Meet the Team!
Here at Lotus Sky we believe that true women's empowerment means creating opportunity for women to rise as natural leaders in a safe, supportive environment. At Lotus Sky everything is handled by women: our crocheting, designing, photography, marketing, social media, and training.
At Lotus Sky we tell women, “You deserve more.” We believe that at the heart of empowerment is steady training, community and economic return. This is why all of the Lotus Sky women participate in ongoing training sessions to ensure that their skills are consistently improved, work together out of the same studio, and are paid 5-6 times the average in Nepal for crocheted beadwork.
Amid the competition, we will never compromise on our core values and will only continue to improve our standards!
With the exception of our US based shipper and an administrative assistant, every role within Lotus Sky is filled by a woman in Nepal. Socially responsible business, done right, has the power to radically transform communities. However, resources must be kept on the ground so that the economic benefit can circulate within the community.
At Lotus Sky, even if it takes extra time to train and empower, we believe in keeping as much work on the ground in Nepal as possible. Only through a commitment like this will women start to imagine more and more possibilities for themselves!
SANGYE DOLMA LAMA: A LOTUS SKY SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR & OPERATIONS MANAGER
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Sangye Dolma Lama is an incredible social entrepreneur. And although she prefers to stay out of the limelight, she truly is the glue that holds our whole project together.
After completing grade 10 from the Shree Mangal Dvip (SMD) Boarding School, a nonprofit that provides full education and board to Himalayan children who come from some of the most remove villages in Nepal where access to education is limited, if not impossible, Sangye joined Lotus Sky as a social impact intern.
She was interested in business, but, more specifically, business with an impact. Although Sangye considered a career in nursing or medicine, she felt that the chance to grow a branch of a social enterprise that was 100% women run and operated and actively created career paths for refugee women who had never before earned their own income, would allow her to have the biggest impact.
Sangye is one of the founders of our beadwork bracelet program: One of her best friends, Dawa (Lemon), crocheted beadwork bracelets while they were still students together at SMD Boarding School and Lemon, in turn, is the sister of Pimma, who is the social entrepreneur responsible for creating the blueprint for the beadwork bracelets project in the Lhomi refugee community.
At 16, Sangye also became fully responsible for her two younger siblings and has since ensured education for both herself and her siblings through her Lotus Sky income. The situation also pushed Sangye to mature very quickly – she was already a strong, intelligent, and leadership-oriented young woman when she joined, but has since blossomed into a passionate and compassionate leader who 120 women look up to.
It's hard perhaps to imagine just how much the we at Lotus Sky have all been through together. Natural disasters, sexual assault, marriage, birth, and death. Sangye has been a beacon of light and a steady friend through all of this. She is wise beyond her 24 years and her compassion for all beings- humans and animals, alike- is admirable.
Today Sangye leads the whole Lotus Sky bracelet program in Kathmandu, which means overseeing the smaller pods of Nima, Rodha and Pimma, while handling all custom orders with her own small team of our best beadworkers.
Her work ethic and personal drive combined with her passion for lifting up communities through economic opportunity contines to impress and motivate all of us every single day.
When you wear your Lotus Sky bracelets, we hope you will remember Sangye working behind the scenes to make all of this beadwork beauty possible!
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NIMA LHOMI: A LOTUS SKY SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR & STUDIO CAPTAIN
Early on Creative Director, Sarah, saw Nima's talent and invited her to train with her one on one. Now Nima is a studio leader empowering and mentoring a team of 45 women and helping with our social media content!
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PIMMA LHOMI: LOTUS SKY SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR & DIRECTOR OF LHOMI REFUGEE OUTREACH PROGRAM
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We were in the midst of a heavy monsoon season when Pimma Lhomi, a woman who had fled her home village in the Himalayas to seek religious freedom in Kathmandu, walked into the Lotus Sky store with a sample beaded crochet bracelet.
She had a vision: The other refugee women in her small Lhomi community needed economic independence from their husbands, brothers, fathers. Not only because increasing the household income would improve the quality of life for all, but also because girls were last on the totem pole when it came to education; because mothers wanted to invest money differently than did their husbands.
Pimma proposed that she would train more women in her community on the beadwork crochet craft she and her female relatives already knew. Lotus Sky would create brand new designs that spoke to a global aesthetic and would appeal to customers outside of Nepal.
She would then record the designs and measurements to ensure that the women in her community were creating beadwork pieces that represented high standards, consistency, and pattern perfection.
This was a radical departure from the simple patterns using traditional color schemes that the Lhomi women were already making to complement their churpa dresses.
Pimma was proposing the launch of a social enterprise project with a clear goal to economically empower women and a clear avenue of how to do so. And she saw cultural collaboration- the fusion of traditional with a global perspective- as the best path forward.
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Fast forward 8 years: Pimma is a mother of two. She owns her own land and house – along with several large gardens and livestock. She is not only fully economically independent, but puts both of her children through Montessori school and is a core donor at her church.
Perhaps most impressively, Pimma leads a team of over 50 women who all earn “investable wages” through the program she helped found.
Pimma Lhomi is a Lotus Sky Social Entrepreneur. And to her and the incredible team of women she mentors, Lotus Sky bracelets are more than just pretty arm candy. They are bracelets with purpose, they are bracelets that represent hope, they are tiny little circles of beads and thread that have transformed the lives of women in a refugee community in Nepal.
One bracelet at a time, we welcome you to join the movement!
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ANU TAMANG
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Anu joined Lotus Sky 3 years ago. She is 22 years old and first came to Lotus Sky through Lemon (Dawa), who introduced the Nepali crocheted beadwork bracelet technique to us and initially trained our first team of craftswomen. Anu is in college studying business and hopes one day to work in accounting for a bank. She really loves math, which is why making the perfect bracelet sizes and sectioning is one of her strongest skills at Lotus Sky! When she is not working or making bracelets, Anu provides home tutoring to two children and enjoys traveling the countryside!
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RODHA LHOMI
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Rodha joined Lotus Sky 4 years ago as two of her cousins were responsible for heading the Sisters Under One Sky training programs in her Lhomi community. Rodha was born in India where her parents went to seek work as laborers, however, returned to Nepal as a teenager. A massively motivated young woman, Rodha has become the Earrings Captain, training over 30 women. She also works directly with Sarah to finalize samples before production. Rodha hopes to one day run her own microbusiness within Lotus Sky so that she can improve the lives of her parents and siblings.
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LHAKPATIK BHOTE
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18-year-old Lhakpatik is a new member of the Lotus Sky sisterhood, currently enrolled in our bracelet training program with Rodha.
After completing her education through grade 10 near her village, Lhakpatik moved to Kathmandu to pursue higher education and ensure that she has a meaningful degree that will set her up for success.
She is currently studying law and hopes to open her own practice one day!
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CHELAMO LHOMI
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Chelamo is incredibly joyous. She makes all the Lotus Sky women laugh. Amazingly, she joined Lotus Sky after the April 2015 earthquake with no experience in beadwork and, through hard work, determination, and a positive attitude, has become one of our best crocheters!
Coming from a very difficult background of domestic servitude that began at age 6, Chelamo's main goal with Lotus Sky is to be able to ensure her daughter the education that she herself never received. She is a true inspiration!
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MAYA TAMANG
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Maya joined the Lotus Sky team five years ago at age 18. She was married at 15 and has two young sons.
Having never worked outside of the home prior to joining Lotus Sky, Maya decided that she wanted her own economic security independent of her husband, who is a trekking guide and is gone 4-6 months out of the year. His work is dangerous and Maya has saved every single rupee earned with Lotus Sky as a security fund.
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PASANG DOLMA
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Pasang is such a joyful member of the Lotus Sky sisterhood, always showing up to the studio with a broad smile and a willingness to tackle tough patterns!
She is a 44-year-old mother of two teenage children- a son and a daughter. Having eloped in marriage when she was 16, Pasang left her life on the Terai plains of Nepal six years ago so that her children could receive better educations. Pasang's goal with Lotus Sky is to ensure that both of her children attend college.
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KAANCHI LHOMI
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Kaanchi learned crocheted beadwork from her sisters who are also Lotus Sky Craftswomen. With her parents in her home village, it has been up to Kaanchi to put herself through college and support herself. Lotus Sky has been set up so that college students are allowed a flexible schedule, freedom to choose how many bracelets to make each week, and offered opportunities to intern in all avenues of the business. This has given Kaanchi the chance to work towards her Humanities degree and improve her English in the hope of studying abroad in the future!
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DOLMA TAMANG
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Meet Dolma Tamang, a 24-year-old mother who joined Lotus Sky after learning beadwork crochet from other mothers while they waited for their children to finish school. Dolma's friends encouraged her to join Lotus Sky after she became pregnant again so that she could earn her own income and not be fully reliant on her husband. Once Dolma realized that she could ensure both of her children would have an education, whether or not her husband agreed, she was all-in and has been beading ever since! *
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BHUTIK LHOMI
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Meet Bhutik Lhomi, a strong matriarch originally from the remote village of Sankhuwasabha in the mountains of eastern Nepal. Bhutik migrated to Kathmandu in search of an education for her 7 children, who range in age from 16 down to 3!
At 45 years old, she has seen Nepal through so many different stages, including the entirety of the Nepal Civil War that ravaged the country from 1996 to 2006. Bhutik's hope for the future is women: She believes that mothers investing in their children and communities is the key to peace and progress in Nepal.
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JAMLING LHAMU
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Jamling joined Nima's training team shortly after arriving from her home village of Sankhuwasabha in the mountains of eastern Nepal and on the border of Tibet. She came to the city in order to provide her toddler son with an education as the village lacks a basic school system.
Her training took one year as she settled into city life and started earning her own income for the first time. Jamling looks forward to her Lotus Sky career that will enable her to put her son through school!
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DUNGDOKMA LHOMI
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Meet Dungdokma Lhomi, a 33-year-old mother of one son. Having dreamt of leaving poverty behind her from a young age, Dungdokma and her husband left their home village near the border of Tibet immediately following their marriage to seek opportunity in Kathmandu.
Within a week of arriving, Dungdokma's fellow Lhomi women introduced her to what would become her career as a Lotus Sky Craftswoman. While her husband serves as a trekking guide and is often gone for months, Dungdokma knows that she can count on herself and support her family!
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GACHUNG LHOMI
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Gachung is a new member of the Lotus Sky sisterhood, having initially joined Rodha's team four months ago. Inspired by her earring training, Gachung has also enrolled in our bracelet training program under Nima.
Like many of the Lhomi women, Gachung left her Himalayan village to immigrate to Kathmandu for better opportunity and religious freedom. Raising two children, Gachung's work with Lotus Sky ensures that she can pay the tuition on quality education for both of her children.
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LHAJIK BHOTE
Meet Lhajik Bhote, a vibrant 25-year-old artisan with roots in Sankhasabha, although she was born in the capital city. Currently navigating her way through university life, Lhajik is in her third year of pursuing a Bachelor's degree in sociology.
While she dedicates her time to academic pursuits, Lhajik is also an integral part of Lotus Sky, having contributed her skills and creativity for over a year. Introduced to our community by her cousin, she brings a unique flair to our craft.
Beyond her association with Lotus Sky, Lhajik is a member of another organization and an aspiring dressmaker. Recently passing South Korea's EPS examination, she eagerly awaits the completion of her immigration process. In her spare time, she immerses herself in the world of Korean dramas, expressing a particular fondness for them.
A devoted learner, Lhajik is a member of Blessed Hope, where she hones her sewing skills, specializing in creating dresses like kurtas. As she progresses through her university journey and explores the realms of craftsmanship, Lhajik's story unfolds with each stitch and academic milestone.
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BARSA BHOTE
Meet Barsa Bhote, a dynamic 24-year-old artisan who has been weaving her magic at Lotus Sky for the past two months. Originally hailing from Sankhasava, just like her colleague Lada, Barsa was introduced to the world of Lotus Sky through one of her cousins.
After completing middle school, Barsa decided to embark on a different journey, choosing to focus on creating a nurturing home environment. Currently a devoted housewife, she cherishes the joy of motherhood with her 22-month-old child.
Barsa's affinity for matte beads shines through in her bracelet preferences, with her ultimate favorite design being the enchanting Twinkle. Seeking a healthier and more sustainable life, she made the move to the bustling capital city, where she continues to add her creative touch to Lotus Sky's intricate designs.
In her leisure moments, Barsa finds solace in travel, with her heart set on exploring the beauty of her village – a place that holds a special spot in her soul. Before TikTok faced restrictions in Nepal, Barsa enjoyed sharing her moments through live streams, showcasing her vibrant personality to a wider audience.
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