As Nick Kristof and others have noted, women are more inclined than men are to spend their money on health care, food, and education for their families and communities. Overall, they invest more in long-term plans than in short term gratification. But what’s a woman to do when she lacks the education, skills, or start-up capital necessary to begin her own business? How can she earn an income when she does not know where to start? For a group of women in Janakpur, Nepal, the answer had been passed down for generations.
For centuries, the Maithil women of southern Nepal have painted elaborate traditional designs on the mud walls of their houses and compounds to celebrate weddings, festivals, and religious celebrations. The works of art create sacred and auspicious spaces for their families and their rituals. For generations, painting skills and designs were passed down from mother to daughter.
The Janakpur Women’s Development Center was founded in 1989 by a group of donors from the United States, UK, Germany, and Belgium who appreciated the beauty of the artwork and saw an opportunity to help. Claire Burkett, a young American woman, walked through villages around the area, looking for the most talented artists. After some convincing (and with permission from their husbands), several women agreed to travel to the center to learn how to transfer their wall paintings to paper.
Within a year, a strong core group of women was working at the center. Most of them were extremely poor, had little or no education, and had never taken part in any kind of organization. Women with babies and toddlers were allowed to bring their children along. The administrators and leaders – nearly all Nepali women – had created a comfortable and supportive environment for women of all castes and many backgrounds.
As more women heard about the opportunity and arrived at the center, the range of artwork expanded from paper designs to pottery and textiles. They opened a shop on campus and began to ship products to several stores in Kathmandu. Their artwork has been exhibited as far away as Beijing. As the women’s income grew, so did their self-confidence and awareness. The center began to provide training in literacy, management, planning, gender awareness, health and child care.
Manjula Thakur, one of the most prolific artists and manager of the painting section, discovered first-hand how an income could change a woman’s life: “Now I can buy milk, pens and books, and pay the tuition for my children. I’m strong now. I can move ahead. . . When I go outside sometimes people still criticize me. But I know that if they say bad things I just don’t have to look at them, and if they don’t understand my life today, they’ll understand it tomorrow.”
Published Date: March 10, 2010