Stories from the ground

In the heart of Pallabi, a new change is being brought about by an energetic, resilient 30-year-old woman named Farzana. Once an invisible figure in her community, she has become a respectable leader...

HomeNet South Asia (HNSA) recently organised an engaging regional webinar titled ‘Access to Markets’ on 29 April 2025, bringing together affiliate organisations from all across South Asia to discuss...

As a community leader from a small settlement in Nepal, Nisha Sapkota’s boldest move was to take a glass of dirty water to the drinking water office in her district, demanding to know if the officials...

A 30-year-old home-based worker (HBW) from the Jatrabari cluster in Dhaka, Laiju Akter has transformed her life and the lives of countless others through her unwavering determination and leadership...

Sharda Mishra, a single woman from Budhanilkantha Municipality, has faced significant challenges in her life, particularly after the death of her husband. She experienced discrimination from her own...

Payalben Hiteshbhai Ranat, a home-based worker from Isanpur, Ahmedabad, truly embodies the phrase, "Be the change you wish to see."

In September 2019, with support from Comic Relief, HomeNet South Asia and WIEGO collaborated on the Power Up programme. It was designed to create a global movement of home-based workers by...

It’s a Sunday morning during monsoons in Lalitpur, a settlement on the outskirts of Kathmandu City and Krishna Debi is preparing Chattamari, fondly called ‘Nepali Pizza’ for some customers who sought...

Driving around Bhutan’s capital, Thimphu, will bring you face-to-face with many awe-inspiring structures – one of them in the Supreme Court. The lavish building is adorned with colourful, traditional...

Far away from Male, Gadhdhoo is a small island that’s known for its remarkable mat weaving tradition. Handcrafted largely by women, home-based workers from the Thundukuna community, the woven mats are...

The imposing hills of Taplejung, a district in Eastern Nepal, are carpeted with large cardamom plantations. One of Nepal’s leading large cardamom producing districts, Taplejung contributes the world’s...

The Eastern Himalayas straddle three South Asian nations, Nepal, India, and Bhutan, which also happen to be the main producers of large cardamom, a specialty spice that enjoys wide appeal across South...

The ocean is the lifeline of the Maldives. It is the calming blues of the ocean that draws in tourists to the country. And it is the food from the oceans that sustains the lives and livelihoods of...

Deepa, a home-based worker lives with her family in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, India. She has been working as a home-based, garment trimmer for the past eight years and her husband works as a master cutter...

For SEWA Ruaab the pandemic provided a unique scenario – a chance to reinvent, breathe life into a struggling enterprise. Founded in 2010, Ruaab is rooted in the Self-Employed Women’s Association...

How A Grassroot-Level Organiser, In Ahmedabad, India, Gave Up Her Daily Wages In Order To Organise Her Community And Link Them To Basic Services. Ramilaben lives in a crowded settlement of over 300...

How A Newly-Confident Grassroot-Level Organiser Helped Hundreds Of Women Access Work During The First Wave Of The Pandemic. “I wouldn’t even have the courage to speak,” Noorbanu says, recalling her...

A Home-Based Worker Leader Dedicates Her Energies To Building Awareness On The Issue Of Violence Among Women Workers And Their Families. “Just a few months ago, one of the home-based workers in my...

A Home-Based Worker Leader From Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley Is Ensuring Voice To Victims Of Violence. Bhagbati Gautam has been a home-based worker for more than a decade, working and living in Bhaktapur...

Founded in 1988 under Seva Mandir’s income generation programme, Sadhna is a women-led home-based worker enterprise specialising in textile crafts. When it was founded, Sadhna was unique because it...

The year 2020 was a landmark year for HomeNet South Asia. It was two decades ago, in a historic setting, in 2000, that governments from across South Asia came together with SEWA, WIEGO, UNIFEM (UN...

For centuries, the South Asian region has been renowned for its textile traditions and heritage. These skills have been nurtured and perfected not in busy factories and by famous brands but by unknown...

New Delhi – India’s capital – is battling a particularly rough 2020. In February, 2020, riots broke out in large parts of the city. And just while the capital was limping back to normalcy, COVID-19...

For the far-removed eye, the landscape of North-Eastern Nepal can represent a veritable paradise. It is made up of towering mountains and hills whose peaks are often haloed with swirls of mist and...

The spread of COVID-19 across South Asia has resulted in the large-scale shutdown of business operations. While almost all industries have been adversely affected, the garment industry is one of the...

In April, this year, a much-dreaded headline popped up on news feeds across India. Dharavi – Asia’s largest slum – reported its first COVID-19 related death. The narrow lanes of Dharavi – where close...

The terms ‘invisible’ or ‘hidden’ are often used when referring to women homeworkers in garment and footwear supply chains. Their work is often undervalued and remains unseen by the retailers and...

This year, the Australian Open brought cheer to India’s leading garment hub – Tiruppur. The Hindu, a national daily, reported that ball boys and girls along with courtside statisticians, at the...

Home-based work is a critical source of employment in the South Asian region and, estimates suggest, that it is home to over 50 million home-based workers. In the countries that make up South Asia...

How A Social Enterprise In Udaipur Organises And Links Home-Based Workers To Global Supply Chains It was a quiet day, when we arrived, in Kamli Ka Guda. The expansive highways that stretch out of...