In the hill town of Nainital in Uttarakhand, women who once spent their days only managing households are increasingly building independent incomes of their own. A network of self-help groups, backed by the Nainital Municipality and the State Urban Development Agency, known as SUDA, is giving them training, employment opportunities and access to markets, with the broader goal of helping them stand on their own feet financially. As a result, items like woollen goods, aipan art and homemade pickles have become steady sources of earning for these women in a town that depends heavily on tourism.
More than 180 groups since 2014, around 100 still active
Chandan Singh Bhandari, a community organiser with the SUDA wing of Nainital Municipality, said more than 180 self-help groups have been formed in the town since 2014, of which roughly 100 are currently active. Each group functions according to its own set of rules, with members working together to prepare products and then searching for buyers on their own rather than depending on any single agency. The department tries to connect every group with government schemes suited to its particular activity and needs, so that women can strengthen their finances through collective effort rather than working alone. Officials describe this shared way of working as the biggest reason the model has managed to survive and grow over more than a decade.
From aipan brushwork to jars of pickle
Aipan, the traditional folk art closely associated with the hills of Uttarakhand, is now doubling as a livelihood for many women in Nainital. Women mix ochre with a paste made from ground rice to paint traditional patterns, turning out decorative pieces that are then sold in the market for a steady income. Alongside this craft, SUDA is training women in weaving and spinning, candle making and food processing, skills that can be practised from home alongside domestic duties. Several groups make juice, jam, pickle and papad and supply them to local shops. Because Nainital is a well-known tourist destination, homemade and traditional-style products tend to find ready buyers among visitors as well as residents. Taking that a step further, some women have started running paying-guest, or PG, accommodation for tourists as an additional and rather unconventional source of income.
Fairs and festivals offer a direct selling platform
According to Bhandari, the department's job does not end with training, equal emphasis is placed on getting the finished goods in front of buyers. Women's groups are allotted stalls at various fairs organised with support from the central government, giving them a chance to sell directly to visitors from outside the region. Stalls are also reserved for these groups during Nainital's well-known Nanda Devi festival every year. Such events not only boost sales in the short term but also help the women build relationships with new customers who may return to buy from them again in the following season.
An old market vanished, officials are searching for a new site
Until some time ago, a dedicated women's haat bazaar used to operate in Nainital's old Ghoda Stand area, where group members set up their own stalls to sell local products directly to shoppers. That market had to be shut down after work began to widen the road running through the area, leaving the groups without a fixed venue. The department is now trying once again to set up a similar, permanent haat bazaar somewhere in the town. If a suitable location is found and the market is revived, women's groups would finally get a fixed spot to sell their goods instead of having to look for a new venue every single time.
Officials say that once a woman joins a self-help group, the path to self-employment becomes considerably easier to navigate. Membership brings together training, the chance to manufacture products, the experience of working as part of a team, and access to buyers, all in one place. That combination is why women across Nainital are now choosing to take up aipan art, food processing, weaving and spinning, woollen products or candle making, depending on their own interests and skills, and building a distinct financial identity for themselves in the process.
