Women earning well from Duna-Tapari in Ghorahi

By Liladhar Oli,Ghorohi, Jan. 21: Women in Dang have been earning a good income by making use of their free time. The women of Ghorahi Wub-metropolitan City-17 Dabri have been earning a good income by crafting duna-tapari (leaf plates) from sal leaves that are wasted in the forest.

Uma Rawat, the treasurer of the Trishakti Women's Group, said that making good use of their free time, they bring sal leaves from the forest near their homes and sell them by stitching duna-tapari in groups.

She said that in the beginning, duna and tapari were crafted by hand, but later Trishakti Duna, Tapari Industry was established and they are making duna and tapari by machines.

According to Raut, EPRC Nepal, an NGO, started making duna and tapari professionally after giving training to village women in 2018.

She said, "We are free in the afternoon, so we are making good use of that time. Even if it is a humble job, it brings good income."

After the registration of the industry, domestic and small industries provided an 80 per cent subsidy to the group. However, the demand for hand-made duna-tapari is better than machine-made in the market, says Rawat.

Rawat said that although it is easy to make duna and tapari with a machine, they are laced by hands according to market demand. According to the group, preparations are going on to establish the factory in Ghorahi, Tulsipur and Lamahi of the district along with Butwal and Nepalgunj.

"Most of the time, we receive orders and we don’t have any problems with the market so far.” The product is reaching most of the Puja shops to Chaat shops round the year. There is a good demand for hand-made duna and tapari, she added. Duna is being sold at a rate of Rs. 5 five for two pieces and tapari for Rs. 5 each.

Bhabana Rawat, president of the group, said that as many people demand green duna-tapari for religious functions in the district, they make them with their hands rather than a machine. She said that after they started earning by making duna-tapari, the women started saving for their expenses along with their income. According to her, the women belonging to the group save at least Rs. 6000 to Rs. 7000 per month with their income depending on the season.

She said that instead of wasting time by sitting at home all day long, making duna-tapari in a group is fun as well as generates income. "When we were not doing the work, we used to spend time at home all day long, but now we are working to earn income," she said. It is for sure that when women start making duna-tapari from sal leaves, it will help to replace plastic goods in the market and build a healthy society