On a rooftop in Naya Padampur, a spinning wheel turns as 73-year-old Bin Maya Gurung feeds ivory wool through her fingers. The work gives her a way to earn money without making the risky trips to the forest that once helped support her family.
Naya Padampur lies in south-central Nepal, where many rural households live close to forests and wildlife. For women, collecting firewood can mean walking near animals such as rhinos and tigers. Small businesses offer another source of income, and can ease families’ reliance on forest products. That link matters: when people have ways to earn a living outside the forest, conservation and community well-being can support each other.
Gurung lived in Padampur, a settlement inside what is now Chitwan National Park. In the 1990s, Nepal’s government ordered residents to move outside the park, to the settlement that became Naya Padampur. The new area had been cleared for homes, but residents had few resources and no irrigation system for farming. Rhinos roamed nearby.
At first, Gurung earned money by making raksi, a traditional Nepali spirit. She had to go into the forest to gather firewood for the work, facing the possibility of encounters with wildlife on those trips. In the early 2000s, she learned to spin wool. The skill became the foundation for a women-led enterprise in Naya Padampur, where she now works with a spinning wheel. The business has grown over the years and is one of many small enterprises started by women in Nepal.
The benefits reach beyond one household. A 2022 study in Nepal’s Parbat district found that 96% of women involved in microenterprises felt confident that their earnings could help support their families. The businesses can also reduce reliance on forest resources such as timber. Some women-led enterprises use forest products that can be gathered with little impact; others, like wool spinning, provide an alternative to using forest products for income.
The growth of these businesses has taken place alongside changes in policy and community management. Nepal’s 1993 Forest Act allowed local community forest groups to manage state-owned forests in their areas. Today, these groups manage around one-third of the country’s forest cover. That gives local people a role in decisions about nearby forests, while small businesses can create more options for household income.
Starting a business is still difficult for many Nepali women. Social expectations, limited access to money and rules around business and property can stand in the way. Gurung’s experience shows what can change when women gain a skill and a chance to use it: a livelihood that supports a family while making daily income less tied to dangerous forest trips. As more women build enterprises, the challenge will be making training, funding and fair access to resources available to more communities.