Her husband had a good-paying job in India. However, with four children to raise, the money the family earned was just not enough to take care of the children’s needs.
With a not-so-good financial situation at home, Bimala, who was a housewife, decided to try her hands in some kind of a business to become self-dependent. In 2003, she was also encouraged by her husband, Pashupati Bashyal who agreed to take the risk of coming back home to start a small-scale family business.
“My neighbours and family members were upset with me. ‘Why would you ask your husband to come back to this unproductive place?’ ” remembers the entrepreneur from Barandi Village in Palpa.
She decided to start her enterprise by rearing a cow. She bought the first one for Rs 1,200. She also bought one beehive and 10 grams of ginger plants. “I just had one goal. I wanted to work hard so that I could improve the financial situation of my family, and to do something with my life. I was lucky that my husband supported my ideas,” stated Bimala.
“I just had one goal. I wanted to work hard so that I could improve the financial situation of my family, and to do something with my life.”
With her will and determination, Bimala’s hard work was bound to succeed. She could grow her venture each year, and at present Bimala she runs a commercial cow farm, a ginger farm and bee-keeping business.
Having started her business from a small scale, Bimala’s business has now grown very big. A large number of people visit her farm every year to observe the management system. Bimala charges ticket fees for field visits. She farms ginger on five ropanis of land (around 27,000 sq ft), has around 238 bee hives and rears 11 cows. As Bimala also sells her cows and beehives, the numbers keep changing. She has even started her own dairy, Himalayan Dairy Udhyog at Tansen Bazaar. She has hired four young people from her village to work at the dairy.
Her annual profit is around Rs 5 million, an astounding figure for someone involved in agriculture in rural Nepal. Looking at the profit that Bimala makes through her agribusiness, other women in her village have also felt encouraged to become entrepreneurs themselves. Currently, 150 women in Barandi Village are now involved in some kind of agri-business. Bimala is happy that she has become an an inspiration for many women in her village. But her true joy comes from the secured future of her children.
Her annual profit is around Rs 5 million, an astounding figure for someone involved in agriculture in rural Nepal. A large number of people visit her farm every year to observe the management system. Bimala charges a ticket fee for visits to her farm.
While reminiscing about her first entrepreneurial journey, Bimala says, ” When I remember those days, I feel like crying. My family members and neighbours would question my decision . When I first started the business there were times when I could hardly sleep when I questioned my decision of starting the farm. But I’m happy I made the decision. My business is successful and I have been able to make a name for myself as an entrepreneurs.”
Bimala Bashyal was one of the Top Five Entrepreneur of the Daayitwa Enterprise Challenge 2014.
The author is associated with Daayitwa.
