Success Stories
USAID/Nepal's Education for Income Generation in Nepal Program (EIG)
Women Masons Pave the Way to Increase Incomes of Rural Nepalese
Tharus, the indigenous people of the Terai (southern plains of Nepal) and the Dang Valley area of the Mid-West region have been marginalized in the past from development activities. Over the last 40 years, wealthier migrants from other areas in Nepal have displaced Tharus who have their own language, still lack access to education, health care, and employment. Many of the men leave the area to work as laborers in other countries, leaving their wives behind with their children. This precarious state makes the Tharu women even more vulnerable and marginalized.
Gyankali Chaudary (Seen in photo) is a Tharu from Dang District. Her husband travels to India to work as a mason. She is farming her small plot of land in Dang. In good years, she is typically able to earn 5000 NRs/year ($70/year) from her farming efforts. This is barely enough money to buy food let alone anything else. There are few economic opportunities for women, especially, Tharus in the Mid-West region of Nepal.
The USAID-funded Education for Income Generation and Conflict Mitigation Project or EIG-CM is training Gyankali and 21 other women in masonry skills in Dang District - a first for Nepal where this profession has been filled by men exclusively. During this 3 month training (390 hours) classroom and hands-on training, the women have learned how to prepare cement mortar, layout of buildings, build and construct with their own hands I, T, and L walls having English and Flemish bonds, plastering on the ceiling and walls. By the end of the training, they will become skilled general masons which will be certified by National Skill Testing Board (NSTB) after the skill test. These women will gain a skill that will enable them to earn between 4000- 7000 NRS ($57-$100) per month. Unskilled construction workers (which women are involved in) can earn no more than 2500-3000 NRS ($35-$42) per month for unskilled labor and the mason is a recognized occupation and one that can lead to higher opportunities such as general contracting. After the training, Gyankali plans to join her husband in India where, as a family they can be together and earn more money than they could in Nepal. The added income that Gyankali can earn will enable them to be together as a family and send their children to better schools to pave a brighter future for their next generation.
