Advancing Women in Agroforestry Business Enterprise – nepal

A woman in Nepal stands in front of her agricultural farmland.

Advancing Women in Agroforestry Business Enterprise

In Nepal, gendered social norms impact women’s capacity to enter and engage in the workforce. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, barriers to employment were further exacerbated and small businesses experienced widespread setbacks. Many women saw a substantial decrease in demand for their products, leaving them without income and more vulnerable to additional external shocks. 

A  2021 study conducted by Himalayan Climate Initiative and The Asia Foundation found that only 37 per cent of Nepalese women were in work, and of that, only 9.5 per cent held employment in the formal sector.  

Following the success of our short-term project, supporting 100 women in Jumla, Nepal, Assisi Aid Projects and BPW Nepal continued their partnership with the launch of a longer-term project in Jumla and Nuwakt, Nepal: ‘Advancing Women in Agroforestry Business Enterprise (AWABE II).

 

This project empowers women to overcome barriers to employment and earning a sustainable income. Activities include:

  • Skills development and training in post-harvesting processes, product management, digital marketing and leadership
  • Assisting women entrepreneurs and producers to access local government support
  • Introduction to, and training in, agricultural technology to boost women’s income generation capacity
  • Gender orientation and feminist leadership training.

Supporting more than 430 women in Jumla and Nuwakot, AWABE II assists disadvantaged rural women to adopt more sustainable and resilient business models, and become economically self-reliant entrepreneurs, capable of contributing to the local economy.

 

This project is supported by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).

Himalayan Climate Initiative and The Asia Foundation. (February, 2021). South Asia Economic Policy Research. COVID-19 & The New Normal for Women in the Economy in Nepal. Report. https://asiafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Covid-19-The-New-Normal-for-Women-in-the-Economy-in-Nepal.pdf

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