By Nepal Youth Foundation | Project Leader
Women and girls in isolated Narayanpur Village, especially those who have not been able to pursue an education, have long struggled to achieve financial autonomy, leaving them at a significant social disadvantage compared to their fathers, brothers, and husbands.
NYF’s SAAET (Sustainable Agricultural and Entrepreneur Training) project seeks to disrupt this social norm by equipping and empowering young women living in rural agricultural regions of Nepal to cultivate and market their own produce. Since the project’s inception, they have proven that they can contribute tremendously to the agricultural economy they were born in, and that they can transform it from an effort of subsistence into a booming, successful business venture.
After participating in an intensive one-month greenhouse training and agricultural entrepreneurship course in Narayanpur Village, here is a glimpse of the impact of this project in the post-training phase:
Now, this cohort of women is poised to begin providing year-round produce not only for their own community, but for villages and towns beyond. This is a particularly commendable endeavor to see young mothers leading the way! They are also rapidly experiencing a shift in their status within their families and communities, as their efforts are noticed and appreciated by their husbands, family elders, community leaders, and neighbors, and as they put money aside in savings accounts they control.
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An update on Maya’s success:
Maya, featured in our last report, continues to be one of the most successful graduates of her group! She has already added a second greenhouse. Vegetables from her greenhouses are now keeping her family fed year-round, and in the first 6 months of cultivating her own produce, she made 45,000 rupees from selling the surplus alone (around $400; minimum wage in Nepal is 13,450 rupees/month, so for her to be feeding the entire family and then making this much on top, in her first year, is tremendous).
Maya found particular success with radishes, peas, and tomatoes, and she is excited about growing the business aspects of this new endeavor. She is using her income for household expenses as well as saving. She’s very proud to be depositing some of these savings every month into the same local women’s co-op that helped her apply for the training!
“I feel very motivated and empowered by the training, and the success of the farming business,” Maya says enthusiastically. “Daughters are usually taken as a liability by the family. But due to my skills and income, my family now regards me as a valuable member of the family, and I am feeling independent and more in control of my own life. The family respects my decisions and listens to me, too!”
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By Nepal Youth Foundation | Project Leader
By Nepal Youth Foundation | Project Leader
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