The SAARC Secretariat has offered to help the design development centre, handicraft laboratory and handicraft emporium at Tripureshwor, Himalayan Times quoted Federation of Handicraft Associations of Nepal (FHAN) President Hem Ratna Shakya as saying. If things turn out well, FHAN, which presently runs an emporium in Thamel in Kathmandu, would receive Np Rs. 150 million in assistance for its development project on the site of Department of Cottage and Small Industries at Tripureshwor, he added.
The association is also gearing up to request the Government to extend an assistance of Rs. 2.5 million for the development project, Mr. Shakya said. He said the Government is positively considering FHAN’s demand to give them land at Tripureshwor to develop a handicraft laboratory, a well equipped design centre and a handicraft emporium.
ealizing that in present times of competition, the domestic sector cannot solely rely on its traditional market – Europe, FHAN has also urged the Government to provide it financial assistance of Rs. 7.5 million to search or expand in new markets. Mr. Sakhya said Nepali handicraft exporters need to focus on the market trend in Eastern Europe, Mexico, South Africa and Brazil to boost exports.
According to Nepal Rastra Bank statistics, handicraft exports from Nepal dipped 49.7 percent during the first eight months of the current fiscal, against the same period of last year.
