Indigenous skills, and the stories connected to them, are learned at home and passed on down the generations. The eastern plains of Nepal, around the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, are home to more than two hundred Sardar families. Their income largely relies on the natural resources in the wildlife reserve. Not only are the Sardars protectors of the environment, but also of local crafts. They contribute to a strong relationship with the environment’s local resources through their weaving craftsmanship, skills they have been practicing for generations.

From early on in her life, Shyam Badan Shrestha was an inquisitive child, always eager to learn new skills. She became a science teacher in 1968 and, as part of her extracurricular activities, she taught craft skills to the children. Browsing through the school library one day, Shyam stumbled on a macramé book and eventually taught herself to produce knot craft items. She later introduced the craft to the Nepalese marketplace after she left the teaching profession in 1980. Her continued interest in macramé blossomed into an enterprise, the Nepal Knotcraft Centre. Thanks to her passion, macramé became a popular craft in Kathmandu during that time.