KANCHANPUR: Bhakta Bahadur Mahara from Shuklaphanta Municipality-7, Kanchanpur used to work in a furniture workshop two decades ago.

When it became difficult to support the family with the earning from that work, he started looking for an alternative.
One day, his friend sent a video on his mobile about making woodcraft materials.

“After watching videos on the Internet, I felt like making woodcraft materials and I got involved in it,” Mahara said.
He has been making wooden utensils, with the help of YouTube, these days.

As he said, while working in house decoration, sometimes there was work, sometimes there wasn’t, and it was difficult to manage household expenses. “Now, making woodcraft articles and selling them is more profitable than daily wage work.”

He said that he has been making items such as glasses, jugs, bottles, pitchers, bowls, vases, spice containers, and rolling pins from wood, especially the ‘Vijayasal’ wood, and bamboo for the past two years.Mahara said he has been selling the wood and bamboo materials he produces for prices ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 2,000.

“Currently, I earn more than Rs 40,000 a month. Earlier, I had to stay idle for months. I never really thought I would be able to earn this well,” he said.

Mahara said there is no problem in selling the materials he produces. The customers themselves come to his house to purchase the materials he produces.

“There is high demand for the wooden ware I produce. I have not been able to produce according to the demand, as I am alone. The community forests here have been providing me the wood required from producing the wooden materials, praising me for my work,” he added.

Recently, people have been spending a long time on various social platforms including YouTube. But Mahara has become an exemplary figure, showing that one can gain many benefits by knowing how to use these social sites wisely.

Mahara has now reached to a stage where he has become an entrepreneur from a humble beginning as a wage labour. “I had the thought of earning money quickly as I was short of money even to make ends meet.

I did not imagine that my present calling would generate such good income. I am satisfied now; the earning is good,” Mahara said.

He explained that by being diligent in his own country and making good use of one’s skills, one can earn a good income at home and there is no need to go abroad in search of work.