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

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