A Little work & a little play
Now situated I check out Sherpa Adventure Gear’s production facility and get a few holes of golf in ;)
In my previous posts I discussed getting to Nepal (Sunday), and getting acclimated (Monday). In this post I’ll cover Tuesday & Wednesday where I learn more about my client Sherpa Adventure Gear (SAG) operations and fit time in for a lil golf.
Now that I am for the most part acclimated it’s time to get to work. The purpose of this trip is for me to better understand SAG as a brand so that in turn I can better market their products online. There’s no better way than to get to know the people who are making the products.
TUESDAY: I’m still a little jet lagged which means waking up super early (1am), which is okay because I have work to be done and at least this way I can work similar hours as my team back home. After getting breakfast (thanks Raj!) Tsering and I jump in the little SAG car and again brave the wild and crazy traffic of Kathmandu city. It’s hot but as we make our way I feel like I’m starting to get the rhythms of the city. The people work hard, some have very little and some have a lot, it makes the income disparity the “1%” back in the US seem much more tangible as there really isn’t much of a middle class… or at least not to my standards for what a middle class should have (running water, a sewage system etc).
Finally we arrive to the location where the had knit hats are made BY HAND! (see cover photo at top of post). I met the men who run the facility and some of the woman who produce the hats. The woman sit in groups and chat as the make the hats. Some woman just pick up the materials and make the hats from home. It’s a great opportunity for some of these housewives to make additional income. There are others who are battered woman, where this is there primary income. The woman seem happy with the financial opportunity as well as the flexibility the job offers.
I feel bad about the amount of plastic we use
I thought it was very interesting, given the amount of trash scattered in the streets and in the rivers to hear someone mention waste and eco-friendliness. In discussing it with Tsering, being eco-friendly is something that SAG strives for and is something the people of Nepal want. Handling waste is a serious problem in a city of 4 million people. Ultimately it will be up to the Nepalese people to find a solution, and you’re starting to see them handling it… The trash is collected on the street corners and early in the morning a garbage truck comes along and cleans it up… well most of the way. It’s a step in the right direction, it is such a beautiful country, city and people that with the new political system focused on the people I am hopeful that they will make the necessary changes.
Our next stop was SAG’s Main Production Facility (MPF). The MPF was much more like the production facilities I’m use to seeing back home. This is where they manufacture many of their technical garmets. From receiving the raw materials, to cutting to producing it’s all done here.
WEDNESDAY 7AM: GOKARNA GOLF, KATHMANDU NEPAL
We wake up early because today we’re going to GOLF!!! There are really only 2 golf courses in Kathmandu, the one we’re going to is a private course aka the nice one.
As we drove up to the course I saw little monkeys like the ones from an Indiana Jones movie. Once we get there the caddies run over, grab our clubs and we make our way down to the course. It’s early and there’s a dew on the grass that makes the putting extremely slow. The grass is bermuda grass, which is a lot thicker than the grass back home, but overall the course is in really good shape. We played nine holes, I should a 52 (I fell apart on 2 holes, otherwise I played really well). There were views of rice fields, monkeys, birds and deer everywhere. I played with Tsering and a Tibetin rug maker. After golf, Tsering and I grabbed breakfast on the patio before a quick visit to the facility where they make their hand knit sweaters.
Everything that goes into making, whether it be technical jackets, or hand knit hats and sweaters is absolutely amazing. Typically when I walk into an REI or Second Ascent, I think holy @#$% how could a jacket cost that much. After seeing what goes into making these products I honestly can’t believe it costs that little… And to think, I’m not even seeing the production of the materials used. SAG buys those goods from all over the world, where they specialize in each material for it’s particular function within the product.