Shimla:A silent yet a potent change is being enforced across the hills and valleys of Himachal Pradesh. Women entrepreneurs are redefining livelihoods, sustainability and self-reliance whether at home kitchens and forest villages or in digital workspaces and healthcare centres. These hopeful stories explain how women are turning ideas into successful businesses because of determination, community-based initiatives, and government support.
The story of Ishleen Kaur is one of them, as she started working as a freelance sales and marketing professional in 2021. Although she made a healthy income, the inability to feel firmly grounded and have a long-term path made her consider going larger. It is that reflection that resulted in the creation of The Apex Institute of Learning and Development an organization aimed at assisting business owners and professionals in creating structured, scalable systems. Ishleen began as a single-woman business and took up all the sales and training delivery duties on her own. Her institute is a six-member team with an annual turnover of almost [?]25 lakh, and clients in India, the USA, UAE and Australia. Her struggle of not knowing to having power is a hope to other would-be entrepreneurs.
Not any less convincing is the story of Nishu Lata Sood whose brand Nishu Food Products started as a small kitchen in the village of Ambota. She started in 1998 with customary pickles and chutneys and she developed her business based on taste, consistency and quality. With time, she has gone with the changing consumer preferences by launching millet products and nutrition-based products. On top of this business success Nishu Lata has empowered hundreds of women in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir as well as Punjab through training them in food processing and entrepreneurship. The Chief Ministers Startup Scheme and CSIR-IHBT Palampur assisted in scaling her operations which only made her believe her passion and proper support can make dreams come true.
The two similarities of sustainability and women empowerment stories intersect in the case of Mountain Bounties, which was started by Mamta Chander. The initial issue of a diminishing forest in Kullu was developed into a community-based type of approach that offers alternative means of livelihood to rural women. Women harvest and transform forest products in excess such as apricot, peach kernel oil, rosehip and nettle through an NGO and cooperative structure. Mountain Bounties has developed an effective conservation-based supply chain over 15 years, which demonstrates that economical growth and environmental protection can coexist.
Reeva Sood, the owner of a chemical-free farming brand called Agriva Naturally, has been the leader in the field of chemical-free farming in the Amb region of Una district. The venture was started in 2022 and aims at organic farming of high value crops including dragon fruit, figs, ashwagandha and stevia. Agriva Naturally is becoming a wellness brand that people can trust, having controlled the entire value chain of farming to production of fresh and chemical-free juice, and at the same time is encouraging sustainable farming as the way forward.
Self-help groups that are led by women have also been transformative. Umang, a women-led business started by Reena Chandel in 2016, helped 50 women to receive regular monthly salaries by making sweets, pickles, jam, and chutneys made of fruits. Through the Chief Minister Start up Scheme, the group had assisted them in branding, packaging and marketing. Today, the products of Umang are sold outside the state boundaries, and the members of the company receive an average of between [?]8,000 and [?]10,000 every month.
Deep Mala Negi, a tribal head, created Kinnaur Mountain Treasure, which combines the cultural conservation with the provision of livelihood of the Kinnaur tribal belt. The initiative has helped to generate jobs and bring into focus the heritage of the region by marketing in the traditional pickles, natural oils and ethnic products to the broader markets. Likewise, RS Food Products, which was established by Neelam Verma in Solan district, has been transformed into an income-generating endeavor to women in rural areas through the help of the district and state-level institutions.
There have also been flourishing craft-based businesses. Zarim Self Help Group founded by Man Dasi started with woolen socks and evolved to be a nationally known brand where stuff made out of Lahauli wool and seabuckthorn are on display. At the same time, Pavna Handloom Centre in the Mandi district gave Pavna Kumari a chance to prevent seasonal migration by using social media to advertise the handmade goods and gain more money and encourage other women.
These stories prove a strong fact, as far as luxury crochet brand Aurnika is created by the Dubai-returned entrepreneur Selfan; the healthcare project Basant Eye Clinic is initiated by Dr. Gunjan Joshi; the natural hair oil startup is created by Yogitraj Sharma. To the extent that there is a sense of mission coupled with institutional backing and the individual ability to endure, the female-owned businesses lead to a social and economic transformation.
Combined these trips represent a bigger trend–one in which the women of Himachal Pradesh are not merely developing enterprises, but also ecosystems of dignity, sustainability and independence.
