“Skill training enables three young women to benefit from local provisions and to collectively establish tailoring enterprise”

Mina, Kamala, and Dharma live in the same ward of Badimalika Municipality in Bajura district. They are all from the same age group and also share similar socio-economic background. All three of these young women were born into economically poor Dalit households, had to drop out of school due to financial constraints, and were married off at a very young age. They became mothers at a young age and started facing even more difficulty to support their livelihood as their family started to grow in size. For instance, Kamala B.K lives in a joint family and says that it is challenging for her and her family to raise seven children with a limited source of income. As their families’ source of income was reliant on daily wage labor, it was a daily struggle for them to even bring adequate food to the table.

When they heard of the vocational skill training by UN Women and MTSDI, they went to the municipality office to find out more about it.  They filled out the forms for the tailoring training together and got selected for it. Soon after the training, through MTSDI, the participants came in contact with a local financial cooperative called “Hamro Ekta Sana Kisan Cooperative Ltd”. As they had received a month long training, the local cooperative decided to contribute a sewing machine to help them start their enterprise and they contribute monthly savings NPR 500 each in return. They jointly say, “We were too scared to venture out on our own individually. We decided to work together as a group and start our joint enterprise.” Soon, they started receiving orders for kurta salwar, night gowns, and even school dresses. They say that when the orders started flowing in, it slowly boosted their confidence. MTSDI also facilitated CTEVT skill test for these young women which, which they passed. They say the skill accreditation greatly helped them in registering their business under the Cottage and Small Industries Development Board (CSIDB), Bajura. Upon registering, CSIDB also provided a sewing machine to the three entrepreneurs. As they started getting regular work and making some savings, they decided to buy a sewing machine on their own too. At present, the women jointly own three sewing machines.

As their tailoring business had just started to take shape, the COVID-19 pandemic started and soon the lockdown ensued. Their tailoring shop is located in the same building as the cooperative which has given them concession on rent at the moment. They say that prior to the lockdown they were able to save NPR 1200-NPR 1500 on a daily basis.

Mina, Kamala, and Dharma’s tailoring enterprise was selected to receive the seed fund provisioned by UN Women and MTSDI. As a part of this fund, they received raw materials of NPR 40,000 worth. They said that receiving materials like iron, stitching materials, thread, varieties of buttons, and different cloths have boosted their confidence even more.  The women say that starting an enterprise together has proven to be very beneficial for them and share, “As we worked as a group, we jointly faced challenges and were able to overcome them through teamwork.” They express their gratitude towards UN Women and MTSDI team for not just providing them with vocational skill training but for also teaching them entrepreneurial skills and networking skills which has helped them to start their own enterprise. Furthermore, they shared that the cooperative has also shown an interest to provide the women loans to expand their tailoring business. Kamala says, “The training program has been a turning point in our lives. Starting this enterprise has helped us redefine our identities and even brought a change in the way that our families look at us.”