Sabina Rai
Turning Taste into Transformation
At 55, Sabina Rai from Gauradaha has faced a life full of challenges, yet she transformed each obstacle into an opportunity. Once a homemaker and a farmer’s wife, her days were filled with caring for her family and helping in the fields. The produce was barely enough to feed them, let alone cover school fees or invest in better tools and fertilizers. Learning new skills and finding financial stability felt out of reach.
A major turning point came in 2064 BS when Sabina lost her husband. The emotional pain was deep, but the financial burden and responsibility to hold her family together were even greater. Instead of breaking, Sabina grew stronger.
In 2072 BS, she attended a food processing training program at Khadya Prasodhan Kendra in Biratnagar. There, she discovered a valuable skill she had practiced all her life—making achaar (pickles). It was more than a recipe; it was a door to a new life.
Sabina’s journey officially began with a training program under Ekal Mahila Samuha. At first, she worked with friends as a group, but when others stepped away, Sabina decided to continue on her own. With just Rs. 3,000 saved from training allowances, she started Swasthyawardak Achar Utpadan Kendra.
The start was tough. Raw materials and utensils were expensive. Worse, some in her community hesitated to buy her products, skeptical about hygiene due to her ethnic background. To regain trust, Sabina introduced separate utensils for different pickles and slowly won people over.
Determined to keep her products chemical-free, Sabina experimented with organic ingredients, even though her formal training included preservatives. YouTube became her mentor, guiding her through recipes from lemon to meat-based achar. She proudly earned food quality certification for her products.
Her product line expanded to include methi (fenugreek seed), lemon, mixed, chicken, fish, and custom achaar based on customer requests. Her pickles stood out not just for taste but for being healthy and made with care. Later, she introduced home delivery, increasing sales.
Support from friends and neighbors helped her persist. Another milestone came through the Growth Entrepreneurship and Employment Promotion (GEEP) program, where she learned how to grow her brand. With growing youth interest in healthy food, Sabina is confident her achaar will reach even more people, dreaming of seeing her products in major supermarkets like Bhatbhateni.
Sabina believes Nepal’s greatest wealth is its land. “We grow so much, but only by adding skills to raw materials can we unlock true value,” she says. Today, she travels widely, teaching women to believe in their skills and hands.
Her motto:
“Ma khayera garnu bhanda, garera khanu ma biswas garchu.”
(I believe in earning my meal through effort, not receiving it without work.)
With that belief, Sabina Rai continues to inspire countless women to turn their skills into something bigger—just as she did.
“We grow so much, but only by adding skills to raw materials can we unlock true value.”