Dalit Mahila Sangh is a Dalit women’s organisation on Gaushala Marg, Birgunj-09, Parsa. Its third-batch DGM Nepal sub-project establishes a duna tapari enterprise producing leaf bowls and plates stitched or pressed from sal and other broadleaf forest leaves. The trade suits the membership particularly well. Raw material is gathered from forest floor and roadside trees rather than bought, so start-up costs are low and no land is required, which matters greatly for Dalit women in the Terai who rarely hold secure land title. Demand is strong and growing in Birgunj, a large urban and border market, as caterers, temples and institutions shift away from plastic and thermocol. Grant funds are expected to cover pressing machines and dies, a work shed, collection arrangements and marketing. DGM Nepal’s scoring framework gives explicit additional weight to Dalit women applicants, and this sub-project sits squarely within that priority.
