Fair-Trade Label STEP
Designercarpets Drechsle is a member of the fair trade label STEP. Label STEP is the non-profit fair trade organization that promotes the welfare of weavers and workers in the handmade carpet industry. In addition to the internal review of working conditions in the production countries, Designercarpets Drechsle is now supported externally and independently.
Further information on the STEP label: https://label-step.org/about-label-step/
Social responsibility as an integral part
The fair production of handmade carpets has been the focus of Designercarpets Drechsle from the very beginning. Regular travel, fair payment and trusting cooperation with long-standing partners have ensured that good working conditions are maintained since the 1990s. This includes regularly checking the age of employees, supporting kindergartens and schools and setting high expectations for fair working conditions, which are clearly communicated to our partners. Social projects are also important to us:
We support through our local network and experience the impact personally
Fundraising projects and local support
SHREE GANESH BASIC SCHOOL, NOMOBUDDHA
The basic idea behind Designercarpets Drechsle's donation projects is to promote education for children and young people in Nepal. On this basis, further cooperations with supporters in the service network are constantly being developed.
In April 2022, the donation project for the Shree Ganesh Basic School Nomobuddah was made possible. This is located around 30 km outside Kathmandu. In coordination with the Rotary Club of Lörrach and the Rotary Club of Kasthamandap, sports and school equipment, uniform clothing, leisure equipment such as a hand carousel and slide, two- and four-seater benches and a computer with printer for the infrastructure were purchased.
HOSPITAL DASHINKALI
The Manmohan Memorial Community Hospital was created from a simple roadside hospital. International donations made it possible to rebuild and extend the hospital into a clinic with beds and an emergency ward. In the emergency ward, patients are treated free of charge by volunteer doctors. In April 2022, Designercarpets Drechsle, Rotary Club Lörrach and Rotary Club Kasthamandap inaugurated the installation of a dialysis facility with equipment. The hospital is a great relief for around 110,000 people in the Dashinkali area. They will no longer have to travel long distances and use expensive means of transportation to Kathmandu.
KINDERGARTEN DHAPASI
Designercarpets Drechsle donates two colorful carpets to the newly built kindergarten in Kathmandu/Dhapasi.
WOMEN DRIVER LICENSE
Women are still disadvantaged in Nepalese society. For Designercarpets Drechsle, it makes sense to focus on donation projects for women. The indirect and direct promotion of women and families through jobs is an important part of the support projects. The Women Driver License donation project was created. 15 women were able to complete driving lessons with a driving license. This has given them a job. The earnings help the women and their families to become independent and earn additional income for their children's education. The donations were made possible by the Zonta Club Südschwarzwald.
SHRAMIC LABOUR SCHOOL
The extension (addition of 3 additional classrooms to the main building) enables the school to be upgraded to the 10th grade. The young people can now complete their schooling in the same building and do not have to change districts.
BLIND ORPHANS NEPAL
Children need special attention in poorer countries. Orphans are particularly affected. Together with Manufaktur and other donors from Lörrach and the surrounding area, we support a home for blind orphans in Kathmandu.
EARTHQUAKE 2015
On April 25, 2015, Nepal experienced a severe earthquake. Designer Carpets Drechsle initiated a delegation with four-wheel drive vehicles and, thanks to the spontaneous willingness of the Rotary Club of Lörrach to donate, delivered funds for the construction and infrastructure of a temporary school in Yogeshwore with the help of the Rotary Club of Kasthamandap. In the remote and inaccessible mountain region, around 300 children were thus spared a one-and-a-half-year interruption from school and were able to attend school.
Sustainable production
Natural resources
Designercarpets Drechsle attaches great importance to traditional craftsmanship. Up to 100% natural materials such as Tibetan virgin sheep's wool, nettle, silk or hemp are used. These raw materials are washed, partially dyed and knotted directly onto cotton yarn. This makes the hand-knotted or woven rug a product made from natural raw materials.