I spent 7 months living in Sermathang and working at the local school in 1993. During that time I had much contact with the women who expressed the desire to stay at home at work so that they could be with their children. We decided to set up an income-generating project whereby people could be trained in knitting and sewing thus giving them the choice of staying in the village if they so wished.

In 1995, HWDA was born and since then, we have provided several knitting and sewing programmes for women and older schoolgirls. The project is run by a western volunteer (could it be you?) and several Nepalese, some of whom speak English. Currently, there is also a literacy skill and agricultural/ environmental programme running. We are hoping to continue this and possibly encorporate some basic health awareness into the project. The purpose of the western volunteer is to help run the project and continue/ initiate activities in Sermathang, working alongside the local team.