Connections
Nepal, Asia
Manijt Bahadur Chepang, 80, is a basket weaver in Pida, a rural area in Nepal’s Dhading District. He has been making baskets, which are often used to carry water jars, grass or firewood, since he was 15 years old. People tie the baskets to their heads or shoulders with rope or cloth to carry their loads. Chepang pays 350 Nepalese rupees ($3.29) for a bamboo tree from a local forest, which he strips into thin pieces for weaving. He makes about five baskets from one bamboo tree and sells each basket for 250 rupees ($2.35). The only basket weaver in his area of the community, Chepang has a thriving business, selling about 200 baskets a month from his home or at the market.
