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Empowering Women Initiatives
Although Nepal is modernising and gender roles are changing, the traditionally patriarchal society creates systematic barriers to gender equality.This biggest barrier would be the expectation that women are simply in place to provide home, maternal and farm labour duties.
In the past they have been expected to leave their families’ household for their husbands’ and they are not encouraged to have any education or be up-skilled in any particular business model.
HHCP Nepal is determined to break down this systematic inequality by providing opportunities for women to be educated/up-skilled in many differing projects and programmes.Young women who are already married, yet illiterate are offered the opportunity to attend school in Kalikasthan with HHCP Nepal paying for their tuition.
There are many other opportunities that have been put in place to up-skill and educate women. Read on…….
Sewing Seamlessly
The Sewing Seamlessly programme was initiated in the Rasuwa District in 2015 and to date has up-skilled many women that are able to generate a small income from their sewing skills.
Interested women apply and are selected on a “neediest” basis, and they then enter an education programme that involves 1 month of training attending daily classes with a trainer from Kathmandu.The cost of this basic beginner programme is $US150/$AUD230 which pays for all their tuition fees and a sewing machine to keep on completion of their training.
Some ladies choose to pursue further training which enables them to become more highly qualified tailors, and HHCP currently funds this at a cost of only $US35/$AUD52 as they already
have their own sewing machine.There are many more women who are on a wait list to be trained, this is all dependant on funding.
Women Weaving their Magic
The weaving programme got underway in Rasuwa in 2022 and to date has up-skilled 17 women to weave bags, belts, table runners, rugs and carpets.They are selling their handicrafts locally and they are also for sale in Kalikasthan for tourists to purchase.
The women that did this programme initially got gifted with their loom upon completion of the weaving training, although this proved very costly so now the programme is being offered to women with just the training provided and they must source their own
loom.The cost for up-skilling a woman for the tuition to weave her own piece of magic is $US58/$AUD89.
There are women who are on a wait list to be trained.
Back to Basics Organic Cleaning
The Back to Basics organic cleaning products programme got underway in Rasuwa in 2023 and to date has up-skilled 20 women in learning the properties of local plants, and then foraging for these organically sourced local plants. They are then refined to produce home cleaning products.The products include soap, washing powder and toilet cleaners.
These women have now set up a co-operative with their future plan being to sell their goods in local stores.
Presently business is slow as the locals still need to be educated about the benefits of using local organic products for home use.
Sacred Scents Incense
Sacred Scents incense training began in Rasuwa in 2023 and was funded by HHCP Nepal.Thirty five women have been trained in two differing workshops to make their own incense for local sales.
Again, these materials were locally sourced and all organic.
The cost of training a group of women to produce this incense is $US55/$AUD85 per participant. The training programme is 15 days duration.
Due to the incense being used locally for sacred ceremonies, this has been a very useful training modality for the local woman.
More women are waiting to be trained in the Sacred Scents incense course.
