Among many Nepali rural communities, Allo has been established as an important income generator11. It is a Non-Timber Forest Product (NTFP) with the unique ability to be processed to the point of retail sale, allowing its low-income producers to get the maximum value for their product7. The Association for Craft Producers (ACP) is a Nepali NGO, widely seen as helping revitalize the sector3. ACP’s management practices are seen as unconventional in the sense that all decisions are integrated and adapted to fit the cultural environment of Nepal3, keeping business knowledge accessible to all levels. The Allo industry itself lacks any official organizational structures13. The product has high demand in local markets with tourists, and the national carpet industry is its main buyer13.
Due to competition with cheaper, low-quality products sold in local markets ACP has worked to increase the stature of fair-trade items. It challenges businesses and government officials to buy locally, demonstrating the comparative advantage of high quality local, fair-trade crafts 3. The similar, relatively cheaper and better-known13 hemp fibres may also be threatening to the Allo industry’s growth13. In the 2007/2008 fiscal year Allo made up about 0.3% and hemp 2.2% of total handicraft textile export products in Nepal 13. Allo is advantaged by taking less energy to produce1.