Tamusoyo Hiyul Chaij Dhi Gurung Rastriya Parishad is a national council of the Gurung, or Tamu, Indigenous nationality. Its third-batch DGM Nepal sub-project produces traditional Gurung shyama, ghalek, mangra and bags. Ghalek is the distinctive shawl or stole worn diagonally by Gurung women over a velvet cholo, worn alongside the men’s bhangra and kachhad, and these garments are worn most visibly at Tamu Lhosar, the Gurung new year celebrated on the fifteenth of Poush and observed as a public holiday in Nepal. Demand is therefore genuine and recurring, driven by festivals, weddings and a growing interest in Indigenous dress among younger and diaspora Gurung. Grant funds are expected to cover looms and weaving equipment, a production and training workshop, materials, design and skills transfer from senior artisans, and market linkage. The sub-project directly serves DGM Nepal’s stated aim of promoting Indigenous traditional skills and livelihoods.
