Posted: 1/25/05
Working together from Minnesota to Nepal
School will receive $1,400 from local concert benefit
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Jesse Schultz will be on the other side of the world for the next three weeks on a trip that will benefit both the children of Nepal and his business, Katmandu Trading Company.
Schultz, 23, grew up in Caledonia, the son of Greg Schultz, Caledonia, and Marianne Wagner, La Crescent.
In 2002 he opened Katmandu, a business that imports handcrafted goods from around the world and distributes them both retail and wholesale.
He has a store at 105 Main Street in Hokah and one at 320 Main Street, La Crosse.
Jake Colsch, a friend, is accompanying Schultz on the trip to Nepal, which began on January 20 and lasts until February 15.
The journey has many facets, but the one that seemed foremost on Schultzís mind during an interview on January 19 centered on helping the children of Nepal.
A group of Schultzís friends and some generous, music-loving people raised $1,400 for that purpose at a benefit concert at Saxon Hall in Brownsville on January 15.
Corey Mineard, the lead guitarist of the band Hooch, did the brunt of the work for the exciting project, Schultz said. Six bands performed for free, and the sound system was provided gratis also. The organizers hope to do a benefit like it twice a year.
It will be great to see how far that money will go, Schultz said. He figured the money would support the Sankhu Pahludari school outside of Katmandu for about a year.
The school, which is run by a group called Hoste-Hainse, has an enrollment of about 200 students. It was originally funded by a $5,000 grant from a human rights group called Minnesota Advocates, an international agency based in Minnesota. That amount was enough to build the school and run it for five years, Schultz said, and itís why he is excited to personally deliver the $1,400 Minnesota-raised contribution to the school to help keep it going.
Mrs. Sulochana Shah, the president of Hoste-Hainse, received the 1997 Human Rights Award from Minnesota Advocates For Human Rights for her work protecting the deprived children from child labor, which is prevalent in carpet factories in Nepal.
Shah is one of the founders of Nepal Rug Mark Foundation, which promotes and protects children from child labor. She also owns a company called Formation Carpets. Schultz said that the company has a daycare center, and was the first in the country to offer health care benefits to its workers.
Schultz speaks with strong conviction about Hoste-Hainse and its mission of educating children and building schools in poverty-stricken areas of Nepal. He knows some of the founders personally, and they had a direct link to him starting his business.
The term ěHoste-Hainseî is a Nepali expression used while collectively working at a challenging task. The groupís philosophy centers on education and fair treatment for laborers, especially children, who are often misused in the Nepali carpet-making business.
A business trip too
Schultz shares Sulochana Shahís philosophy of creating jobs, sustaining families, and improving education. He tries to incorporate it in Katmandu. Thatís the other side of Schultzís trip. He will be meeting with people who make the things that he sells, and making contacts with other vendors and affiliates.
All products that Katmandu carries are here via free trade means, meaning that no sweatshops or inhospitable working conditions are involved, Schultz explained.
ěIt makes us feel real good around here about the products we carry,î Schultz said.
He will also be ironing out details on a clothing line that he recently started that has the Katmandu label. ěWeíre going to get it streamlined and go from there,î he said.
The company is making wholesale and retail catalogues now, he added.
Schultz will also be attending some Hindu religious ceremonies, such as a head-shaving for his friend Ajit Shah, the son of Sulochana Shah. This is an initiation ceremony into manhood, and has to be done before a man can get married.
Schultz met the Ajit and his brother, Krishna, when Schultz had a marketing company in Minneapolis. That friendship led to him moving ěback homeî to the Caledonia area and starting Katmandu.
He has a lot of good things to say about Hoste-Hainse, more than he could fit into an interview the day before his huge trip. People can read about Hoste-Hainse at its web site, www.hostehainse.org.
Schultz can be reached via-e-mail at jesse@katmandotrading.com, or by phone (when he returns from Nepal) at 608-784-3304.
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