Soon after that, Women\u2019s Bank presented new income generating opportunities to women in the village. Pig farming is traditionally not considered an appropriate profession for members of the caste of most people in Bhardeau, which means starting a pig farming business required even more daring than usual.<\/p>\n
But Ganga Tamang was prepared to break the ancient rules. She was told pig farming is a lucrative business, and she sure needed the income.<\/p>\n
Tamang was given a loan by the Women\u2019s Bank and with it she acquired three pigs. She was also trained in how to look after the animals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI set up a piggery on our land. I don\u2019t think my husband would have allowed it had he been in Nepal at the time. Back then, many people thought that gods don\u2019t like us farming pigs. It was considered a work of the lower castes\u201d, Ganga Tamang says.<\/p>\n
Now Tamang\u2019s piggery is home to 60 sows weighting over 100 kilos each and some piglets.<\/p>\n
When Tamang\u2019s husband called after three and a half years abroad to tell her he was coming back home, Tamang became very nervous. What was he going to say about the pigs?<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t say anything about it to him until the following morning. I told him I had to go feed our pigs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something had changed in her husband during his years abroad.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came out to help me with the feeding\u201d, Ganga Tamang says and laughs. \u201cUmesh told me that he had also thought about going into pig farming.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ganga and Umesh now work at the piggery together. They also run their small butcher\u2019s shop in the village. As the pigs grow, Umesh sells them in the capital Kathmandu. A 60-kilogramme pig sells for over 100 euros there.<\/p>\n
![\"nepali1\"](\"https:\/\/www.naistenpankki.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/nepali1.jpg\")
Ganga with 5-year-old daughter Sagun.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cI have money now, but more than that, the trainings by Women\u2019s Bank have provided me with self-confidence and many practical skills. I am not afraid to speak my mind now.\u201d<\/p>\n Ganga smiles as she says: \u201cBefore, I couldn\u2019t even have dreamt of being someone who teaches things to others. Now, other women come to me to learn things. I am a role model for them, because I have been successful with my business.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy dream is to give my children a proper education.\u201d Ganga and Umesh have two daughters; 10-year-old Roshani<\/strong>, and 5-year-old Sagun<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The women\u2019s cooperative supported by Women\u2019s Bank has operated in the village of Bhardeau for seven years, and almost all women in the village are members of it. One women\u2019s savings group assembles once a month at Ganga\u2019s house. The cooperative is supporting agriculture, entrepreneurship and education.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Text: Ulla K\u00e4rki \u201cMy life was very difficult before the arrival of the Women\u2019s Bank cooperative. I had a day job and earned about 80 rupees (approximately 70 cents) a day. The money wasn\u2019t enough for decent clothes or food. I only ate two times a day\u201d, says Nepalese Ganga Tamang, 28 years old. Securing a livelihood in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001025,"featured_media":18364,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[372],"class_list":["post-18709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-yleinen-en","tag-nepal"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nGanga spends a lot of time outside as evidenced by her tanned skin. She\u2019s wearing pink nail varnish. Before we take photos she changes from her work clothes into a beautiful and colourful Nepalese outfit consisting of a long kurta shirt and baggy pants.<\/span>\u201cNow we have enough of everything. We are even able to fund Umesh\u2019s little brother\u2019s and sister\u2019s studies. If I need a loan, I can get one easily. Everyone trusts me and knows I will pay back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nPhotos: Ville Asikainen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"