Recognising Potential: How Young Rural Women are Reshaping the Mountain Economy

Women in rural communities have always had entrepreneurial potential. The question is what becomes possible when the right resources and systems support their aspirations and help them grow.

For generations, women have held much of Uttarakhand's mountain economy together. From farming and food production to weaving, traditional crafts, caregiving and managing households, their work has sustained families and local livelihoods. Yet much of this contribution remains unpaid, undervalued or unrecognised as economic activity.

Younger women growing up in these communities inherit both this knowledge and the expectations that come with it. But some are beginning to build on this inheritance differently. They are turning familiar skills into businesses, pursuing new interests and reaching markets beyond their villages. In doing so, they are challenging not only conventional ideas of employment, but also long-held assumptions about the economic roles women can occupy in mountain communities.

This shift is not simple or same for all - but entrepreneurship can create opportunities for a woman to negotiate these expectations, exercise greater choice and build an economic identity of her own.

From Livelihood to Enterprise

Women in rural communities have always had entrepreneurial potential. The question is what becomes possible when the right resources and systems support their aspirations and help them grow.

Recognising this work as economic activity is an important starting point. But turning an activity into a viable business involves making many different decisions: what to produce, who might buy it, how to price it, where to sell it and how to sustain it. This transition from livelihood to enterprise does not necessarily mean moving away from existing knowledge or skills, but finding ways to create greater economic value from them. In the mountains, however, this is rarely straightforward. Distance from markets, high transport costs and limited access to finance can make even a small business difficult to sustain.

Finding New Possibilities

Priya: Finding New Markets for Local Skills

While pursuing her graduation in Pithoragarh, Priya mastered the art of macrame knotting to earn an income and support her everyday expenses. What began as a hobby turned into small sales and eventually grew into a structured local business. By utilising online marketplaces, she navigated the barriers of distance, bringing her products to buyers across different locations.

As her work evolved, she also began marketing Aipan artwork and other products made by local women's self-help groups, helping their skills and products reach wider markets.

Harshita: Challenging Conventional Career Paths

Growing up in Peora, Nainital, Harshita loved art but faced doubts about whether it could offer a stable livelihood. Despite family expectations to pursue a conventional career, she chose to study fine arts and explore entrepreneurship.

She tested her idea at a local exhibition, investing Rs.5,000 of her savings and earning five times that amount. Encouraged by this experience, she began building Kumaoni Chitrakala Sangrah, a collective that helps her and other independent artists reach customers. She is also training young artisans, helping them develop their creative skills and find opportunities to earn from their work.

What Will Help More Women Build Enterprises?

Priya and Harshita started in different ways, but both had to move beyond knowing how to make something to identifying opportunities, customers, adapting to challenges and making decisions that help a business evolve.

Many of these skills can be developed through practical training in pricing, financial management, product development and digital tools.

But skills alone are not enough.

For women in rural mountain communities, the ability to pursue entrepreneurship is also shaped by responsibilities at home, family support, freedom to travel, access to mentorship and navigating challenging geography. Digital platforms may help reach new customers, but they cannot remove every barrier to production, transport or consistent sales.

This is why supporting entrepreneurship must go beyond training individuals. It also means building stronger local networks, improving access to markets and resources, and creating conditions in which women have the time, confidence and support to pursue their ideas.

The journeys of Priya and Harshita are small but meaningful examples of a wider shift in how women are finding and creating economic opportunities in the mountains. They are building on existing skills and local resources, exploring new markets and finding ways to extend these opportunities to others.

For some, that may mean earning a reliable income from their own work. For others, it may mean creating a business that supports more artists, artisans or producers. And for many, it is also about having greater say in their economic futures and the choice to build a livelihood closer to home.

Making these possibilities accessible to more young women requires both recognising their entrepreneurial aspirations and addressing the barriers that stand in their way.

Uttarakhand's mountain economy has always depended on women's contributions. What needs to change is the recognition, economic value and agency associated with their work, and the opportunities they have to shape its future. Written By: Madhurima Das & Arunima Pande