Stitching Her Own Future: The Story of Anita Tamrakar

Panauti Municipality, Kavrepalanchowk District, Bagmati Province

There are people who work simply because they have to, and then there are people who work because it gives them joy. Anita Tamrakar belongs firmly in the second group. For as long as she can remember, stitching has been more than a skill for her. It has been a form of expression, a creative outlet she returned to again and again even when life offered her easier paths.

Anita is 48 years old and lives with her joint family in Panauti Municipality, Kavrepalanchowk district. Educated up to class 12, she has always been drawn to the craft and artistry of tailoring. Her husband works as a teacher, and the family also runs a gold jewellery business. But for Anita, that was never quite the point. She did not want to simply contribute to a shared family enterprise. She wanted something of her own — a space where her creativity and dedication could be fully expressed on her own terms.

"I loved stitching work. It feels like an art to me. I enjoy stitching and designing — it keeps me busy and productive. I wanted to support my family financially through my work, and although we have a family business, I wanted to start my own work so that I can work freely."

Anita had been practising tailoring since 2061 BS, building a quiet clientele by stitching blouses and sarees in the way she had always known. She was consistent and reliable, but she was aware that her skills had a ceiling. The designs she could offer were limited, and so was her ability to grow.

When she heard about the 15-day Small Scale Garment training offered through SABAH Nepal's Women in Value Chains project, she saw it as the opportunity she had been waiting for. The training reshaped her understanding of what was possible in her craft. She learned product design and development, techniques for creating more complex garments, and approaches to diversifying her offerings. For the first time, she began stitching kurtas and lehengas — garment types she had never attempted before. The effect on her business was almost immediate. New designs brought new customers, new customers brought new orders, and new orders gave her the confidence that she was, at last, building something real.

"Training was a golden opportunity for me. I learnt to make new designs and I have started stitching lehengas and kurtha also. During this project I also received business counselling where I was not only taught about new designs but how to expand my business in the market. My customers have increased ever since and my earnings have also increased."

Alongside the technical training, Anita received business counselling that helped her think more strategically about her work. She began to understand that tailoring was not just a trade but a business, and that running it well required as much thought as the stitching itself. It was during this period that she made one of the most significant decisions of her professional life: to formalise her enterprise and open her own dedicated outlet.

In 2020/2021, Anita established her own stitching outlet and registered it under the name Anita Cloths and Ladies Tailoring Shop, with the District Cottage and Small Industries (DCSI) under the Gharelu category, with support from SABAH Nepal. Having her own registered business meant she could access formal financial support for the first time. She applied for a loan through Laxmi Bank and also successfully applied for equipment support of up to NPR 1,00,000 from DCSI. Through this process, SABAH Nepal played a key role in linking her with DCSI, helping her navigate institutional channels that had previously seemed inaccessible. As a result, she received three additional sewing machines that expanded her production capacity and enabled her to take on more staff.

"After being part of the project I realised I should register my business. I registered in the name Anita Cloths and Ladies Tailors with DCSI (Gharelu) in 2077 B.S. I am happy I registered — in this way it is easier for me to seek a loan and it is a legal shop now. In my shop I have added three more staff to help me with my work and also generate some income for them."

The growth in Anita's business has been measurable. Before joining the project, she was earning around NPR 25,000 per month. With the expansion of her skills, the establishment of her own outlet, and the addition of new machines and staff, her monthly earnings rose to NPR 40,000. The income reflects not just more customers, but a more sophisticated and diversified business that she has built through her own investment of time, skill, and courage.

The project also extended into her family life in ways she had not anticipated. Family counselling sessions helped shift her husband's perspective on women working outside the home. In a society where a woman's professional ambitions are often seen as secondary to family responsibilities, this shift was meaningful. Her husband came to see her work as a contribution to the family's financial wellbeing and to her own sense of identity and purpose. Anita also grew in confidence well beyond the tailoring shop itself. Where she once relied on family members or her husband for administrative and banking tasks, she now handles all of it herself.

"The project training and counselling has not only made me independent but also empowered me. Now I do all the official bank work or any administrative related work by myself. Earlier, I used to ask for help from my family members or my husband. I have received a lot of respect from society as they see me working to make my future secure and bright."

Like many small business owners, Anita's journey has not been without its setbacks. The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a severe blow to her enterprise. Orders dried up, her outlet had to close temporarily, and for an entire year she was unable to pay her shop rent. It was a period of significant strain that tested everything she had built. Yet even through that difficult stretch, she made sure her employees were paid, drawing on family support to honour her obligations.

Today, Anita is back at her machines with full energy and renewed ambition. She has returned to taking on new projects, rebuilding her customer base, and expanding her range of designs. Her sights are set firmly on growth, with plans to scale her business and eventually sell her products at the national market level. For a woman who once stitched blouses in a corner of someone else's shop, that vision represents a remarkable distance travelled.

Anita Tamrakar's story is one of creative passion meeting practical determination. She did not need the project to tell her that stitching was her calling. She already knew that. What SABAH Nepal gave her was the technical depth, the business knowledge, the institutional connections, and the personal confidence to turn a calling into a career and a career into an enterprise that stands on its own. Her needle has always known where to go. Now, so does she.