Khema Devi shares, ‘It is very hard to be a woman in this unfair world. One can fight with people but how can one fight with fate’. Khema Devi is definitely a wonder woman and a strong mother every child would look up to. Been married at the age of 16 and lost her husband within four years, she  is a single mother to her only son. Initially, the challenge was to be emotionally strong, financially independent to look after her son. She started with tailoring and slowly tried her hands at different businesses. Currently she runs a business of herbal supplements and hygiene products. According to Khema, these products are very effective as she is also one of the consumers. Therefore, it has become easier to market the product in the community she lives in. Having a regular source of income through her business, Khema is not only supporting her son but also advancing her education. With pride Khema shares that she has joined high school and will graduate   soon. 

Disaster Experience 
Being on her own, Khema has tremendously worked day and night to be financially independent. 
Her business was doing really well, and she even attempted  rigorous door to door marketing in her community. Renting  a store at a prime location helped her tap a larger market. Everything was going well when the monstrous pandemic hit the world. Khema was very disappointed when she had to shut the store as she was not able to pay the rent. For about 7 months she didn’t have a regular income which made her anxious thinking about the future. Slowly things got better and people started getting their lives together to normalcy. Khema also resumed her business at a new location, which is a modest place with low rent. Khema knows that it will take time to get her business back to where it was and she is determined to reach greater heights. While doing so, she feels fortunate to have her products being promoted on the Udhyami Utthan (UU) Online Shop at Thulo.Com. 

“Fostering Resilience of Women-Led Businesses (including home-based women producers) and Consumers” is a project being implemented by Thulo.Com and Enterprise for Management, Economic Reform, and Gender Equality (EMERGE). The project is supported by United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Tayar Nepal - Improved Disaster Risk Management Project and also contributes to Udhyami Utthan (UU - https://udhyamiutthan.com/about-us/ ), an entrepreneurship empowerment initiative.

Experience as a Project Beneficiary
Learning is something Khema relishes and through this project she got the opportunity to learn about multiple vocational skills through various experts via an online platform. 

According to Khema, Business Continuity Management was one of the modules that was valuable one as it provided knowledge on disasters, managing the risk associated with it, following the safety measurements and finally practically understanding about how to make a Business Continuity Plan (BCP).  Khema shares that she had never made a written plan in her life, so this document was completely new to her. It was difficult to grasp everything at once but Khema has tried making her own BCP that will come handy for her in the future. 

Khema shares, “ It was the first time that I took Digital Literacy Training and it was great to understand how the e-commerce platform works.” Khema was happy to learn about the use of social media and the promotion techniques she can adopt for her business. Generally , either skill based or regular door to door marketing training are provided in Khema’s community, but she believes that in today's world where we are connected through technology, people living in communities little far from cities are looking to learn digital skills as it helps in both personal and professional life. Khema mentioned, “ It is exciting to have my own online shop at Thulo.Com/uu as this is my first experience of e-commerce. I have been getting a couple of orders for my products which I had not really expected. So, I am happy with the association.”

This project provided its beneficiaries to get connected to banks and insurance and learn more about their services. Khema was grateful that she was part of this project and got the opportunity to learn about various schemes of banks. Now she is aware that she can explore and apply for the best offered loan and risk financing service as per her requirements.

Future Plan
Khema is absolutely clear on one thing that she will continue her education. So, she plans to complete her high school and enroll for an undergraduate degree (Bachelor’s degree). She also plans to provide all the support and better education to her son. In order to achieve her dream she understands that she needs to earn more. Therefore, she needs to  grow her business and reach out to untapped markets. Khema intends to continue her association with Thulo.Com as it has helped her reach out to customers in Kathmandu. 

Khema Devi Bista runs Holistic Khaptad Enterprises in Godawari, Kailali.
Visit her Online Shop at Thulo.com/uu