The goal of the Cooperative is to empower women of the Surkhet Valley to become strong and independent businesswomen.

skills

Our Cooperative women have creative minds & fantastic craftswomenship. 

Develop business

We hope to empower as many women as possible within the Surkhet Valley, by creating a sustainable business model.

Our women are inspiring the next generation by showing them that skills and education are the best way to break down social and economic barriers.

Although it is separate from BlinkNow, many of our Cooperative artisans are graduates of the Kopila Valley Women's Center. They are from the local valley, all are brought together by the skills they share.

We aim to support our women to be businesswomen. We work to develop new relationships with international and national wholesalers to ensure our business grows. 

Projects. 

At the Cooperative, we support issues that are close to our hearts. With our reusable maxi kit project, we are supporting business entrepreneurship of women and women's health.

In Nepal, many women are made to sleep outside in huts when on their periods. The practice, known as chhaupadi, has been in the spotlight recently after two women died while sleeping in sheds. The chhaupadi tradition, followed by Hindus in Western Nepal, is the most extreme version where women are banished to sleep outside during their monthly cycle. Figures from a survey in Nepal in 2010 said 19% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 practiced chhaupadi across the nation. Chhaupadi was formally outlawed by the Nepalese government in 2005, but it still continues in remote western areas of Nepal. In August 2017, a law was passed stating that menstruating women or those who have just given birth should not be "kept in chhaupadi” or "treated with any kind of similar discrimination or untouchable and inhuman behaviour." More campaigns are needed to provide education and create the change. At this time, it feels more real than ever to support the health and wellbeing of women.

We hope we inspire other women to develop businesses and to strive forward. We envision the women of Nepal standing together to empower a generation.

Purchasing a wholesale order from this website helps the women of Surkhet become independent business women. BlinkNow is one of the Cooperative’s primary customers. Cooperative products are also purchased by BlinkNow and sold in the US here with profits going to support future training at the Kopila Valley Women’s Center.