A journey of village girl Durga, from being porter to now businesswoman

By Hari Krishna Aidi, Mugu Correspondent, May 1: Durga Laxmi Rawal, a tourism entrepreneur born in Bhambada village, 4, Chhayanath Rara Municipality-4, Mugu district, of Karnali Province, has been running a tourism business called 'Durga Female Tech Nepal' in Pokhara, Kaski.

She was once a porter for tourists, but now runs her own business and provides employment.

She started her tourism business to employ the youth of rural areas. There is a long struggle for Durga Laxmi to be where she is now. 

Born in 1984 AD to father Top Bahadur Rawal and mother Lati Rawal, she is the eldest daughter of the family. Even though there was a school in the village, the family did not believe in educating their daughter and sending them to school.

She did get the chance to study until grade three, and after that, her daily life was spent in farming, fairs, and household chores. 

She said, "I had to help my mother with work at home, and I didn't have time to study. I wanted to study, but due to circumstances, I couldn't study beyond grade three."

Her days were passing being a dutiful farmer. Later, she felt like doing something of her own and being independent. But, there was no conducive environment. Therefore, she packed her bags to develop skills and headed to the Technical School of Jumla, where she trained to be a three-month-old maternal and child care trainer. Later, she got to participate in the weekly training on ecotourism organized by an organization in Pokhara, hosted in the headquarters of Jumla.  

She then developed a desire to develop further skills and become self-employed in the same field. Her sister sent her to Pokhara after arranging some money in 2006. 

After reaching Pokhara and receiving basic trekking training for a month, she started working as a porter on her first trek to Annapurna Base Camp. She was ridiculed for being uneducated and hailing from a remote area in the 11-day-long trek to base camp.

She said, "I got ridiculed in my first trek, and that was disheartening and it wavered my determination. But, going back to the village and resuming working on the farm was out of question. I was well–received in my second trek, which encouraged me to continue the work."

After working as a porter for three years, she set out to develop further skills and received guide training and improved English.

After developing some skills, she was given the responsibility of a guide at the trekking organization she was working for. Since then, she has been taking tourists around as a guide.

Along with being a guide, she decided to start her own tourism business four years ago. Her Durga Female Trek Nepal organization has been employing 10 to 15 people a year during the winter and rainy seasons.

She plans to provide exposure to foreign trekkers to new tourism routes not only in Pokhara but also in remote Himalayan districts like Mugu, Humla, Jumla, and Dolpa. She is currently busy preparing for that.