Goat rearing helps Kalika earn income and social prestige
Feb 28, 2024: Dang Ghorahi: Kalika Magar, a resident of Gairigaon in Ghorahi Sub-Metropolitan Ward No. 3, was forced to leave her house as a single woman. Kalika’s husband had suffered from cancer, and even after spending hundreds of thousands on medical treatment, he succumbed to the disease.
Born in 2040 BS in Hansipur, Bangalachuli rural municipality, Kalika did not receive adequate education to support herself. While she was grieving the loss of her husband, she was more worried about running the household and the future of her two sons. She had some relief after her brother-in-law started working. But her troubles did not stop. Kalika had to constantly listen to gossip and tolerate pressure from her surroundings.
By chance, Kalika came in contact with the beneficiary groups formed by the Rural Women Development Center (RWDC) to launch SLVC-II project activities. The project was funded by Heifer International Nepal in the Dang district. This meeting was her turning point in life. Kalika received skill-oriented and capacity-building training related to goat rearing, vegetable farming, cooperative management, grass cultivation, etc. The SLVC-II project also provided her with two goats as part of the ‘passing on the gift’ program, and this became a new beginning for Kalika.
Currently, she has 10 goats and has been cultivating vegetables and raising local chickens and pigs. There is no shortage of markets for selling because the cooperative she is associated with is the centre of the market for all kinds of products Kalika produces. Kalika has also taken loans from the cooperative to run her agro-business. She took a loan of NRs. 200,000 to rear her goats and grow vegetables.
Kalika is earning more than NRs 300,000 annually from the sale of goats, pigs, poultry, and vegetables. This regular income has helped her to send her two sons to a good school. Her two sons study in grades 12 and 10, respectively. Expressing her joy at how her agriculture profession is making her financially strong, Kalika shared that every woman can be successful if she works diligently and confidently. She has also earned social respect in her community, and people around her have started to appreciate her entrepreneurial spirit.
Kalika has not only become a successful entrepreneur but has also become a successful social change maker. She shares that she is grateful to the cooperative, RWDC, and Heifer International Nepal for changing the lives of many women like her using the services provided to them through the SLVC-II project activities.