Our Story
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” - Gandhi
How we came to make eco friendly toys & Christmas decorations
A wanderlust soul, coupled with the desire to break free of the corporate jungle and do something to make a difference to others, led Fiona Chadwick to Nepal in 2002. She spent 6 months living and working as a volunteer teacher, forming a close affinity with the country and its people. Fiona was captivated by the beauty, colour and quality of the hand crafted products made by fair trade and cottage craft producers and was deeply moved by the courage and resilience of the women artisans.
Witnessing this courage and work ethic inspired Fiona to find the courage within herself to follow a lifelong dream of becoming a designer/entrepreneur, whilst simultaneously supporting and contributing to the wellbeing and empowerment of women from under-privileged backgrounds. Her love for and connection to Nepal and its women inspires Fiona year after year to design and create products that she hopes will ignite the imagination of children and the young at heart.
Meet The Team
Fiona Chadwick, Owner and Founder
Fiona’s professional career began in hospitality management, followed by 10 years working in the retail and corporate travel industry. In 2002, Fiona followed a calling to Nepal and for the past 20 years has been dedicated to supporting women’s skills development and handmade cottage craft industry in Nepal.
Fiona’s passions in life are her family, daily yoga and meditation practice, studying spirituality, neuroscience, adventure travel and immersing in the beauty of nature.
Fiona lives with her family on the beautiful northern beaches of Sydney.
Monique Rattray-Wood, Partner
Monique has worked for over 20 years in advertising and marketing for a wide range of clients. In 2002, she met Fiona whilst volunteering in Nepal and cemented a wonderful friendship which allowed her to watch Pashom grow over the years to become the beautiful and ethical business that it is today. After discussions with Fiona they saw the potential to not only extend the reach of Pashom products globally but to also support a larger number of women in skills development and employment in Nepal. With these goals in mind a new partnership was born in 2017.
Monique lives on the Gold Coast with her beautiful family. She loves to travel, draw and emerge herself in business and creative pursuits with meaning.
The Pashom team in Nepal
Our workshop in Kathmandu Nepal is run by the formidable Anita Gurung.
Anita is a wonderful force to be reckoned with and is the backbone of our operations in Nepal. Not only is she the integral part of ensuring all Pashom products are made on time and always to a very high quality, she also looks after all 60 women that we support and extends her time and energy to them both financially and emotionally.
Our team of 35 artisans come from various regions of Nepal and India and from mixed socio-economic backgrounds. Many are single mothers supporting their children’s wellbeing and education, and we are so happy to be able to provide them with the security of fulltime employment and a loving and supportive workplace. Our artisans are very proud of their work and the love and pride imbued in our products can truly be felt.
