SABAH Nepal’s work in highlighting home-based women’s role in the Nepalese economy has now taken the form of a clothing store shop in Kupondole.
The numbers stand at over 2 million. Over 2 million home-based working women are involved in the production of a plethora of fabric and export items. Yet they remain marginalized due to the lack of development and opportunities for such. They earn low wages and work in poor conditions rather than being recognized for their contribution. That is where SABAH Nepal comes in.
Pratistha Shrestha, Marketing Executive at SABAH Nepal explains, “We aim toward strengthening livelihood opportunities of HBWs(home-based workers), especially women, through capacity building, enhanced production techniques, intensive training, exposure and awareness.” SABAH Nepal provides three core services: Capacity Building, Product Development and Marketing. “SABAH Nepal has established its own Trade Facilitation Centre (TFC) which serves as a bridge between the micro level enterprises and the global markets.” It is these TFCs that study data, do the research, and correspond with local and global markets to better understand the demands of their products.
Some of the products are clothing items like stoles, shawls, dhaka sarees, kurtis and scarves, clothing like caps, handbags, and travel bags as well as fashion accessories like earrings, bangles,and necklaces. Home accessoeries like curtains, cushion covers, and bed covers too are popular, as are their coasters, placemats,and aprons. Truly, with the product range available and the cause it carries, buying a SABAH product is practical and sensible.
The purpose SABAH Nepal serves is simple, to build skills and train women, to help them garner wages for said skills and let the world know of their work. The organization also works to free these workers from the clutches of exploitative traders and middlemen. “We want to see crafts women be economically self-reliant and more importantly empowered so that they have control over their own livelihood.”SABAHNepal looks set to achieve such, and so much more.
For details: www.sabahnp.org.
