20/09/2022
His Excellency Vice President of the European Parliament & Chair of the European Parliament Delegation to Bhutan, His Excellency Lyonpo Loknath Sharma, Ministry of Economic Affairs (MoEA) graced the closing event of EU Bhutan Trade Support project. Mr. Daniel Hachez, Head of Cooperation, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Bhutan to UN, Geneva, Director, Division of Country Programmes, ITC, UN Resident Coordinator (Bhutan), Dasho Secretary, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Dasho Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Forest, CEO, APIC, Member of the EU Parliament also graced the closing event of the project on September 19, 2022 at Le Meridan, Thimphu.
The implementation of the project started in May 2018 with an inception phase. Based on the Value Chain Analysis and stakeholders mapping, 19 Direct Beneficiaries were selected for their export potential, network with artisans and communities along the value chain. The 19 Direct Beneficiaries includes Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Design boutiques, and textile entrepreneurs across the country. The CSOs who were directly involved are Tarayana Foundation, Royal Textile Academy of Bhutan, SABAH Bhutan, Respect Educate Nurture and Empower Women (RENEW), the Handicraft Association of Bhutan (HAB), and National Handloom Development Center (NHDC). The selected Direct Beneficiaries have been receiving continuous training and coaching, and introduced to potential buyers, through trade shows and B2B events.
Under the scope of this project, two collections have been developed;
● A collective collection called “Bhutan Textiles”, was developed collectively with all project beneficiaries, targeting the Maison & Objet biannual trade show in Paris. A collective collection was developed representing all project beneficiaries as part of the Bhutan textiles collective brand.
● A capsule collection called the “HINGTHAM”, home textile collection (HINGTHAM meaning ‘Heart Weaving’), was developed exclusively with local raw materials, to safeguard the local inputs and natural dyeing traditions and related jobs along the production value chain.
The project has greatly helped the Bhutanese textile entrepreneur and the artisans along the value chain. Our Bhutanese textile products were positively received in the international market. The ‘Bhutan Textiles’ has so far exported products worth over Nu. 10.25 million, to 60 clients from 14 countries, namely; France, Belgium, Germany, UK, New Zealand, Switzerland, Netherland, Japan, US, Spain, Italy, Monaco, Norway and South Korea.
Upon successful completion of the project in August 2022, as part of the exit strategy, the 19 Direct Beneficiaries agreed to work together under the ‘Bhutan Textiles’ brand, to continue with the exports and marketing activities even after the closure of the project, and they have formed the Governance Committee comprising of 7 members. APIC will support and handhold the ‘Bhutan Textiles’ until they become sustainable to run on their own.
