Vocational training empowering rural people

Lapsang Sherpa of Maiwakhola Rural Municipality-6 in Taplejung district, who was wandering in search of job opportunities at a time, is happy these days. Having searched for a job in various organisations and offices, she is now not worried about employment. She is instead looking for better opportunities to expand her job by utilising her skills. She is self-employed at weaving clothes after undergoing a training session.

Born in a middle class family, she was married off when she was young. Being deprived of any formal education, she had always longed for taking up any skilled occupations, and was always on the lookout for new opportunities. Some months ago, she took training to weave clothes and started weaving Allo clothes.

Allo is a kind of nettle plant found in the stream and shed area of rural Nepal. The bark of Allo is used to make yarn which is raw material for making clothes. To make clothes, she had to supply Allo threads from neighbouring Sankhuwasabha district, which later became cumbersome and involved hassles for her to continue the business. So, she quit it.

Later, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Programme (REEEP) launched by GIZ Nepal (the German Agency for International Cooperation) came to her rescue. Her plan of continuing the business of weaving clothes retains after undergoing training to produce Allo yarns, “Allo Yarn Producing Skill Development Training” organised by the GIZ. GIZ is an international enterprise owned by the German Federal Government operating in many fields across over 130 countries. It offers demand-driven, tailor-made services for sustainable development. Its main commissioning party is the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The training increased Sherpa’s confidence and motivated her to continue to engage in the business. Encouraged, she continued producing Allo threads and making clothes from it.