DEVENDRA BASNET

When Asha Chaudhary of Chaulahi VDC, Dang toiled away under the Kamalari system for a decade, she never received a single rupee for her work as everything was divided up between the landlord and her father. Today, the same girl who used to wash dishes till late at night at other people´s houses owns a restaurant at Lamhi and pockets daily earnings of Rs 3,000 to 10,000.

"There was a time when I was very poor but now I own a restaurant and can easily afford all my household expenses. Think I´m finally blessed now," said Asha. "Restaurant business has turn out to be lucky for me as I´m making monthly profits of around Rs 20,000," she added.

Talking to Republica, Asha never blamed her father for her past hardship but attributed it to the poverty they lived in. "My father was compelled to do it because we needed the money badly. However, the sad part is that education became a far cry for me," she said.

She started working at the house of a landlord at Ghorahi and later shifted to a restaurant, where she worked for nine years. "The first landlord was very mean. He used to torment and beat me even for small mistakes," said Asha.

Various social service organizations helped free Asha from kamalari bondage. After her emancipation in 2007, the same organizations engaged her in restaurant work. 

She received Rs 17,000 from those organizations and used the money to start a small tea shop. She gradually expanded her business. "I served tea in the beginning and added food items like dalbhat, chowmein and momo to the menu. With the earnings, I started selling grocery items from a shop I rented," she said. Besides the groceries, Asha has been producing pickles of various fruits and spices under her own brand. "I have been selling my own pickle products and am in the course of finding a spacious place for my factory," she added.

Asha is the first Kamalari woman to run a restaurant in the VDC. "Before we used to live in thatched huts but now we have a proper roof over our heads," she said. Along with her business activities, Asha has also been studying in grade 10.

Published on: 21 July 2013 | Republica