Jhigu Palaa
Welcome!
Welcome to the newly redesigned website of the Jhigu Palaa Society! Jhigu Palaa is a dedicated Canadian non-profit organization that raises funds to support victims of the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal. Our primary focus is on creating income-generating opportunities for women in the affected villages.
On this site, you can explore more about what we do, see examples of the projects we fund, and learn how we raise the necessary funds.
If you're interested in contributing to our work in Nepal, please visit this page for more information.
Our plans for spring of 2025
Our next project focuses on empowering women in Nepal by supporting them with income-generating activities. Together with our partners, we’ve identified ten women, each of whom is the backbone of a single-parent household struggling with limited income. To help transform their financial situations, we plan to provide each of them some essential tools such as sewing machines for tailoring, gas stoves and furniture for launching tea shops, or materials to craft and sell incense. This initiative aims to bring sustainable change and uplift their families and communities, one step at a time.
To bring this project to life, we need $1,500. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we’ve already raised a portion of this amount through donations, photoshoots, and other fundraisers. However, we still need your support to reach our goal. Every contribution brings us closer to empowering these 10 women and transforming their lives. Your help can make a real difference—let’s make it happen together!
Wishing all our supporters and volunteers a very happy New Year!
2024 has been an incredible year for Jhigu Palaa! We proudly supported women across Nepal through our Sewing Machine Project and helped another mother and daughter establish their tea shop with essential furniture and a fridge. This year, we also welcomed new donors and celebrated the return of some of our most loyal supporters. Thank you to Amrit Pal Singh, Sujata Lama, Kalasha Tamrakar, Sunita Tamang, the Nepal Canadian Women Society of BC, everyone who bought our jam, and all the others that donated, collected bottles or otherwise supported us this year!
We're thrilled about the prospects for an even more successful 2025, and we wish everyone the best in the new year!
Helping Bina to expand her tea stall to a small restaurant
Bina Bajracharya, a 52-year-old widow, lives with her daughter in the heart of Kathmandu. Struggling with her finances, Bina earns a modest income from selling tea but has no savings and is still paying off her late husband's medical debts.
Bina dreams of expanding her tiny tea stall into a small sit-down restaurant to boost her earnings and provide her daughter with a better education. All she needs to achieve this dream is some furniture and a small fridge.
Jhigu Palaa is stepping in to support Bina by providing new tables and chairs for ten guests, a small fridge, and a rack for utensils. With a modest donation of $600, we can help Bina secure a steady income and a brighter future for her daughter.
Income Generation for rural women
Four women in Bagling District are now earning money for their families by working as tailors, thanks to the support of the Jhigu Palaa Society and the local women volunteer organization, Inner Wheel Balaju. Each of these women has been provided with a sewing machine, enabling them to start their own tailoring business.
Small grants like these make a real difference in the lives of these women, and it is all thanks to your generous donations that Jhigu Palaa can fund these projects. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our donors and supporters!
Supporting women with our Sewing Machine Project
Jyoti Pun, a single mother, lives with her two children in a small rented house in Baglung, Western Nepal. After her husband left years ago, she has been working small jobs to support her family. Although Jyoti has the skills to work as a tailor, she lacked the financial means to purchase a sewing machine.
Thanks to Jhigu Palaa, and with the help of volunteers from Inner Wheel Balaju, Jyoti is now receiving a new sewing machine. This will enable her to start her own tailoring shop and provide for her children. The first set of sewing machines was handed over during a ceremony on April 16th.
With the funds provided by our generous donors (like you!), Jhigu Palaa will support Jyoti and nine other candidates, helping them create more work and income to sustain their families.
Thank you for a successful 2023 to all Jhigu Palaa supporters!
The year 2023 has been a successful one for the Jhigu Palaa Society: We started the year with providing push carts for women to start earning some extra income for their families by selling vegetables and other products. Later in the year we were also able to provide five sewing machines so that more women could start a tailoring business to increase their family income. For this all, we worked closely together with Inner Wheel Balaju, a local women volunteer organization in Kathmandu.
In 2023 we also received generous support from all our donors, either through direct financial support or donating time and work. Big thanks to Spirit of Dance Academy, Niki Patel, Shambu Lama, Dipali Sidhu, Eva Pradhan and many others that either donated or collected empty cans and bottles for us!
In 2024 we hope to continue supporting income generation activities specifically targeting women in villages in Nepal, and that way, with all your support, make the world a bit better place.
Supporting people to start small tailoring businesses
Pabitra Tamang (see here) of Nuwakot, Belkotgadhi, wants to create some more income to her family and needed help starting as a tailor. The Kathmandu based volunteer organization Inner Wheel Balaju worked with Jhigu Palaa to identify several other candidates like Pabitra and with funding from Jhigu Palaa five suitable candidates were provided with a new sewing machine. Small donations like these can make an immediate impact on the lifes of these families.
Support Jhigu Palaa and receive professional portrait photos!
You want to support Jhigu Palaa in our ongoing activities to improve the lives of women in the villages of Nepal. And you also want to show your new sarees or have some good lifestyle photos taken? This is your chance to get a professional portrait photoshoot and support Jhigu Palaa at the same time! See here for more details!
Return your bottles and support Jhigu Palaa!
Do you know that there is a very easy way to donate to Jhigu Palaa? Just collect all your empty bottles, cans, and milk jugs in a transparent bag and drop it off at the nearest Return-It Express Depot! No need to sort out different bottles and cans, just attach the bar code sticker and hand in the bags. That's all there is to it, and the money will go straight to Jhigu Palaa. Last year, we received about $250 in donations this way, and it helped us support several women through the project with Inner Wheel Kathmandu.
If you have bottles and cans waiting to be returned, drop us an email and we'll give you the instructions how you can return them to the Return-It Express Depot in your area.
Push Carts for Women
These women received a new push cart to start earning some extra income for their families by selling vegetables and other products. Jhigu Palaa worked with Inner Wheel Balaju, a local women volunteer organization, to help these women. With your support, Jhigu Palaa was able to donate $1100 to help these women.
See the full report on our Project page here: Push Carts
Earning extra income with woolen socks
Sangita Shahi and Hari Krishna Shahi are a couple living in the Machhapokhari neighborhood on the outskirts of Kathmandu. Their two daughters are already married, Hari is working as a driver and Sangita was looking after the household. As with all ethnically Newar people, they follow their traditions, festivals and elaborate celebrations at all significant life events like births, marriages and deaths.
Last year Hari’s mother passed away, and tradition requires the family holds a range of rituals during the year – each with a considerable guest list and related high expenses. “It was too difficult for me to manage all the expenses. So, we thought to start a small business,” said Hari.
Jhigu Mitra in Nepal, in collaboration with Jhigu Palaa in Canada and Mitra Path in the USA, supported Sangita and Hari Shahi with a Rs 50,000 grant to help them start up their small enterprise.
Hari added “Sangita has the skills to knit woolen socks. Luckily, we received financial support from Jhigu Mitra and we are trying to make it a success”.
“The socks business is seasonal. We are not earning as much as we expected” said Sangita. “I knit some pairs of socks and Hari is helping me to sell”. Hari added “I take these to my friends’ circle at work to sell them.”
Hari and Sangita have plans to grow their small business even more. Hari said “If we can reach a larger market, I think we can earn some good money”.
Jhigu Palaa is supporting Low Cost Shelter for Women's Cooperative
The Women's Cooperative in Panga village (Kirtipur) is supporting women in the village in all kinds of income generation activities: Masala making, tailoring, a place to sell their products, etc. To engage more women in the community, the Cooperative is planning to construct a work place in the village. This space can then be used by women to run their business and sell goods.
Jhigu Palaa is working with our Nepali partner organization Jhigu Mitra to help construct a low cost shelter for this purpose. Jhigu Mitra will provide technical support and project management. The Women's Cooperative will contribute approximately 20% of the costs of construction, and will provide storage and logistical support. Our partner organization Mitra Path in the USA has provided US$ 3500 for this project.
Jhigu Palaa is supporting this project with a $5000 donation. We are grateful to all our supporters who make it possible to help these women. Thank you all and we wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year!
Jhigu Palaa supports Women starting business
Jhigu Palaa supported a group of four women in Panga in starting a community shop. Go to our Project page to read more about it.
New skills training for women in Thecho
Jhigu Palaa continues to support skills development and income generation through training of women in villages around Kathmandu Valley. A new 45 days basic training on Beauty Parlour for women kicked off in Lalitpur recently. The trainer, Ms Sabina Bajracharya of Lalitpur Metropolitan City, has been working in the sector since the past 9 years. She will train a group of 8 women from the village of Thecho in developing the skills and knowledge to start their own small businesses.
Jhigu Palaa supporting women from low-income families
Jhigu Palaa is funding a new project in Byasa and Panga villages that will give training and small loans or grants to women in these two villages. The project is aimed at new income generating activities for low income families that have been hit hard by the earthquakes. Read more about it here. Jhigu Palaa is contributing $5,200 for training and start capital.
Art Workshop with Nepali artist Bishnu Bishwokarma
Jhigu Palaa organized a two-day Art Workshop on 17 and 24 January, where famous Nepali artist Bishnu Bishwokarma taught the participants about drawing, painting, light and shapes. A big thank you to Mr. Bishnu Bishwokarma for volunteering his time and the event raised more than $300 for Jhigu Palaa projects in Nepal!
Bishnu Bishwokarma demonstrating
The workgroup participants with their certificates