Women produce liquid hand wash to ensure hand wash to prevent from COVID 19

Women from Jitpurphedi produce 1000-liter liquid hand wash to supply in public hand wash stations of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. Three women of Galchi women group who belongs to Jitpurphedi women’s agriculture cooperative limited involved in the project. It took three days to produce them them this quantity of soap. We coordinated the project and supported them to bring all the ingredients needed for the production. It has supported women to use their skill in the situation of lockdown. Women generate income when they are completely locked at home.

Women used Sodium laurel sulphate (SLS) 200 liters, Glycerol 40 lit., Gypsum salt 50 kg, Neem powder 500 gm, Sky blue color 5 gm, Rose sent 1000 ml and water about 750 liters to produce 1000 liter of liquid hand wash. It was of good quality with enough antiseptic for hand wash. The product was sold on 150,000 NPR including labor cost. Women are happy to produce soap in this quantity. They are highly motivated and want to produce more if they got more order.

We have been implementing Women’s entrepreneurship project in Tarkeshwor municipality since 2009. There are 151 women groups with 1153 women. A Jitpurphedi women’s agriculture cooperative limited is established where all the women from Jitpurphedi are members. We are supporting women through microcredit, life skills education and entrepreneurship projects. They are trained on community-based microcredit and cooperative. They are involved in life skills and education classes to develop soft skills to be a leader. Women are trained on entrepreneurship skills, income generation activity and market strategy. VIN has built Tarkeshwor women’s business center in Jitpurphedi for the outflow of these all projects in Tarkeshwor. We trained them on multiple skills. Apparently, Women in Tarkeshwor are producing soaps, cleaning and sanitizing liquid, hand bags, shopping bags, Jewelry, dolls, vegetables and many more.

We appreciate the work women are doing. It is a tough situation in the country that all people are in lock down. These women are amazing that they get ready to work. It’s their attitude that pushed us to manage all the ingredients coordinating with multiple suppliers and visiting them. This is an opportunity for us to prove demand of socio entrepreneurship skills in crisis. We want to support to produce more soap by these women to meet the demand of liquid soap in this situation which is almost short supply in the market.