Located at Bhainsepati is a workshop spread over one Ropani of land where Shyam Ram—a man in his mid-thirties—runs his velvet slippers factory. The factory houses six slipper-makers who manually produce up to 50 pairs of Kaapa Lnaka—Nepal Bhasa for slippers made out of cloth—per day.

Originally from Gabhariya in Sarlahi, Shyam moved to Kathmandu three and a half years ago to start this promising enterprise. Shyam and his employees, who hail from the same village, work at the factory for nine months and go home during the harvest season to help their family out with cultivation. The profits the factory makes is enough for Shyam to pay his employees and to provide for his family through the year. “Sometimes we even clock a surplus,” he confesses smiling.

Shyam sells these slippers at a whole price ranging from Rs 150 to 250 depending on the amount of embroidery work that goes into the velvet.

 In the last few years he has noticed that the customary velvet slippers—worn by Nepali brides—were, are and probably always will be in demand. “We could multiply the production by four folds and still the work would not fall stagnant,” shares Shyam, asserting the prospect of his enterprise. While the Kaapa Lnaka was originally a part of the Newar bridal attire, today brides from many communities across Nepal wear them. These slippers made out of cloth are deemed chaste and appropriate for all the holy rites and rituals that take place in a Nepali wedding.

The production process of Kaapa Lnaka is all manual. First and foremost, the craftsmen get the velvet embroidered at an embroidery shop. Once the embellished velvet is brought to the factory, they attach a layer of cotton to the fabric. Soles of different sizes are then cut and refined using a ‘finishing-machine’. Once the soles are ready, they glue the fabric to the rubber sole and use a customised round wooden die to bring Kaapa Lnaka into shape. 

Shyam and his craftsmen’s vocation speak volumes about how work knows no cultural or physical boundaries. Imagine the number of weddings they have been a part of through their velvet slippers that brides take home as the perfect fit.

Text and photos by Photography nepal