Lokta Gift Bag Information

The gift bags that we are helping make and sell are made in the remote village of Nangi, Nepal, which is located west of the Annapurna Mountains. The bags are made of lokta paper, which is very strong, yet very soft. Lokta is a plant that grows throughout the area. The paper is made from the bark of the plant, and it is harvested in such a way that the plant is able to regenerate. So these bags are eco-friendly, and they are so durable that they can be used over and over.

Our family goes to Nangi every year to do volunteer projects with the Himanchal Education Foundation. The goal of this foundation is to support Himanchal High School in Nangi, a school that is a prototype for community-based educational development in rural areas. Many students who attend this school come from villages that are many hours away. These students live at the school during the week and then walk home on the weekends.

During our first trip to Nangi, we saw the village women making beautiful paper, but they did not have a good means of selling the paper. I (Jessica) am a student, and I love art. With the input of others, I decided that gift bags made from their paper would be beautiful. So I learned how to make bags of various sizes, and the following year I taught the women how to make the bags. The women in the village do the entire paper-making process themselves - everything from harvesting the lokta to making the bags. 

This project provides the women from Nangi with additional income, which they use to send their children to school and to buy nutritious food. After paying the women for the bags, all of the additional proceeds from the sale of these bags will go toward building safer housing for the high school students who live at the school.

If you haven't already, you should like our Facebook site: http://www.facebook.com/NepalLoktaGiftBags
If you wish to purchase some of these wonderful bags visit our etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/shop/NepalGiftBags