April 2023
Aasma Chaudhary from Rajapur -4 Sangharsanagar is a single mother. She received fast food training from Nepal Flood Resilience Project, as a part of “off farm livelihood diversification skill” development training and has been supporting her extended family through the family business she has established after the training.
Her family owns a small amount of land, where they farm, but it isn’t enough to feed her extended family of 10 people. She had also started a small meat shop- which didn’t break even either. When her Community Disaster management Committee (CDMC) offered fast food training opportunity; she took a month-long training and learnt to make snacks and savoury such as samosas, pakodas, meat items, batuks, namkeens amongst others.
“I started making snacks for school children at first. I woke up early morning and started preparing. I delivered snacks to children before lunch hours at school. My in laws supported me. The earning was very good. We expanded our lunch – snack delivery service to other schools as well.”, she remembers.
The school lunch preparation and delivery take up half of her day. However, when school was closed during vacations- she had to stay idle and there was no income. Eventually, she ventured to open a fast-food stall. “For the afternoons and evenings- we started this cart shop and targeted travellers and passer-by people. We still deliver snacks to schools every morning, this fast food stall has helped us keep the income steady during long school holidays,” she said.
She earns an average of Rs 30,000 each month from school snacks delivery and afternoon fast food stall. She divides this monthly with her family members, who have supported her. She has been able to support quality education for her daughter as well as kids of her extended family.
She has received additional trainings on business management and entrepreneurship from other organizations as well. This has boosted her confidence and she understand the importance of saving for future. She has been saving regularly and has plans to use those savings to invest in wellbeing of her family and building her family’s resilience.
As a part of Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance, Practical Action and CSDR provided off farm and on farm livelihood diversification skills training to flood prone communities. The trainees also received equipment support to start their businesses. The livelihood skill trainings have helped communities improve their financial capital and increase their savings. This has allowed community members to invest in resilience building activities.
“Now that I have built this business together with my family’s support- it has instilled a confidence in me. I hope I can continue this and give my family a good life; especially give good education to kids in my extended family- including my daughter, “she added.
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