Mina making good earning from tailoring

By Our Correspondent  Myagdi, June 5: Although a large number of youths from Nepal have gone abroad for employment, a young man has been earning sufficient income out of tailoring in Myagdi. Mina Kumari Pun, a local from Bhakimli of Beni Municipality-3, has been earning good income from tailoring in Beni for the last one decade. 

Born in 1988, Mina at the age of 23 was enrolled for the tailoring training in Butwal by her uncle Padam Pun. After that, her father financed her training. Mina, who returned to Myagdi after completing her training in Butwal, took another training given by the Department of Cottage and Small Industries and started her tailoring business by registering it in cottage industries in 2013.

Mina now has become an expert trainer for tailoring training delivered by different organizations and the Department of Cottage and Small Industries. She has passed tailoring grade-1 in 2013 and grade-2 in 2015. Informing that she has given training to more than 300 trainees, she said that very few bring training to practice. She added only 20 per cent of the trainees had started their own business. 

Mina recalled that her first income was Rs. 350 which she charged for sewing a piece of kurtha in 2013. At present, her total income is around 100,000 per month. She said that 20-30 thousand of her income is spent on buying materials each month and rest of it is a total profit. 

At present, there are six trainees at Mina's training centre and 22 trainees in the training organized by Disabled Association Myagdi and Annapurna Polytechnic in Kaski. These 22 trainees are from the families with disable members. Mina, who started her sewing training from 2014, said that it became easy to train others after passing tailoring grade-2. 

Bel Bahadur Katuwal, president of Myagdi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that they have been taking initiative to involve the youth in business and keep them engaged. Katuwal said, "The Chamber of Commerce provides the necessary support for the sustainability and continuity of the business."