Government positive to set up Handicraft Development Board

Kathmandu, July 22

The Federation of Handicraft Associations of Nepal (FHAN) has expressed their willingness to work closely with the government to promote, expand and preserve Nepal's handicraft industry.

In a meeting with Prime Minister Balendra Shah at the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday, representatives of the FHAN said that they were encouraged by the government's commitment to prioritising the handicraft sector and affirmed their readiness to cooperate with the government in every possible way.

On the occasion, Prime Minister Shah said that the government remains committed to formulating policies for the handicraft sector, preserving traditional arts, creating employment opportunities and ensuring the transmission of handicraft skills to future generations.

He also responded positively to the federation's proposal to establish a Handicraft Development Board under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, the Prime Minister's Secretariat informed in a statement.

FHAN officials informed that the organisation has been observing Handicraft Day independently on Mangsir 28 each year and requested that it be recognised and celebrated as a national observance. Prime Minister Shah instructed his team to coordinate immediately with the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding the formal recognition and celebration of the day.

"PM Shah also assured the delegation that the government would consider replacing the current self-declaration system for handicraft exports with mandatory invoice-based valuation, in line with the federation's suggestion that such a measure would help increase government revenue," read the statement.

He further assured the representatives that the five per cent export incentive payable on handicraft exports, which has remained suspended for the past three years, would be reinstated.

Likewise, PM Shah responded positively about returning the SAARC Handicraft Development Centre building for its intended purpose. The building has already been constructed within the Department of Industry premises for the promotion and development of handicraft production but is currently occupied by the Office of the Company Registrar.

At the request from the FHAN for the same, he assured the delegation that appropriate action would be taken to utilise the building for its said purpose.

The Prime Minister also showed particular interest in establishing a Handicraft Village in the Kathmandu Valley and opening handicraft skills training centres in all seven provinces. In addition, the FHAN requested government support in facilitating an agreement with construction companies to incorporate artistic and traditional handicraft elements into infrastructure projects.

FHAN officials also presented a number of other proposals, including measures to preserve traditional craftsmanship and the introduction of identity cards for handicraft artisans.

The meeting was attended by FHAN president Rabindra Shakya, senior vice-president Rajman Bajracharya, vice-president Kiran Kumar Sthapit, adviser Bikash Ratna Dhakhwa, and leading handicraft exporter Maheshwar Shrestha.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 23 July 2026.         

Handicraft expo kicks off

Kathmandu, Dec. 3

A handicraft exhibition, aimed at promoting Nepali art and culture, has kicked off at Patan Durbar Square and the Patan Museum premises in Lalitpur on Wednesday as part of the Art and Cultural Festival 2082.

The event is organised by the Federation of Handicraft Associations of Nepal (FHAN) with support from Lalitpur Metropolitan City (LMC).

The exhibition, coordinated jointly by the FHAN, Handicraft and Tourism Development Committee of LMC Ward No. 16, and Patan Museum, features around 21 pavilion stalls and 10 table stalls displaying a diverse range of Nepali handicraft products.

The event also includes a special display of Buddhist ritual adornments presented by the Ward No. 16 Handicraft Promotion Committee, along with an exhibition of traditional ethnic attire.

Cultural performances have been scheduled throughout the exhibition, including classical music, Charya dance, Ashtamatrika and Kartik dances, various folk dances, and traditional musical segments such as Dha: Baja, Damokhin Baja and Nepal Bhasa folk songs.

Likewise, the FHAN, in collaboration with a Korean organisation IMACO, is hosting an international mask exhibition showcasing 60 masks from Nepal and 40 from South Korea. Three stalls serving traditional Newari cuisine have been set up to cater to visitors and exhibitors.

Bindu Shrestha, Bagmati Province Minister for Industry, Commerce, Land and Administration inaugurated the event that will run until Sunday. It will remain open daily from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM. The organisers have announced free entry for the general public.

Patan Durbar Square in Lalitpur, recognised by the World Art Council as the Art City’s cultural centre, provides a symbolic and historic setting for the exhibition, said Rabindra Shakya, President of the FHAN.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 4 December 2025.

FHAN, IRGDD to partner in Nepal's handicraft promotion

 Kathmandu, June 19

The Federation of Handicraft Associations of Nepal (FHAN) and the International Relations and Global Diplomacy Dialogue (IRGDD) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday with the aim of promoting Nepal’s handicraft products.

The MoU was signed by FHAN president Rabindra Shakya and IRGDD Chairperson and former ambassador Dr. Sharmila Parajuli Dhakal.

According to the agreement, diplomatic efforts and necessary support will be mobilised to develop Nepali handicrafts, which represent Nepal’s identity and culture, into a global brand.

Both the organisations expressed their commitment to making the promotion of Nepali handicrafts more effective by focusing on capacity building of artisans, research, study, and policy dialogue.

"The MoU highlights the shared understanding that, as a sector with comparative advantage, the handicraft industry should yield maximum benefits," reads a statement issued by the FHAN.

It also acknowledges the challenges of skill and technology transfer across generations in the handicraft sector, and both organisations have agreed to collaborate to address these issues.

Currently, around 1.1 million people are directly and indirectly involved in Nepal's handicraft sector. About 82 types of handicraft products have been identified under 36 different categories.

These products are exported, both formally and informally, to around 60 countries, generating revenue worth approximately Rs. 22 billion while domestic transactions also make the similar amount.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 20 June 2025. 

Handicraft Fair from 14 November

Kathmandu, Nov. 12: 

The 16^th Handicraft Trade Fair and 14^th Handicraft Competition will begin at the Bhrikutimandap Exhibition Centre on November 14.

The Federation of Handicraft Associations of Nepal (FHAN) is organising the fair with the aim of bringing opportunities to artisans and craft entrepreneurs for business promotion and expand the branding of Nepali handicraft products in the international market, said Hemratna Shakya, Fair Coordinator.

"The fair will also be a platform for the emerging enterprise, to showcase the richness of the intangible cultural heritage and their intrinsic relationship with art and crafts," he said.

The fair will host exhibition of wood carving, metal crafts, handmade paper, textile, stone carving personal accessories and fashion, pashmina products, shoe, gabs and other accessories, silver and metal jewelry, bead crafts, garments, orthodox tea, natural fibre and bamboo goods and other handicraft products.

"We aim at promoting ethnic handicraft goods. Promotion and commercialisation of such products helps in enhancing national identity of the country and employment generation," said Dharma Raj Shakya, President of FHAN.

Handicraft producers from South Asian countries and China, and buyers from countries like Germany, China, Sri Lanka and India will participate in the fair.

Officiating Executive Director of the Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC) Bimal Nepal said that the handicraft products had 0.13 per cent share to the Gross Domestic Product of the country and 1.93 per cent share in the overall export.

He said that the TEPC would provide required training to the aspiring youth.

The Fair will have six pavilion and 170 stalls, and Handicraft Associations of seven provinces, commodity associations and Poverty Alleviation Fund will also participate in the exhibition.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 13 November 2018. 

Export of silver jewellery seeing downward trend

Kathmandu, Aug. 13:

Regardless of various policies and strategies that have been developed to promote and enhance the export of Nepali goods in the international market, the export of silver jewellery has been witnessing a downward trend for the past one decade.

Nepal exported silver jewellery worth Rs. 377 million in 2006/07, but the international trade of the white metal has gone down to as low as Rs. 135 million in 2016/17, according to the statistics of the Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC).

During those past 10 years, the government developed and implemented at least four trade- related policies – Trade Policy 2009, Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) 2010, Trade Policy 2015 and NTIS 2016 - with the aim of promoting and exporting Nepali goods.

The export of silver jewellery reached a ceiling of Rs. 389 million in 2010, and it never returned to level again. The Trade Policy 2010 gave priority to silver goods and had provisions for various incentives, tax cuts and promotion.

The government implemented NTIS 2010, which included silver jewellery as one of the major exportable products, but in the subsequent year, its exports plunged to Rs. 227 million went further down to Rs. 194 million in 2012/13.

Similarly, NTIS put silver jewellery in the prioritised sector and announced programmes for quality control, research and development, testing facility, technology and training, supply chain development and sales promotion, said trade expert Bijendra Man Shakya.

Likewise, Trade Policy 2015 recognised it as a potential export product but did not announce a sector-specific programme. But NTIS 2016 excluded silver jewellery from the priority list.

Silver goods have a market advantages in the United States and European Union and other countries as many of them offer duty and quota free entry for Nepali silver jewellery under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP).

The export of silver goods has not been faring well as compared to other handicraft products, such as Pashmina, woollen and paper goods, and other handicraft items, whose exports grew significantly in the decade that went by.

TEPC said that the share of silver goods in the total handicraft exports has come down to 2.02 per cent in 2016/17 from 4.39 per cent in 2013/14.

In 2017, 57 per cent of silver goods were exported to the USA, 14 per cent to Japan, 6 per cent each to France and Germany, 5 per cent to Switzerland and 12 per cent to other countries.

According to the silver jewellery entrepreneurs, lack of quality testing lab and skilled human resources, non-availability of good quality silver, lack of branding initiatives, and troublesat the customs were the causes behind the ever decreasing exports.

Shakya said that the country immediately needed a quality testing lab so that Nepali silver goods wouldn’t have unwanted and harmful elements such as cadmium and nickel.

President of the Federation of Nepali Handicraft Association (FHAN) Dharma Raj Shakya said that the ‘low volume, high value’ silver goods were facing trouble at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) customs as the entrepreneurs were allowed to carry the goods only worth US$ 150. They faced trouble in carrying jewellery in their hand-carriage.

Director of Nepal Board of Standards and Meteorology Deepak Gyawali said that a committee has been formed to make suggestions about the standards to be maintained in silver goods. 

The committee will recommend the parameters after discussing with the silver entrepreneurs and the Gold and Silver Council at the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI).

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 14 August 2018. 

Handicraft businesses seek govt support in export facilitation, HR development

Lalitpur, Aug 3: Expressing serious concerns over the deteriorating exports of the silver jewelries, businessmen have demanded support for export facilitation, market promotion and human resource development from the government.

Speaking at an interaction on ‘Overcoming constraints in the promotion of silver jewelry export from Nepal’ organised by the Federation of Handicraft Association of Nepal (FHAN) here on Friday they demanded a separate policy for the promotion of silver products.

The share of silver jewelry exports has come down to 2.02 per cent in total handicraft exports in 2016/17 from 4.4 per cent in 2013/14.

This sector has problems in input, production and export.

“Sourcing of raw materials and access to pure silver are problems in input while the entrepreneurs are facing challenges of acute shortage of skilled craftsmen, quality testing, and designs and product adaptation at production stage, and restrained value for export product samples, regulated hand-carry exports, cumbersome customs process and ineffective incentives at export stage,” said Bijendra Man Shrestha, an Economist.

President of FHAN Dharma Raj Shakya urged the government to create infrastructure for the quality testing of silver products and simplify the export process.

Former President of FHAN Pancha Ratna Shakya said that the silver jewelry has 50 per cent value addition on an average but some artistic presentations have up to 200 per cent value addition.

Revenue Secretary at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) Sishir Kumar Dhungana assured the businessmen that the government would support them in promoting Nepali handicraft goods in the international markets.

“The government is also considering implementing duty draw back facility. A Task  Force is formed at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies about increasing incentives to the export oriented products,” he said.

He urged the FHAN to recommend the government about modality of human resource creation, and said that the government was ready to provide budget support for it.

Likewise, Director of the Nepal Bureau of Standard and Meteorology (NBSM) Dipak Gyawali said that the department was working to create non-destructive method to check the quality of the handicraft goods.

“A committee has been formed to create the standards about the silver products. It will hold interactions with the stakeholders and recommend the parameters,” he said.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 4 August 2018. 

PAF organises regional handicraft festival

Kathmandu, Jan. 11: The Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF), Nepal is organising South Asian Festival on ‘Handicrafts: Meetings and Marketplaces’ in Kathmandu from January 12 to 14.

The highlight of the three-day festival will be the launch of Nepal Ko – a new brand of exquisite handicrafts produced by Nepali artisans.

Crafts from India and Pakistan will also be showcased in this mega event at the De L’ Annapurna Hotel, Durbarmarg, Kathmandu, said the PAF.

Around 200 products, categorised under 10 different skill sets, will be displayed at 20 stalls - 18 for Nepali and one each for Indian and Pakistani crafts.

“The festival aims to promote a wide range of handicrafts produced by Nepali artisans supported by Making Markets Work for Conflict Affected in Nepal - a PAF-implemented project,” executive director Nahakul KC said.

According to him, the event is a marketing platform to showcase the artisan livelihood initiatives implemented by PAF Nepal, and similar initiatives from neighbouring countries. It aims to facilitate a dialogue between different stakeholders in the region, and is expected to promote cross-cultural learning and interactions.

 “The objective of the project is to increase the share of rural artisans – especially from the poorest, landless and conflict-affected communities – in the crafts and cultural market,” he said.

"The project has benefitted poor and disadvantaged people, including women and persons with disabilities, particularly from the areas affected by conflict and social unrest.”

PAF has been implementing this project in seven districts - Dailekh, Dang, Dhanusa, Terhathum, Kapilvastu, Myagdi and Gorkha- enabling skilled artisans to increase their incomes and improve their livelihoods by connecting them to markets.

The project is supported by the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) and managed by the World Bank.

The handicrafts produced by the PAF-supported artisans will be showcased and sold during the festival, which will be inaugurated by Finance Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki.

The festival will also be a platform where craft and art aficionados can meet and interact with more than 100 Nepali artisans, craftsmen and Mithila painters, who will be promoting their authentic indigenous products. 

Published in The Rising Nepal Daily on January 12, 2017. 

FHAN to organize fair in Hong Kong

Kathmandu, June 18: With an aim of promoting Nepalese handicrafts, cultural items, music and garments, Hong Kong-based Nepal Embassy and Nepalese Business Association Limited, and Federation of Handicraft Association Nepal (FHAN) are jointly organizing Hong Kong Nepal Trade Fair 2017.

The fair will be organised on June 24 and 25 at Hong Kong Culture Centre, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

FHAN, in a press statement on Sunday, said that there would be 18 stalls – 15 from FHAN and 3 from Hong Kong.

“We will showcase cashmere, silver jewellery, metal statues, thanka and other handicraft items in the fair. The fair will support us in promoting Nepali handicraft items in Hong Kong, and creating market for Nepali cashmere, Dhaka and other garment products. Hong Kong Summer Fashion Show will be organised for it,” said FHAN.

The fair is supported by the Trade and Export Promotion (TEPC), Trade Development Council and Nepal Airlines.

Honk Kong has a sizable number of Nepali diasporas and contributes approximately Rs. 20 billion per year to the national economy.

KMC to exhibit Nepalese goods in its sister cities

Kathmandu, Feb. 5: The Ministry of Industry (MoI) and Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Sunday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to operate special exhibition and sales outlets of Nepalese goods in 16 cities of various countries with whom the capital city has established sister relations.

Joint secretary of MoI Dinesh Ghimire and executive officer of KMC Rudra Singh Tamang signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations in the presence of Minister for Industry Nabindra Raj Joshi and Minister of State at MoI Kanchan Chandra Bade at Singha Durbar.

Tamang said that the Capital city had sister relations with 16 cities of the countries like United States of America, Japan, China, India, Myanmar, Belarus and Korea, and will sign MoUs for more international cities.

According to the MoU, the showroom of Nepalese goods in the sister cities would create competitive and supply chain advantages for Nepalese industries and this could be a milestone for industrial development in Nepal.

"Our products might be included in global supply chain as it exposed to traders and customers. We have cheaper labour cost that could get value proposition in the international market," read the MoU.

As per the agreement, KMC will identify occasional and regular exhibition and sales centres in its sister cities around the world to promote Nepalese products by displaying and selling, and MoI will facilitate the exhibition and sales centres in Nepal for those sister cities of KMC seeking for facilities in Nepal for their products exhibition and sale.

Likewise, the ministry will also perform necessary works to promote Nepalese products when KMC requests for the same.

Minister Joshi said that the exhibition of Nepalese products in various sister cities of KMC would draw attention of international buyers to Nepalese goods.

The Ministry and the KMC also agreed to support new product development, skill development and business startup development programmes targeting to customers of those sister cities.

Finally SAARC Handicraft Centre gets budget

The government has begun the process to create the much awaited SAARC Handicraft Development Centre, one of the seven in the South Asian region, in the country to ensure quality products and promote the export of Nepalese handicraft items.

It has allocated Rs. 50 million for the construction of building for the centre which will be built at the premises of the Department of Industry, Tripureshwor.

Handicraft entrepreneurs, who criticized the government for the budget which was silent about the centre and other programmes to produce skilled human resources, are delighted with the new government move to construct a SAARC-standard handicraft development centre.

In his budget speech, Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel had promised to provide budget to enhance the production of the goods that have high export potential and promote such products in the international market.

Once the centre was build, SAARC Development Fund will provide approximately USD 1.7 million for its operation and instrument management, informed Dharma Raj Shakya, president of the Federation of Handicraft Associations of Nepal (FHAN).

The centre will have handicraft showroom, quality testing laboratory, design centre and training programmes to support the sector.

“It will also facilitate in research and development progremmes in order to design and promote indigenous and innovative handicraft products,” said Dr. Govinda Prasad Regmi, director general of the FHAN.

The government has planned to operate the handicraft as per the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model.

“Nepal will receive the final document for the handicraft centre from the SDF, Bhutan by next month. We have been planning to organize the stone laying ceremony of the building in August this year,” informed Dr. Regmi.

Nepalese handicraft entrepreneurs had been demanding such centre for years while SAARC ministerial-level meeting held in Kathmandu in April 2013 had agreed to establish such centre in all member countries and also decided to assign the Handicraft and Handloom Export Corporation, India as the lead agency to further the process.

However, such centres will be built in all SAARC member nations but India.

“India said that it does not need such centre as its handicraft products have already captured a good market share in international trade,” said Dr. Regmi.

 According to the FHAN, the size of handicraft business in Nepal is more than Rs. 20 billion per annum and the sector has been contribution more than 12 per cent in the country’s export. Nepalese handicrafts are exported to about 80 countries in Asia, Americas and Europe. 

Handicraft Fair attracts visitors

Kathmandu, May 7: Visitors thronged to the 13^th Handicraft Trade Fair and 11^th Craft Competition at the Bhrikutimandap.

The second day of the fair witnessed more than 25,000 visitors observing the fair and purchasing goods of about Rs. 10, million, informed the organizers. Vice Chancellor of the Academy of Fine Arts Sharada Chitrakar visited the Fair as the Guest of the Day.

The Fair is being organized by the Federation of Handicraft Association of Nepal (FHAN) in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce and Trade and Export Promotion Centre.

Handicrafts from the Kathmandu Valley and other 40 districts of Nepal along with Bangladesh and Bhutan are being exhibited in the fair.

Meanwhile, a seminar on the contemporary issues regarding the handicraft development was organized Saturday.

Dharma Raj Shakya, president of the FHAN, said that the fair was organized to promote and expand the market of Nepalese handicraft products. “The seminar was organized to identify the problems in handicraft business and recommend solutions for them.”

An expert of handicraft design from the USA, Dr. Lean A. presented a paper on Nepalese Handicraft in International Prospective Trend.

Participants of the seminar suggested that as the demand of Nepalese gold and silver jewelleries and other products had been increasing in the international market the quality of such products should be enhanced and skill should be transferred.

They also urged the government to facilitate and simplify the export process of the handicraft goods in order to promote export.

Indian ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Ray stated that there was high demand of Nepalese handicraft in India.

Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Naindra Prasad Upadhyaya said that the government was working on facilitating and simplifying the export process of handicraft, and expressed his commitment that the government would initiate policy reform which was required to develop the handicraft business in the country.

The fair will continue till Monday.