Hema comes from a small village in Illam, where she also met her husband-to-be. They had two children together, but the conjugal bliss did not last long. After eight years, the differences led to divorce leaving her to handle it all on her own. "I had never thought that I would have to earn a living by myself. I was never ambitious as a child, and the only dream I had was to become a devoted housewife to a kind and hardworking husband. But I guess karma had different plans for me," she says.
Knowing that she had to do something then to get on her feet, she started going to a cooperative headed by Indira Sapkota, a well-known social worker and the current proprietor of SKU. Sapkota, whom Hema lovingly refers to as 'Maami' came as a "candle in her dark life". Maami provided her and her family a home to stay and an opportunity to stand in her own feet. "She came up to me and told me, 'If you want to work on your own and make money out of it, then work in my pickle enterprise.' And that's when things started working in my favor," she shares.
Thirty-seven-year-old Hema is now one of the shareholders of the enterprise, and basically takes care of the business.
"When I first came in, our sales were around Rs 10,000 per month, now it's increased to about Rs 200,000 per month. Using that, we have been able to take good care of our staff. The best example of our achievement is the Rastriya Star Santwana Puraskar hanging on our wall, which was presented to us for being a successful enterprise," she says proudly.
SKU sells 12 different varieties of pickles. Some of the more popular ones are Methi-tusa, Methi ko Paste, Mixed, Lapsi Guliyo, Khorsani, Lasun, etc. They purchase the required vegetables from Kalimati in wholesale, and the pickles are priced in such a way that the fluctuations in the prices of raw materials inputs do not affect them much.
Like in every other sector in the country, the recent earthquake has hit this little venture, too. Besides hindrance in everyday operations, there has been a drastic decrease in the number of orders. Some of the previously placed orders have in fact been cancelled. Since pickles are perishable, their main challenge is to sell them before they are expired.
Hema says, "Nepal is a country with a small market. That already was a challenge. The earthquake has caused the market to shrink even more. We haven't been receiving much orders while our products are on the verge of decaying."
Their other constant challenge is the loadshedding. Without electricity they cannot seal their containers, therefore, loadshedding can often cause big troubles. Pickle business also has plenty of competition. "Sometimes I feel every next house sells pickles," she quips.
Even during these difficult times, Hema nurtures a positive attitude. Smiling, she says she's determined to work harder in the coming days in order to recover her business.
Most of Hema's positive attitude in life comes from the untiring support from her family, especially her sister who has been with her through every thick and thin. The 'Business Incubation Program' too has played a great role in her success. "It provides us with trainings on how to run an enterprise, how to market one's products, etc. Those trainings have been significantly helpful for me as I had zero background on running a business prior to joining Sahara Khadya Udhyog," she says.
For Hema, successful entrepreneur is the one who never prostrates and runs his/her enterprise effectively and independently. "My advice for new entrepreneurs is to be persistent. Even during times of despair like this, they mustn't give up. No matter what, keep trying. That's my mantra of success," she says.
A proud woman independently taking care of her children and running a fine enterprise, Hema sees herself as successful as the "top entrepreneurs" in Nepal five years down the line.
"If the earth beneath us stops shaking, that is," she says.
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