Our story
Every piece holds a story and empowers a life.
Your purchase supports a woman artisan and her family.
The diverse Nepalese community is home to vibrant cultures, timeless traditions and extraordinary craftsmanship. At Akum Arts & Crafts Nepal we bring those stories and heritages to life through exquisite handmade creations, above all thangka, along with other handmade arts and crafts, and share them with the world.
We are more than a business; we are a community working hand in hand to produce authentic handmade work. We work closely with local women, particularly those from under-represented and economically marginalised communities. Through our work we preserve Nepalese heritage while helping local artisans to thrive.
Our mission
Preserved by tradition, powered by women. We want to preserve and promote Nepal’s traditional art and heritage while empowering local women through skill development, creative expression and economic opportunity, and to share these authentic, carefully made pieces with the world.
Why Akum?
We believe art is more than something to hang on a wall or place on a shelf; it is a way of life, a thread connecting generations. What truly makes Akum special is the people behind the craft: the women in our community who, through Akum, learn, grow and create, and become artists, earners and storytellers.
When you bring home a piece from Akum, you are not just buying art, you are becoming part of our journey.
The hands behind it
Preserved by tradition. Powered by women.
We work hand in hand with women from under-represented and economically marginalised communities in Lalitpur. Through Akum they learn, grow and create, becoming artists, earners and storytellers. When you bring home a piece, you are not just buying art; you are supporting livelihoods and keeping an ancient tradition alive.
Read our storyWe are not just producing crafts, but sharing the spirit of our culture and the stories of the hands that make them.
- Every piece
- painted by hand
- Weeks–months
- to complete one thangka
- Fair wages
- and skills for women artisans
Weeksto months for a single piece
Months, not minutes
How a thangka is made
- 1
The grid
Canvas is stretched, primed with chalk and polished. The deity is drawn in charcoal on a sacred proportional grid, where every limb and gesture has a prescribed measure.
- 2
The pigments
Colours are ground from minerals and plants, mixed with binder and laid down in thin, patient layers, from the sky and landscape inwards to the figure.
- 3
The gold
Real gold is applied and burnished with a stone for the ornaments, halo and outlines, so the painting glows in lamplight.
- 4
The eyes
Last of all, the eyes are opened. It is traditionally the most auspicious moment, when the painting comes to life.
Commissions
Looking for a particular deity, size or colour?
Our painters take commissions. Tell us what you have in mind and we will send sketches, timing and a price, usually within a day.