Crafting Ethical Handicrafts
for Conscious
Living
Mahaguthi is a collective journey of empowering artisans, preserving Nepal’s rich cultural heritage, and promoting fair trade practices through sustainable craftsmanship. We believe in creating meaningful impact by connecting skilled producers with conscious consumers, ensuring dignity, equity, and environmental responsibility in every product we offer. As we move forward, our commitment remains steadfast—to uphold ethical values, support livelihoods, and contribute to a more inclusive and sustainable future for all.
Mahaguthi - Craft With Conscience
We work closely with local artisans across Nepal to create ethical handcrafted products (Pashmina, toys, ceramics pieces, and so on) and sustainable home decor rooted in tradition and creativity. As a Guaranteed Fair Trade Organization, we empower communities, support women artisans, and promote sustainable living through authentic, purpose-driven craftmanship.
Adhering to the Fair Trade values and principles, we provide technical, social and financial services to underprivileged target groups, especially women, and sell their handicraft to domestic and international markets. Mahaguthi Craft with Conscience is a Fair Trade Organization which produces, markets and exports Nepalese crafts. Mahaguthi serves both the domestic and international markets and has two shops based in the Kathmandu Valley.
Purchasing goods from our store. Promoting our products both, domestically as well as internationally. Informing friends, relatives and business people about us. Giving us the information about prospective buyers, and Supporting our endeavor to advocacy and lobby about fair trade issues.
Promote micro enterprises through backward and forward linkages. Build capacities of small artisans and groups to improve their level of performance both in terms of quality and quantity. Promote traditional culture, art, and artisans by means of developing new products with traditional skills and resources. Lobby, advocate, practice and promote fair trade for sustainable trade development
The Birth of Mahaguthi
The birth of Mahaguthi Craft with Conscience started with yarn spinning and weaving. Mahaguthi empowers women by providing long term employment under fair, just and sustainable working conditions. It practices Fair Trade as its core principle that puts people first. We bring you “Kalpa” by Mahaguthi, the contemporary designs including clothing made mostly from hand loom to give you that authentic and rich texture yet satisfying the present day demand of the fashion world.
- KALPA represents Mahaguthi’s persistency in promoting age old tradition of craftsmanship and providing livelihood to people specially women.
- KALPA meaning long life, sustainability and ritual represents Mahaguthi’s vision, mission and business model.
- KALPA represents Mahaguthi’s continuous work of empowering people specially women, differently able people and socially deprived community to improve their livings.
- KALPA represents a sustainable lifestyle brand of Mahaguthi that comprises fashion, living and giving.
History has witnessed many weak and oppressed, needy are deprived people throughout time, and few men who chose to stand up and fight for their rights. Nepal has such a legend in its past the late Tulsi Mehar Shrestha.
Tulsi Mehar was born in a humble middle class Newar family on December 30th 1896 in Lalitpur District of Nepal. He was an only child who was deeply inspired by reading the book of Maharshi Dayanand intitled “The Light of Truth”.His self realizations about life and observation of self-discipline led him to understand the difficulties of the time when people were not allowed education or to express their views freely. Tulsi Mehar dared to speak up to society about the importance of self awareness and urged people to overcome ignorance and evil woes.
The Birth of Mahaguthi
The birth of Mahaguthi Craft with Conscience started with yarn spinning and weaving. Mahaguthi empowers women by providing long term employment under fair, just and sustainable working conditions. It practices Fair Trade as its core principle that puts people first. We bring you “Kalpa” by Mahaguthi, the contemporary designs including clothing made mostly from hand loom to give you that authentic and rich texture yet satisfying the present day demand of the fashion world
Kalpa By Mahaguthi
- KALPA represents Mahaguthi’s persistency in promoting age old tradition of craftsmanship and providing livelihood to people specially women.
- KALPA meaning long life, sustainability and ritual represents Mahaguthi’s vision, mission and business model.
- KALPA represents Mahaguthi’s continuous work of empowering people specially women, differently able people and socially deprived community to improve their livings.
- KALPA represents a sustainable lifestyle brand of Mahaguthi that comprises fashion, living and giving.
More on Kalpa by Mahaguthi
Following fashion is thing of past, let us be the trendsetters! Shopping for fun is old school, shopping with cause is what outsmarts you from the rest. Your each purchase from Mahaguthi directly helps the people involved in every step of supply chain as 68% of the sales go back to the artisans of the products. Mahaguthi, being the founding member of Fair Trade Group Nepal (FTG Nepal), and member of World Fair Trade Organization Asia and Global practices, promotes and advocates Fair Trade at national, regional and international level. Fair Trade is a trading partnership based on dialogue, transparency and respect that seeks greater equity in international trade. It is a social movement whose stated goal is to help producers in developing countries achieve better trading conditions and to promote sustainability.
History has witnessed many weak and oppressed, needy are deprived people throughout time, and few men who chose to stand up and fight for their rights. Nepal has such a legend in its past the late Tulsi Mehar Shrestha.
Tulsi Mehar was born in a humble middle class Newar family on December 30th 1896 in Lalitpur District of Nepal. He was an only child who was deeply inspired by reading the book of Maharshi Dayanand intitled “The Light of Truth”.His self realizations about life and observation of self-discipline led him to understand the difficulties of the time when people were not allowed education or to express their views freely. Tulsi Mehar dared to speak up to society about the importance of self awareness and urged people to overcome ignorance and evil woes.
Speak publicly
He began to speak publicly against the prevalent religion of Hinduism, especially against the rigid caste system which led to the oppression of marginalized people, mostly women. His vision towards social reform and development emphasized women’s empowerment through education and income generation programs to make women economically self-reliant. The expression of his views caused an uproar in Nepali society, pushing Prime Minister Chandra Shumsher J. B. Rana to accuse Tulsi Mehar of being anti-national. He offered him a choice – life imprisonment or life-long exile. Tulsi Mehar chose to set out for India.
Search for truth
His search for truth, his strong will and dedication to work for the society brought him to work closely with Mahatma Gandhi of India. He stayed in various ashrams and dedicated himself wholeheartedly to learn spinning and weaving techniques. His time with Mahatma Gandhi gave him an opportunity to gain experience and insight to the liberation of underprivileged people and renewed his commitment and conviction to return to Nepal in 1923 to bring social change. Mahatma Gandhi wrote a letter to the Nepali Prime Minister to allow Tulsi Mehar to come back to Nepal and let him work for the sake of Nepalese people. The Rana Prime Minister gave him consent and Tulsi Mehar started a small project of spinning and weaving some seventy five years ago.
Settlement
Tulsi Mehar settled at Shankhamul Ghat on the bank of the sacred Bagmati River in Lalitpur District. There, he started the first textile industry in Nepal with a bundle of raw cotton donated by Gandhi, which he used as raw material for the spinning program. He established an institution named “Shree Tin Chandra Kamdhenu Charkha Pracharak Mahaguthi” in 1927 which was one of the first social services organizations at the time