The Story behind: 'Pine Needles and Sickle', our choice of weapons for Empowerment!

Women’s entrepreneurship in villages is key for the survival of rural areas and for the economic and social empowerment of women. A strong and independent woman who can bear the burdens of village life is necessary for any family to be healthy and to thrive. This is only possible when women are constantly economically and socially empowered and when we insist on equal rights and equal opportunities for women. Women are often not allowed to venture outside the home, not given equal say in decision making processes at the community level, and don’t view themselves as farmers or businesswomen. Not only does this have a negative effect on women’s self esteem, gender inequality also drives down economic growth.

We are Roshni (30) and Asha (40), smallholder farmers and self-made pine needle entrepreneurs from Junga in Himachal Pradesh, India. As neighbors in unison, overcoming enormous personal and professional adversity on our journey to prosperity, has been a constant struggle. Being close neighbors we never knew the power of women in unison in the fight against the pervasive problem of gender inequality in India. Both of us have had difficult lives in our youth, enduring typical patriarchal settings in our households. This is the very reason we believe every woman should find the strength to rise and never give up! We now feel proud that we didn’t surrender to our fate and chose to rise and add meaning to our lives.

Once when our cattle were grazing in the fields, we had heard about NSFI’s livelihood upliftment, ‘Sabal Sakhi’ for women, and thought it was no harm associating ourselves with the team. The best part of the training, you may ask? When we got to choose our trade/ business that we’ll be interested in. Pinus Roxburghii Sarg (chir pine) is the most abundant tree species in the Himalayan region. Pine Needle Handicrafts was a plain of choice of business because of the easy availability of the raw materials, environmental conservation, revival of the state's craft and low or no requirement of capital investment. Who wouldn’t want to earn revenue out of something that you just pick on while taking your cattle out for feed??

When we were informed that we can also help minimize the forest fires, we were even more thrilled! Despite the immense natural beauty in the hills, families in Junga have struggled as environmental degradation threatens their livelihoods, culture, and traditional way of life. Perhaps nowhere is this struggle as clear as in the forest. As pines have overtaken the hillsides, forest fires have become a regular, destructive occurrence. While the pines themselves are resistant to fire, pine needles, which cover the forest floor in a thick carpet, are highly flammable. Clearly something needed to be done!?

The collection of needles helps to minimize the risk of forest fires in the area while bringing an additional source of income to rural women. We decided to use this nature’s gift to make eco-friendly rakhis and other gift items, and earn livelihood. We have been trained in crafting not just rakhis, but also items such as roti box, coaster set, pen stand, coin pouch, fruit basket, pine needle jewelry etc. Once we got trained, we made a large number of items during the pandemic hit lockdown and drew good sales from them.”?

Today we feel free, appreciated and of use to ourselves, our children and our family members! We feel as if we have been reborn! Do the same: It’s never too late! It's you who will decide what weapons are best suited for your empowerment. Will it be a voice that could never find an escape or will it be a voice that inspires many more to set free? Live for yourself and choose the right weapons! Don’t give up before you get what you deserve!”