Women's Project Narighar

Since January 2013, we have been offering sewing courses at Narighar in Balkhu. The aim is to enable the women to earn money with small sewing jobs. The sewing classes are now taught by former graduates. One experienced main teacher teaches together with an assistant.

Sewing does not only mean sitting at the machine and operating the pedal, but also requires other skills such as measuring, pattern drawing and labeling. Soon after the start of the first sewing course we realized that not all women have these skills. So, for many women, attending the Nepali class (where counting is also practiced regularly) became a prerequisite for attending the sewing class.

The sewing class is divided into a 3-month Basic class and a 3-month Advanced class. Since January 2015, we have offered a culminating design class where the women are taught by various guest teachers. Between 15 and 20 women participate in each course. The class is held every day except Saturday.

The garments made during the training are available for sale at a reasonable price. Occasionally, the women organize a sales booth. The proceeds from the sales are used for small purchases and activities.

After passing the Advanced course, the women receive a diploma from us. From then on, they are allowed to use our machines, threads, scissors, etc. outside of the course hours in order to fulfill private orders.

Many of the graduates of our courses now run their own sewing business or earn good extra money from home with sewing orders. A complete success!

The interest in the sewing classes remains unbroken even after so many years. There are waiting lists for the Basic courses and it is impressive to see the long distances that women travel to come to us.

Originally, we offered "trainings" every six months. Interested women's groups met regularly at Narighar to exchange ideas and to strengthen each other for the often rigorous daily routine.

Guest speakers or Laxmi and her helpers themselves educate the women on topics such as "prolapsed uterus" (a frighteningly common condition in Nepal), hygiene in the household, contraceptive options, pregnancy, healthy (infant) nutrition, financial budgeting, and so on.

Initially, we paid the women pocket money for their regular attendance (compensation for loss of income), which was saved in a personal "piggy bank". From this institution, the saving groups soon developed. In the meantime, the saving groups are very well established, and even women who have long since completed their course continue to be active in a saving group.

The members of these groups meet regularly, pool their savings and are thus able to grant each other small loans. This is paid back by the benefiting woman by a set date with a modest interest rate. Thanks to this, the women can elegantly bridge financial bottlenecks. The loans are used, for example, for hospital visits, children's enrollment fees, school books, etc.

Since the end of July 2012, the Narighar also offers a "Literacy class". Every day, numerous mothers and not infrequently a few children gather in our classroom in Balkhu. The little ones are nursed in between, while the older ones also take a sheet of paper and a pencil to write down the ABC.

The Nepali class can also be described as a great success. Countless women gained more self-confidence thanks to the newly acquired knowledge, and relationships with their own (school) children and even husbands improved considerably, according to those affected.