Ep 9: Rabi Malla - Social Entrepreneur & Founder of KOLPA

What this episode covers

Rabi Chandra Malla is the founder of KOLPA - a social enterprise based in Kathmandu, Nepal that aims to promote sustainable & exclusive handmade goods produced by various indigenous communities from across the country (including the nomadic Raute tribe!). Who is Rabi Chandra Malla? Rabi was born in Bhaktapur and grew up in Kathmandu, Nepal. Having spent his formative years in a boarding school for the children of ex-police officers, Rabi became aware of the growing mental health issues in Nepal. With that in mind, he applied to study psychology in the US in 1998. Living in the USA In the 12-13 years he spent in the US, Rabi would read news about Nepal being an underdeveloped country and felt that Nepal needed to have its own self-sustainable economy or they would always be dependent on foreign countries and donations. It was 1998. The time of Yahoo, Netscape, and Lycos with Alta Vista as a search engine. Google was in its primitive form and no one had heard of Amazon. Due to the influences of other Nepalis in his university, he switched to the field of IT and ended up with a Bachelors in IT. Returning to Nepal The first time he returned to Nepal, there was political turmoil in the country where businesses were ordered to be shut. He therefore returned to the USA to pursue a Masters in IT and returned again to Nepal in 2011 with his wife and two daughters. For the next 3 years, he would look after his daughters at home while his wife pursued her career. But during that time, he did an extensive amount of research. Met local craftsmen and attended fairs, understanding the local artisan landscape. Starting KOLPA The beginnings of KOLPA were difficult. People didn’t know him and he had to build trust with each and every person from the ground up. And in STIMY Episode 8, we dig deep into how Rabi faced & overcame each of these challenges. From working in his basement to moving to his first physical store at Lazimpat (and why that was important!) and how he ended up in his current location at Jhamsikhel. Other things we talked about: - The lives of the various indigenous tribes scattered across Nepal; - How he first gained the trust of the communities; - How he gained attention from perspective buyers both locally and internationally; - The challenges of running his business (hint: transporting local products on the backs of humans through some of the world’s highest mountainous regions down to Kathmandu!); - How he determined a fair price for producers and customers alike; - The changes that have been introduced to the communities; - How COVID-19 has impacted KOLPA & the local communities; and - KOLPA’s future. Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/9