Taking grandma’s socks to the world

Aji's sells a variety of products including knitwear, blankets and jewellery

Kathmandu: Every winter, Lorina Sthapit and her cousins would warm their feet in woollen socks freshly knitted by their grandmother. As the brightly coloured pairs stacked up in her cupboard, the 32-year-old felt inspired to share the creations with the world – co-founding a crafts venture that not only sells such handmade products but also delves into the seldom-told lives of their mostly elderly female makers.

“Each product has a story and historical and cultural value. We want to keep their legacy and skills alive for the future,” Sthapit told AFP.”They grew up at a time when most things were handmade, not store-bought. So there is an amazing wealth of skills and experiences among people of that generation.”

Aji’s — which means grandmother — was founded in 2018 by Sthapit, her sister Irina and husband Pursarth Tuladhar, selling a variety of products including knitwear, blankets and jewellery.

Through podcasts and blogs, Sthapit and the makers’ grandchildren take listeners and readers on a nostalgic journey through the lives of the elderly artisans. The tales — from being married at just eight-years-old, battling to be given an education and raising five children as a single mother in the patriarchal society — shed light on Nepal’s rich social and cultural history, but also its strict gendered social order.

Aji’s now has 30 elderly women and men working with them, using traditional Nepali techniques and materials. The crafts are sold at two stores in the Kathmandu valley and on the online marketplace Etsy. The company works closely with makers’ children or grandchildren, in an effort to help the families develop closer bonds.

Sthapit herself learnt that her grandmother was “more confident and bold than I thought”. “It was as if this side of her was hidden and she has now found recognition and uncovered her bolder confident self,” she said.

Sthapit found the social enterprise had another benefit — it gave the artisans a sense of purpose. When she first told her grandmother, Champa Devi Tuladhar, that her socks were being snapped up, the 77-year-old’s eyes lit up. “My grandmother really enjoys being busy and even forgets her joint pains when knitting,” Sthapit said.