The story behind the stuff

The concept of beginning with crafts and products from Kumaon dates back to 2017, when we were laying the foundation for Nayalap. As a for-profit venture with a mission to address Palayan (migration) in Kumaon, we recognized early on that expanding our focus to include diverse opportunities for entrepreneurship and income generation was essential. While we initially started with tourism due to our expertise in the field, integrating crafts soon became a natural progression to further support local livelihoods and showcase the region's rich cultural heritage.

Going about crafts and products from Kumaon

Kumaon holds a very deep craft and culinary tradition. A lot of it is already quite famous and attracts aficionados from across the world. Our aim was to be a channel for craftsmen to sell their goods to the rest of the country and only that. 

As a result, we had no inhibitions informing a customer where his product was created or to take our guests to craft workshops nearby.

Step 1

They say charity starts at home. Well, entrepreneurship starts at home too. So we started out with our pickles, salts and marmalades. Along with this, we had met and interacted with a group from Kafalkot who were adept at making products in bamboo. In fact, their products were so good that we garnered many customers from the North-East buying bamboo products.

While this was in progress, we also connected with the Coppersmiths of Almora and the Ironsmiths of Lohaghat to procure traditional Kumaoni vessels and utensils. The hammered iron Kadhais, pans and the Bhaddu were especially a big hit. 

As this interest in the Kumaoni lifestyle and lifestyle products grew, customers started taking an interest in Kumaon's produce. The increasing using of pesticides and processing in commercial farming led to customers searching for natural and local grains and legumes. Black bean, Horse Gram, Finger Millets and more started getting increasing acceptance into urban kitchens. We thus started procuring the same from small farmers to supply to this demand.

Step n+1

This year, we'll be working on 2 expansions. The first would be a deep dive into more traditional cooking and kitchen utensils. Food made in a Bhaddu has a truly unique and beautiful taste and we are wondering whether other utensils would also add to the quality of food prepared in kitchens.

The other would be in handknitted goods. As more people start looking for traditional winter accessories, we will be looking at handknits in modern mediums like acrylic yarns as well as traditional mediums like Angora Rabbit Wool and Sheepwool.