Disabled entrepreneurs start industry

By Navaraj Kattel

Biratnagar, May 17: Sanjay Darnal of Biratnagar lives with a disability caused by spinal cord paralysis. As a resident of Biratnagar, he was compelled to seek ways to earn a daily livelihood. For the past 16 years, Darnal’s daily routine was to cross the border to the Indian market of Jogbani and transporting goods on a tricycle to sell in shops in Biratnagar.

By bringing food items and other goods according to demand, he earned up to Rs. 1,000 a day. However, for persons with physical disabilities, physical limitations posed an equally significant challenge. Moreover, bringing goods across the border was not an easy task, and the government was not willing to allow such activities indefinitely.

Darnal was part of a group of 17 people who transported goods in the same way. All of them live with spinal cord injury-related disabilities, or paralysis of the spine. 

After facing repeated difficulties in transporting goods, the 17-member group led by Darnal decided to register an enterprise and pursue the goal of becoming entrepreneurs. With the establishment of Saathi Footwear Cottage Industry, plans were made to become self-employed and generate income through the enterprise.

In recent times, local authorities have tightened border controls, which naturally affected the daily livelihoods of persons with disabilities. The group staged a sit-in protest at the District Administration Office, demanding that the state either allow them to earn a living or provide employment opportunities. However, since permission could not be granted for illegal activities, a plan was devised to engage them in entrepreneurship through skills development.

To make the plan meaningful, the Biratnagar Metropolitan City allocated a budget of Rs. 1.095 million and, from Friday, enrolled 20 citizens with spinal cord paralysis in a one-month vocational training programme. 

According to Saathi Footwear Cottage Industry Secretary Aman Mandal, 17 of the participants are residents of Biratnagar, while the remaining three are from other districts. According to Saroj Nepali, Deputy Mayor of Biratnagar, Shilpa Niroula Karki played a leading role in initiating the training. 

Nepali said that after the one-month training, the industry established by persons with disabilities will be formally inaugurated. The local government has also assured support in the form of seed capital required for the enterprise.

Speaking at the inaugural session, Secretary of the National Federation of the Disabled, Gopal Man Thapa, said that the process began after participants expressed a desire to establish a footwear industry. 

According to him, after local authorities prohibited them from bringing goods across the border, discussions focused on finding an alternative livelihood, eventually leading to the decision to establish a footwear manufacturing enterprise. Based on this, the local government assumed a leading role.

As part of the skills training, participants will spend four hours each day learning and working with materials used in making shoes and slippers. They said that after acquiring the necessary skills, the industry will begin production at the start of the next fiscal year and move towards marketing its products. Special emphasis will be placed on supplying footwear to specific institutions and schools.

According to Darnal, Chairperson of the Industry, a seven-member executive committee has been formed to run it, with 17 registered members in total. Through the collective efforts of all 17 members, a house has been rented in Biratnagar–14, where the training has begun. Support will be sought from the local and provincial governments, as well as business organisations, to procure machinery and other necessary materials.

Darnal said that some of the items acquired during the training period could also be used on a long-term basis. He appealed to generous donors to assist with raw materials and certain machinery in the initial phase.

“We will no longer beg, nor will we continue bringing goods to sell. We will become entrepreneurs and sell products of our own,” Darnal said.