Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32Our taxi pulls up outside some rusty wrought iron gates. Inside is one of Nepal’s philanthropic success stories: a tiny business that’s slowly changing the lives of local women. SEVEN WOMEN It’s called Seven Women, and it began in 2006 as a grassroots project to help (literally) seven women who were suffering discrimination as a result of their disabilities. Nine years later, the project has expanded big time, with two centres in Kathmandu and four more in outlying villages. This is the largest, a three-story building lost in the warren of Kathmandu’s slightly crumbling backstreets. The gate opens up and our group wanders inside. The courtyard is boiling in the late October sun, but inside it’s quiet and cool. About fifteen women in sarees sit behind black Singer machines, feeding fabric through flashing needles with their fingers. The sewing machines are all old, classic models, powered by a foot pedal, and they fill the room with a soft mechanical jingling, like the noise a slot machine makes when it pays out. Seven Women is a small operation by international NGO standards, but its achievements are substantial. Since its inception it’s employed and trained over 900 local women, many of them disabled, and their handicrafts are sold online and overseas. The women that work here are usually single and over 45, members of poor rural communities in the lowlands around Kathmandu. They might be divorced, or suffer from some disability like glaucoma, blindness or polio. Here they can work, earn a wage and learn transferable skills. Padam says that most go back to their villages and start their own small businesses. It’s charity in its most sustainable form: an initial investment that repays itself a hundred fold. This is why I travel, to see initiatives like this. A small project, doing some good, for no reward other than the satisfaction of making the world a slightly better place. We wave goodbye to the women and hop back into the taxi. I watch them as the car pulls away. The last thing I can see is their smiles, then they turn around, walk into the nondescript house and go back to work. Written by James Shackell Peregrine is a proud supporter of The Intrepid Foundation, a not-for-profit that supports community projects (like Seven Women) in the places we visit. For more info, visit theintrepidfoundation.org www.peregrineadventures.com | Call: 1300 854 445 Peregrine_Go_Xplore_16_page.indd 4 5/08/2016 10:17 AM