# Self-help groups are helping Nainital's women turn household skills into income

> In Nainital, more than 100 active self-help groups supported by the municipality and SUDA are helping women earn through aipan art, woollen goods, pickles and even paying-guest accommodation.

**Type:** article · **Category:** Uttarakhand · **Published:** 2026-09-08 · **Source:** TrendKia
**Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/uttarakhand/svayn-sahayata-samuhon-se-jurakara-arthika-rupa-se-majabuta-ho-rahin-nainital-ki-mahilaen-29470 · **Language:** English
**Tags:** Nainital, Self-Help Groups, SUDA, Aipan Art, Women Entrepreneurship, Uttarakhand News

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.

## What this means for you
This directly matters for women looking to start something of their own from home or at a small scale.

- **Across India:** This model shows how women can begin self-employment without large capital, simply by linking up with a municipal body and a state urban development agency. Joining a self-help group can bring access to training as well as stalls at government-organised fairs.
- **In Nainital:** The town's roughly 100 active women's groups can now reach out to SUDA directly for information on schemes and upcoming fairs. Stalls at events like the Nanda Devi festival can mean a real jump in sales and a chance to reach new customers.
- **For tourists and buyers:** Visitors to Nainital can now buy aipan decorative items, woollen goods and homemade pickles and papad straight from these women's groups. That gives local products a boost while putting money directly into the women's hands.
- **Waiting for the haat bazaar:** Women whose goods once sold at the old Ghoda Stand market will have to wait for a new, permanent site to be found. Once that happens, they will no longer need to hunt for a new spot every time.

## Why this happened
This self-employment model among Nainital's women did not appear overnight, it is the outcome of roughly a decade of government effort combined with local conditions.

- **Where the support began:** Starting in 2014, the municipality and SUDA began organising women into groups so they could directly benefit from training and government schemes.
- **Why the tourist economy helps:** Nainital sees a steady flow of visitors through the year, which keeps demand alive for local items like aipan art, woollen goods and homemade food products, giving the women a ready market.
- **Why the haat bazaar shut down:** The women's haat bazaar in the old Ghoda Stand area had to be removed once road-widening work began there, leaving the groups without a fixed permanent site for now.
- **What happens next:** The department is searching for a new location to restart the haat bazaar, though no site has been finalised yet.

## Questions & Answers

### 1. How many self-help groups have been formed in Nainital so far?
More than 180 groups have been formed since 2014, of which around 100 are currently active.

### 2. Which bodies are supporting these women's groups?
The Nainital Municipality and the State Urban Development Agency (SUDA) jointly support them.

### 3. What products are the women mainly making?
They make woollen goods, aipan art items, candles, juice, jam, pickle and papad.

### 4. Where was the old women's haat bazaar and why did it close?
It was in the old Ghoda Stand area and had to be shut down due to road-widening work.

### 5. Who is Chandan Singh Bhandari?
He is a community organiser with the SUDA department of Nainital Municipality.

### 6. What platform do the women get to sell their products?
They get stalls at fairs organised with central government support and at Nainital's Nanda Devi festival.

### 7. Why have some women started PG accommodation?
They run paying-guest facilities for tourists as an additional source of income.

## Inspiration & Lessons
The story of Nainital's women shows how the right support combined with collective effort can bring real change.

- **Strength in numbers, not solo struggle:** Instead of working alone, the women chose to organise into groups, which made everything from making products to finding buyers far easier.
- **Turning household skills into income:** They converted traditional skills like aipan art and homemade pickles and papad into a source of earning, without moving away from their roots.
- **Willingness to try something new:** Starting PG accommodation shows the women are ready to embrace new opportunities rather than sticking only to traditional work.
- **Hope even after setbacks:** Even after losing their haat bazaar to road widening, the groups have not given up and are pushing for a new site.

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