Young Women fill vacuum of mason in reconstruction

Okhaldhunga, Jan. 2:

Tara Devi Phuyal, 19, of Phuyalgaun in Molung Rural Municipality – 5 of Okhaldhunda district might be an envious name for her peers across the country because of the earnings and savings.

A student of Bachelors first year with Health and Nepali majors, she is a mason and earns about Rs. 25,000 – 30,000 in a month and saves almost all of it. 

Durga Maya Sarki, 24, from the same village is also a student of Bachelors’ degree and stone mason who earns more than Rs. 25,000 in a month. 

As the reconstruction of private house has caught pace following the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA)’s announcement of the deadline to collect the entire instalments of housing grant by mid-July 2018, the villages and cities across the country are facing shortage of human resources for the building. 

And, young ladies have come forward to fill the vacuum.

“Many houses are being rebuilt at the same time in several villages in the districts but there are not sufficient human resources for the construction work. Educated youth are in the cities while many men have left the country in search of job abroad,” said Sarki.

She is the first lady to work as a mason in her village.

We were 6 ladies in the group of eight trainees, and our team is now constructing three houses simultaneously, she said. 

Sarki is among the first breed of masons who are leading changes in the remote village in Okhaldhunga because skilled women’s entry into the male-dominated masonry has a tremendous impact upon the social and economic stereotypes since per-day wage of female gone up to Rs. 1,000 from Rs. 300, and many in the locality have started to believe that they can be entrusted for the construction of houses. 

She constructs walls, breaks stones and brings them into shape with a hammer so that they can be fit in the wall.

Such works are generally done by the men. 

“I think women can be empowered by the skill-training. If you can earn money by yourself, you can feel free,” said Dhan Maya Magar, 23, another mason.

“I never imagined being a mason. But I am building houses now. I am fully confident that I can build house as per modern designs,” She said.

Their confidence has heightened with the 50-days hands on tools training by the Employment Fund of the Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation. 

The Rising Nepal talked to Phuyal during her Skill Testing by the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) at Shreechaur in Molung. 

Helvetas, including the collaboration with the Department of the Foreign Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, has produced about 7,000 stone masons across the country to assist in the post-quake reconstruction works. 

“Approximately 262 girls and women are trained on masonry in Okhaldhunga district alone. Most of them are working now and supporting their family and neighbours,” said Sher Bahadur Thapa, Civil Engineer deployed in Okhaldhunga by Helvetas. 

NRA’s Okhaldhunga District Coordination Committee Coordinator Yuba Raj Aryal said that the 50-days training was highly effective as it combined with high technical knowledge and handsome income. 

“The masonry training has supported the reconstruction campaign in the district. I am amazed at the enthusiasm and confidence of the girls involved in the construction works. It is indicating that our society is changing,” he said. 

Binda Phuyal, 36, a mother of three, has also joined the skill training and appeared for the skill testing.

“I was a housewife for about 2-decade. The training has enhanced my skill and earnings, and people look at me with respect. If you have skill you should no more depend upon your husband and other male members in the family,” she said.