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“I DO not have to ask my husband for money to buy my make-up,” says Leela Adhikari, a mother of two, from the district of Jhapa in eastern Nepal. “I can now do so with my own income. In fact, I also contribute to household expenditures.”

Adhikari, who was born with a physical disability, thought she would never be able to contribute to the family income. But when opportunity came knocking in the form of training programs provided by Sahara Nepal, a nongovernmental organization (NGO), she grabbed it and enrolled herself to learn to weave the traditional Dhaka Nepali cloth.

As soon as she completed the training, Adhikari borrowed 2,500 Nepalese rupees* from the NGO’s microfinance program, purchased a weaving machine, and started selling table napkins for NRs25 per piece. Her income, after paying a monthly installment of NRs265 for the weaving machine, amounts to at least NRs1,500 every month, which augments the NRs4,500 her husband earns from driving a taxi.

Adhikari is not too shy to say that she can now support her husband, especially when there are bandhs, or general strikes, during which he is not able to work. She is now planning to try her hand at weaving other apparel.

All this was made possible for Adhikari by ADB technical assistance (TA) for a pilot project to enhance the poverty reduction impact of road projects. The TA, financed by the Poverty Reduction Cooperation Fund, complements the ADB-funded Road Network Development Project that is upgrading Nepal’s strategic roads in 16 districts.

The TA, approved in January 2006, also prepared guidelines to ensure the equal distribution of socioeconomic benefits arising from road projects. These guidelines were approved Sept. 7, 2007, by the government, and will be used by the Department of Roads for all its road projects.

To implement the pilot project, partner NGOs of the Rural Microfinance Development Center (RMDC) were mobilized for three road sections - Damak–Gauriganj, Pauwa–Phidim and Biratnagar–Bardanga–Urlabari - in Jhapa, Panchthar, and Morang districts. The NGOs formed groups of five households for every 20- to 25-kilometer section of the road, provided skills training for income generating activities to 705 people from all road sections, and enrolled the women in a microfinance scheme. The NGOs used RMDC funds to provide microfinance loans.

Like Adhikari, Dhana Kumari Katwal is experiencing a new facet of life. A single mother, she had no marketable skills to financially support her daughter. Upon hearing of the TA project, she decided to learn a skill that involved a minimum investment and quick income: making puffed rice - a popular snack, particularly among school children.

Though Katwal sells these snacks for as little as NRs2–NRs5 each, these small amounts add up to a sale of NRs200–NRs350 per day. She feels vindicated as she took the training despite criticism from neighbors. "They repeatedly told me that this was not a suitable occupation for my caste and that I would never master the art," she recalls.

To make herself more mobile so she can easily get raw materials, Katwal bought a bicycle costing NRs5,000, for which she pays a monthly installment of NRs500. In addition, she deposits NRs10 every day at a local cooperative, which has now accumulated to savings of NRs1,500.

As his wife plays with their one-year-old daughter, Tek Bahadur Tajpuriya, of Govindapur village, Morang district, shares how he started out with nothing and worked his way to owning a motorbike repair shop.

“Despite working in Delhi (India) for three years, I hardly managed to save anything to send back home. So I decided to return to my hometown to try something out here,” he says. But this was easier said than done; after unsuccessfully trying his hand at a number of jobs, he enrolled in a motorcycle repair training program provided by the NGO Jeevan Bikas Samaj.

To set up a shop at the main junction of a road and buy the necessary equipment, his wife took a NRs10,000 loan. With expansion to motor repairing - which he feels is even more lucrative - in mind, Tajpuria also purchased a NRs15,000 welding machine.

After setting aside NRs1,000 for the welding machine’s monthly payment, NRs1,200 for his staff’s salary, and NRs1,000 for the shop’s rent, Tajpuria is still able to save at least NRs3,000 per month. His wife, Rita Devi, content with their achievements, feels that she is an equal part of this venture as she played the critical role of financier in this joint investment.

Similarly, Tapa Kumari Darji, challenging social stereotypes, successfully took driving lessons - considered an odd choice for a woman not from the capital city.

Darji, 24, from Gauraddha village in Jhapa district, took a one-month training course at a local driving institute, and found a job as an instructor at the institute itself. She is doing well, drawing a salary of NRs3,000 per month over the last five months. Not having earned a single penny prior to her current job, Darji now dreams of owning a taxi someday. “Initially, people found it peculiar, but that never bothered me, and once I was through with the training, my confidence had reached a new height,” she says.

*(US$1=NRs63.69)

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