An hour from Darjeeling lies Siliguri, a major crossroads between Nepal, Bhutan, and India’s northeast. Its position as a gateway brings constant movement and migration, but also deep inequality. Families drawn to the region in search of opportunity can face poverty, isolation, exploitation, and heightened risks of trafficking.
For many families, the tea estates surrounding Siliguri are among the few available sources of work. Wages are low, working days are long, and families may live in makeshift housing with limited access to healthcare, education, and other essential services. Men, women, and children can all contribute to the labour required to sustain the estates.
Alongside these challenges, tea garden communities are shaped by strong relationships, generosity, and a shared sense of belonging. Local organisations have worked in the region for many years, helping children remain connected to education and supporting women and young people to access safer, more sustainable opportunities.
For women in these communities, practical skills, financial knowledge, and pathways to enterprise can create greater choice over work, income, and the future of their families.
The Ethical Enterprises for Young Women program supports women and young people in developing practical skills, establishing small businesses, and building greater financial independence.
Run by the Darjeeling Mary Ward Social Centre, the program combines tailoring and jute production with entrepreneurship, financial literacy, mentorship, and access to ethical savings and credit.
Participants learn how to develop products, manage income, reach customers, and make informed business decisions. They are also connected with mentors, enterprise networks, and local markets that can support them as they move from training into employment.
By creating opportunities closer to home, the program helps reduce reliance on temporary wage labour and unsafe migration while strengthening women-led livelihoods within local communities.
Women and young people learn tailoring, jute sewing, and the production of marketable goods, creating pathways to employment, home-based work, or small enterprise.
Participants develop practical business skills, including budgeting, pricing, record-keeping, customer service, and marketing, helping them turn training into income.
Mentors provide guidance, strengthen confidence, and connect participants with knowledge, markets, and employment opportunities.
Participants access safe savings and responsible credit, reducing reliance on exploitative financial arrangements and supporting business growth.
Community sessions help women and young people recognise trafficking risks, understand their options, and make safer decisions when seeking work.
Sisters Sukhni* and Binita* were among the first students to join the Sukna Jute Program. Eleven years later, they now teach other girls in their community how to create jute products while building confidence, friendships, and awareness of their rights.
The sisters earn an income through teaching and selling their products, which has helped them pursue bachelor’s degrees. They hope to become university teachers and continue creating opportunities for women and girls in their community.
*Names changed for privacy.
A vocational skill can become a source of income. A mentor can help a new entrepreneur move forward with confidence. Safe access to savings or credit can help a woman invest in her own ideas.
Through the Ethical Enterprises program, women and young people are building livelihoods shaped by their skills, aspirations, and local communities.
As women gain greater financial independence, they are better positioned to support their families, participate in community decisions, and create opportunities for others.
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