By Liladhar Oli
Ghorahi, Oct. 17: It has been years since Prem Kumari Pun Magar, a resident of Ghorahi Sub-metropolitan City-14, has been associated with Allo Industry.
Having worked as a teacher for a long time, she has been engaged in the business of producing Allo thread, making ready-made clothes from the thread and marketing clothes for almost two decades. During a decade of armed conflict, Pun, who left her teaching profession and moved from Rukum to Ghorahi of Dang, has been running Chinari Women Partnership Allo Industry in Ghorahi for 19 years.
Pun, who established the industry by commercialising the work of producing Allo thread, which is the occupation of her ancestors, has also created an identity along with her income.
"During the armed conflict, when there was no situation to live in the village, I left the teaching profession and came to Dang to save our lives with our family, but we had no plan to stay here," she said. "After coming to Ghorahi, we stayed there for some time without doing anything. Later, I thought of working on producing thread of Allo. According to that, we started thread production in Ghorahi."
She said that at first she worked to produce thread from Allo, after some time she expanded business and started making clothes from Allo thread in Ghorahi by establishing a garment factory.
"In the beginning, we only produced Allo thread and supplied it. After some time, we also started producing clothes," Pun Magar said. “We started making various types of ready-made clothes from Allo after establishing the garment factory."
She said that she has been producing clothes such as coats, shoes, shawls and bags, among others.
The 59-year-old Magar said that she succeeded in establishing herself as an entrepreneur after a long struggle.
There is a good trade in the clothes made from Allo in the fairs and festivals held at different times, she said.
With the income from that, she has also given regular employment to 17-18 women in her industry every day.
"There is a good trade in the materials produced from Allo," she said. "This business has also provided employment to women in the industry along with decent income."
Like Prem Kumari, Prabha Oli, a resident of Ghorahi Sub-metropolitan City-14, has been involved in the Allo business for a long time.
Together with seven women like her, she has been working on the production and processing of Allo thread making ready-made clothes by establishing the Sahanshil Didibahini Allo Thread Production and Processing Industry in Ghorahi about a decade ago.
Oli said that she has been producing Allo thread in Dang and sending it to Kathmandu.
She said that the clothes produced in this way are sent to Kathmandu, Pokhara and other cities for sale besides Dang. Oli, who is also a trainer related to Allo thread production and processing, said that Allo has given recognition and income to sisters like her.
"Thread cutting from Allo used to be done in hilly districts like Rukum and Rolpa. But it was not commercial," she said. "Recently, it has become commercial after starting to produce thread and make clothes from Allo. It has become a means of earning income for women.''
"Seven of us are directly involved in the industry," she said, "but there are more than 100 women who are involved in the production of Allo thread in the villages, from sewing clothes to garments." She said that the raw materials required for the production of Allo thread comes from the hilly districts of Rapti and various districts of Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces.
All the women workers work in the industry like cooking Allo, cutting thread by means of the spinning wheel and making ready-made clothes.
She said that in the past, industries have done the work of making women self-reliant by reducing the dependency with their husbands even for some money.
In this industry, economically weaker women, single women and teenage girls studying on campus are also getting the opportunity to work.
Sarita B.K., a resident of Ghorahi, said that she has been working in Chinari Women Partnership Allo Industry because they can make good use of their spare time by doing housework in the evening and in the morning and get a little financial support.
She said that after joining the industry, besides learning skills, she earns money to run her household activities.