After leaving Khotang’s Diktel for Dubai at the age of 19 in search of foreign employment, Ram Kumar Dahal has now decided he will not return to the Gulf.
Instead, he is earning a livelihood in Nepal by extracting fibre from discarded banana stems and preparing to manufacture traditional Nepali handmade paper.
Now 36, Dahal spent 16 years working in Dubai, Qatar and Iraq. After returning home during the Dashain festival in 2024, he decided to start a business using waste banana stems.
With savings from his years abroad, Dahal purchased eight katthas of land at Kanepokhari-7, four Bigha in Morang. There, he has established Sharada Dhago Cottage Industry, where he produces and sells banana fibre.
He invested Rs. 300,000 in a fibre-extracting machine, which has already produced fibre worth around Rs. 250,000.
More than 100 bighas of land around his village are under banana cultivation, providing a stable supply of raw materials. Dahal has also leased one bigha of land to grow bananas himself.
“I started cultivating bananas so that I would have my own source of raw materials for fibre production,” he said.
The production process involves collecting banana stems, extracting the fibre, processing it through a machine and drying it thoroughly in the sun. According to Dahal, banana fibre currently sells for around Rs. 150 per kilogram.
Since beginning production at the beginning of 2025, he has sold around 1,700 kilogrammes of fibre.
During the initial phase, Dahal employed two workers, but unfavourable weather has forced him to rely solely on family members.
“If the fibre is not dried properly in the sun, it can rot,” he said. “Once the weather improves, I plan to hire workers and begin producing Nepali handmade paper and compost fertiliser.”
Based on his experience over the past 18 months, Dahal believes there is no longer any need to seek foreign employment to earn Rs. 40,000-45,000 a month.
He has already invested an additional Rs. 1.35 million to establish a Nepali handmade paper factory alongside his fibre-processing business.
“I invested in two businesses so that if one does not perform well, the other can sustain me,” he said.
Having put away his passport with no intention of returning overseas, Dahal has also diversified into livestock farming, raising eight to ten breeding goats and poultry. He operates a small fresh house in front of his home and has planted areca nuts on five katthas of land.
He is also preparing to establish a factory to produce biodegradable plates from areca palm sheaths. However, finding workers remains a major challenge.
“At times, the labour shortage makes me feel like returning to the Gulf,” he admitted. “But since I have already invested around Rs. 2-2.2 million, I am committed to making this work and spend almost every hour managing the businesses myself.”
