About us

Hempalaya Team

Our story

Our story begins on an one-year journey across Asia. We, this is Desiree & Jan - freedom and nature-loving globetrotters from Vienna. Nepal, a country that immediately fascinated us with its nature and people, ignited the idea to found Hempalaya.

Hempalaya products consist mainly of wild Himalaya hemp and natural raw materials from Nepal. Hemp is a fascinating plant that can make an important contribution to the sustainability of this world with its numerous processing possibilities. In the mountain regions of Nepal, the raw plant material is first collected and then processed into fibres by local mountain tribes. After intensive harvesting, collection and processing, the hemp fibres are woven into fabrics and transported to one of our factories in Pokhara. Here, our handmade products are assembled with love.

Sewer from Nepal with Desiree

When manufacturing our products, we work exclusively with women's projects & family sewing workshops from Nepal. Our craftsmen receive a fair wage for their work, training, financial support and access to machines to make their work easier. We work on an equal footing with our suppliers and constantly get an idea of the working conditions on site.

Let's make a contribution together!

We´ve had enough of consumption madness, fast fashion, waste of resources, mountains of plastic, chemicals and textile waste! Enough of scandals in the textile industry, constantly changing fashion trends, environmentally damaging synthetic fibers and the immense exploitation of nature and people!

Wild hemp

Did you know that most of the textiles collected end up in huge landfills or incinerators? Manufacturers advertise with recycling, sustainability and their own eco-programs, mostly just to polish their image. According to Greenpeace, only 1% of what is collected is actually mixed as recycled fibre into new clothing and textiles.

Let's stop following every trend together! Let us avoid further textile waste and the exploitation of man and nature by a conscious and well-considered purchase! Let us learn to consume less again and to pay attention to resource-saving products.

With a focus on sustainability, employment of local female entrepreneurs and family sewing workshops, the environment and resource conservation, Hempalaya aims to further promote and develop the lifestyles of people from the hilly and mountainous regions where the raw materials come from. We employ local female entrepreneurs in Nepal with different social and economic backgrounds and provide health and education services to families and their families. 

Rice Business cards for HempalayaFor us, the use of sustainable and raw materials as well as production in family businesses and women's projects are part of a change in textile production that we want to see and support.  

 

Why hemp?

  • Hemp is unique and completely environmentally friendly
  • No pesticides or herbicides are required for hemp cultivation.
  • Hemp has no special soil quality requirements and thrives almost everywhere.
  • The plant grows up to four metres in 100 days and is ready for harvest.
  • Hemp is tear-resistant, durable and environmentally friendly.
  • Skin-friendly, hypoallergenic and antibacterial, sweaty and odour-inhibiting.
  • Hemp fabric is dirt-repellent and odourless.
  • The microelectronic tension of the hemp fiber corresponds exactly to the same tension climate of the human skin.
  • Hemp is a natural moisture regulator
  • Hemp fibres are moth-resistant and flame retardant
  • Hemp does not cause deforestation, but helps to reduce it.

Currently, about 50,000 products can be made from hemp.

In the western Himalayan region of Nepal, hemp has been used for centuries as a source of strong fibres for twines, cords, spun yarns and fabrics.