Given a chance, women-led microenterprises uplift Nepali communities & conservation.
In Naya Padampur, Nepal, women running microenterprises such as wool spinning have gained income and reduced their reliance on forest products, according to a Mongabay report from a University of Montana collaboration.
In Naya Padampur, in south-central Nepal, women have built microenterprises that bring in income and lessen their dependence on the forest, Mongabay reports. One example is a wool spinning business that grew out of a workshop Bin Maya Gurung, now 73, helped organize after she learned to spin wool in the early 2000s.
Gurung's settlement, Padampur, once sat inside what is now Chitwan National Park. The government ordered residents to relocate in the 1990s. Her family's main income then came from making raksi, a traditional spirit, which required daily trips into the nearby forest for firewood. Rhinos and tigers lived close by. A 2026 study found that the fatality rate of wildlife attacks on women in Nepal exceeded 70%, compared with under 50% for men.
Gurung gathered 25 women and contacted the National Trust for Nature Conservation, which ran a spinning workshop. The business is now led by Buddhimaya Ghale, whom Gurung mentored. It employs 600 women in the Naya Padampur area and another 300 across Nepal. Participants earn 8,000 to 40,000 Nepalese rupees ($52 to $263) per month, depending on their hours. Gurung said the income paid for her grandson's university education and let her open three bank accounts. She now rarely goes into the forest. Ghale said earning money lets women take on more of a decision-making role at home.
Other enterprises around Chitwan include elephant grass weaving, soap making, beekeeping and nature guiding. A case study by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network found that planting bamboo, coffee and broom grass on fallow land supported soil conservation. Sanjay Chaudhary, co-founder of the Tharu Community Women's Hand, said local mahouts harvest elephant grass for the group's trainings during their patrols, so women do not have to enter the forest.
Obstacles remain. Women often need to persuade their families first, and Chaudhary said they face extra scrutiny when applying for loans. A 2026 Climate Policy Initiative study found that only about 20% of rural women own land, which makes collateral hard to provide. In its survey, 88% of women relied on personal savings to start their businesses and 56% had accessed formal finance. A 2026 World Bank Group report found that for about 78% of informal microenterprises, the costs of formalizing would outweigh the benefits. The Kathmandu Post reported that new microenterprise registrations fell nearly 75% in five years.
Chaudhary said supporting forest-based enterprises could also help win over buffer zone residents who resent restrictions on fishing, hunting and firewood collection.
At a Glance
- The Naya Padampur wool spinning business employs 600 women locally and another 300 across Nepal.
- Participants earn 8,000 to 40,000 Nepalese rupees ($52 to $263) per month, depending on time worked.
- Gurung began by gathering 25 women and contacting the National Trust for Nature Conservation for a workshop.
- About 20% of rural Nepali women own land, according to a 2026 Climate Policy Initiative study.
- A 2022 study in Parbat district found 96% of women in microenterprises felt confident supporting their families financially.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.