Barahathawa (Sarlahi), 11 February: Jitendra Mahato, 20, of Gelha, Hariban Municipality-4, has been earning up to Rs 3,000 daily by operating a dunatapari industry. Known as an exemplary entrepreneur in the village, he has expanded his business by adding equipment to make dunatapari.
Jitendra, who inaugurated the new equipment on Monday, expressed his expectation that production will double in the coming days. He started the industry nine months ago after learning the skills of making dunatapari by participating in a micro-enterprise program organized by Hariban Municipality.
Mahato has employed 20 youths in the industry that makes dunatapari from the leaves of sal and bhorla that are wasted in the Chure forest. He is a graduate student at Chaturbhujeswor Janata Multiple Campus in Hariban-10 Sukepokhari and was planning to get foreign employment after his 12th grade. He said that he became an entrepreneur with the help of Ward Chairman Keshav Raj Thapa, who was preparing to go abroad.
“I was in the final preparations to go abroad after completing class 12 (plus two),” he said. “When I went to the ward chairman to ask for help, he encouraged me to do something and I learned the skills. After taking me to a seminar on micro-enterprises organized by the city, I also became interested in becoming an entrepreneur. I did become interested. However, I was very sad because I did not have investment. Today, I am running an enterprise after he helped me.”
Mahato said that new equipment costing Rs 360,000 has been installed due to the high demand for dunatapari in the market. He mentioned that earlier, a piece of equipment was installed for Rs 240,000. “From that, five thousand dunatapari of five different types are produced daily. Now the target is to produce more than 10,000 products daily to the market,” he said.
He claims that after installing the new equipment, up to three lakh dunatapari can be produced per month. He informed that this will result in a daily profit of Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 3,000 by cutting down on labor, production, and marketing costs. He has experience that since dunatapari is made from tree leaves, it is more environmentally friendly and is preferred by consumers over plastic products.
Jitendra urged young entrepreneurs from all levels to be encouraged by using more locally produced, environmentally friendly materials. He said that it is necessary to involve youth in micro-enterprises as this discourages going for foreign employment. “Banks that did not approve in the beginning are now calling for loans. Initially, I did not have the capital to start the enterprise,” he recalled. “When I asked for a loan, banks and financial institutions did not give it.”
Mahato, who is now calling and asking for a loan, said that he has not faced the same crisis as before, as he started the industry with a loan of Rs. 100,000 from the Sagun Savings and Loan Cooperative in Hariban.
The products produced by Bhajun Baba Dunatpari Industry run by Jitendra reach markets in Hariban, Nawalpur, Bagmati, Lalbandi, Barahathawa, Bayalbas, Malangawa and other places in the district. He said that products such as sal leaves, bhoj leaves, and dunatpari are made available in the market as per the demand of the consumers.
Hariban Municipality Mayor Ramesh Budhathoki said that the municipality is formulating a strategy to encourage those like Jitendra who do not have investment but plan to become entrepreneurs.
Ward Chairman Keshav Raj Thapa said that the country will only progress on its journey of prosperity if the youth are connected to local resources and made self-employed. He said that the youth who have asked for help to leave their studies and go abroad for employment have been encouraged to start their own businesses in their villages and stay with their families.
