Sewing courses for women in Nepal

Nepal is a beautiful country and as such is visited by many tourists. However, outside of the attractions, there are few prospects for the people. The government encourages Nepalese men and women to work abroad and send money home to feed their families rather than creating internal structures. This is because the land in the mountainous regions is very impassable, hardly suitable for agriculture and only partially accessible by road. But even in the flatter foothill regions, such as the Terai plain, many people live on low incomes and have a low level of education - because although schools are free, they have to buy their own books, stationery and school uniforms. Many Nepalese therefore work in the Gulf States, China or India, usually under inhumane conditions. While the men mostly work on construction sites (e.g. those for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar), young women with little education from the villages of Nepal run a high risk of being forced into marriage abroad or ending up as prostitutes.

In order to give women from remote mountain villages and the Terai a better chance of setting up their own business and an alternative source of income, our partner association United Serve Society Nepal is strongly committed to training young women as tailors. A course lasts 6 months and the women first learn the basics of mathematics, how to take correct measurements, then how to create patterns and finally how to cut and sew garments. They work on simple, mechanical sewing machines, as the power supply is not constantly guaranteed. After completing the course, women from very poor families are allowed to take their machine with them to set up a start-up.

Since 2023, two sewing courses have now been offered at Jogimara - the first course with 20 and the second course with 30 participants. Demand is extremely high and many of the women take on a long and arduous walk every day to take part. And the efforts are also successful: four women from the first course have joined together to form a company and take on commissioned work. The next course starts at the end of July in Khanikhola, Dhunibeshi Dhading.

Here are some impressions from the courses:

Taking correct measurements and creating patterns (from newspaper) is an essential basis for making suitable garments.

Participants of the first course with their first garments.

Garments from the first course.

This participant from the first course now has her own business. In a store [where] she sews garments for [what are her main orders]?

Impressions from the second course - due to a lack of availability of large rooms, a chicken coop was temporarily shut down and converted into a course room.

Second course: Cutting the patterns.

The members of USS Nepal are highly motivated and committed. They attend the courses at regular intervals, bring the required materials (fabric, yarn) and maintain or repair defective machines. They also show the women how they can do maintenance work and repair simple defects themselves.

Successful graduates of the second course.