local Project Nepal runs with the ideology of friendship and creativity. Their beautifully decorated store is a hub for numerous producers selling authentic Nepali products.
The foundation believes in creating a perfect environment to foster local productivity and youth empowerment. “We hope to aid young entrepreneurs in their endeavors and serve as a stepping-stone towards their success,” says Shakya. “It gives us great pleasure when people come to our store and appreciate these locally made products,” he says adding that they not only aim to support local producers but the profit from these brands go towards helping indigenous craftsmen and artisans as well.
A digital exhibit showcasing ‘thinking locally and serving glob...
This project is also determined to create new jobs within our country. “With so many youths going abroad from our country to work, we feel it is extremely important to support these creative minds. Furthermore, with our initiative we also help the local market and underprivileged producers to attain sustainable growth,” says Shrestha.
This creatively designed retail store rents out spaces and corners of the shop to local producers. The store currently has 20 different Nepalis brands. Each brand displays cultures and traditions of Nepal in their own unique ways. The products range from furniture items, home decors, travel essentials, apparels, backpacks, bags, stationery, mugs, jewelries, and sleep wears.
“Our initial target customers were foreign tourists,” says Shakya. “But now more than 70% of our customers are Nepali citizens,” he adds. Nepali products these days are not only of good quality but they are also creatively designed. Hence, the market demand for these products is rising steadily.
“There are numerous Nepali brands that people take pride in buying,” says Shakya adding that many people in Kathmandu have started carrying and displaying Nepali brands on their social media accounts as well. “People are becoming conscious about Nepali brands and they are taking it seriously as well,” he says.
Time and again, The Local Project Nepal comes up with various attractive discount offers to lure its customers which make the items there steal deals. In the future, The Local Project Nepal also plans to host events that help them showcase these locally made products to a larger audience. They are currently working on their upcoming Christmas event that aims at providing a diverse selection of authentic Nepali products to its customers.
