Machhindra runs a small store where she sells self-grown produce like vegetables, grains, and gundruk. She likes to call herself an agri-business person. It is very difficult to compete in a market where people get to choose from various imported products available. On the other hand, local farmers are decreasing day by day. Machhindra shares that she plans to continue farming as this is what she is good at. She has her regular customers and buys her products only. Locals out there have known her for a long time and have seen her work hard and, hence, show their support through purchasing her products. With time, competition has grown and she wishes to compete well and therefore is looking to grow her business more.

Disaster Experience 
Recalling the massive earthquake in the year 2015, Machhindra expressed her experience emotionally. She used to live in an old structured house with her family which got damaged and had to move to a temporary shelter where she and her family lived for six months. Fortunately, the damage was small and they shifted back to their house after the renovation. The store she ran and her products were irreparably damaged. That was the time when she could not earn a single penny. During the pandemic, her business was not affected much as people needed food to survive and her products came under essentials; While there were restrictions on opening stores, she could still earn. However, having experienced the various disasters time and again Machhindra wondered about the ways of being resilient. She thinks that she has a lot to do regarding her business therefore she is happy to have her products promoted on the Udhyami Utthan (UU) Online Shop at Thulo.Com along with getting training on ‘Building Resilient Businesses’.

“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 the 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
Machhindra lives her life running a small store in her locality. She has taken skill-based training but becoming a beneficiary of this project and being associated with Udhyami Utthan was something new to her. Therefore, she keenly participated in the training provided. According to Machhindra, “It was Business Continuity Management that was extremely knowledgeable and useful to be prepared for the disaster. This was a complete package that offered participants with the required knowledge on preparing their businesses for unforeseen events.”
She continued that getting to learn about digital literacy was a great experience as this was a completely new session to participate in. This gave her an idea about using the technology for business development. Due to the pandemic, people have started showing interest in online shopping, and Machhindra feels that it was the right time to get this training which has helped her understand the technicalities of running an online shop. However, she believes there is still a lot of learning to do as she wants to handle the online shop on her own.

Machhindra mentioned it was her first opportunity to interact with the banking and insurance companies. It was good to learn about different loan schemes of banks that are available for a registered business. 

Future Plan
Machhindra has plans to start a chips factory after two years. Therefore, she feels that the training she took will help her plan better. Having learned about the disaster management and business continuity plan, she is confident that she will be able to run her factory smoothly. She wishes to continue the association with Udhyami Uthhan and Thulo.Com for future learning opportunities.

Machhindra is a home-based producer based in Kavre.
Visit her Online Shop at Thulo.com/uu