Tailoring: creating promising opportunities for youths

Khusi Ram Chaudhary
Mr. Khusi Ram Chaudhary from Thapapur village of Kailali district, at his tailoring shop

Mr. Khusi Ram Chaudhary, 31, lives in Sonahaphanta area of Thapapur village in Kailali district (far-western region) of Nepal.  He lives with 18 of his family members in an extended family, and got educated just up to Grade 5, due to the financial woes of the Chaudhary family.

Hailing from Tharu community, an indigenous segment of the Nepalese populace well known for its agrarian works, Mr. Chaudhary too was engaged in cropping activities, in two hectares of land on a crop-sharing basis.

Mr. Khusi Ram Chaudhary, from Thapapur village of Kailali district, taking measurements of the clientele-clothes at his tailoring shop
Mr. Khusi Ram Chaudhary, from Thapapur village of Kailali district, taking measurements of the clientele-clothes at his tailoring shop

The journey of Mr. Chaudhary, who also is a member of Sirjansheel[1] Agriculture Group, unto entrepreneurship, commenced earlier this year (April, 2015). Sustainable Development Society (DBS), one of the implementing partners of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Nepal, facilitated in this due course. First, he got selected for enrollment in a Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) training organized by DBS, where he chose tailoring enterprise as his potential future business. This followed the extension of support by DBS for business start-up, which included sewing machine, interlock machine and scissors.

In the past nine months (April-December, 2015), Mr. Chaudhary has been able to earn a net profit of NPR 73,025 (EUR 664). He has further developed his enterprise into a tailoring-skill learning center, where four persons (two males and two females) are imbibing professional skills of tailoring.

Mr. Chaudhary is also a shareholder of a local saving and credit cooperative, named Diya aur Baati, and saves a portion of his earnings there on a monthly basis.

Mr. Chaudhary shares his delight, satisfaction and hope for even brighter days pertaining to his tailoring enterprise.  His earnings are now able to meet the basic family needs, including covering expenses of educating his children (two sons and a daughter).