The story of a woman livestock farmer from Nepal: a bet on perseverance and self-realization

June 14, 2026 Economic development

Subita Rai starts working before dawn breaks over the Panchthar area. Subita is 28 years old, and together with her husband, she tends a herd of 20 yaks and chaurs (a hybrid of cows and yaks), which they graze in the meadows of the Phalelung rural municipality, located in the eastern part of Nepal. In her work, she relies on the experience of her parents, guiding the herd along trails they once made, and observing how the local grasses and waters transform after the monsoon season and how the weather changes.

Having finished high school, most of Subita’s peers moved to the city, many dreamed of going even further, but Subita returned home, to the mountains. “My friends were going to fly abroad by plane, but I couldn’t bear to return to my native village,” she says.

From Nepal, 600–2000 people aged 18 to 39 leave daily, seeking employment opportunities abroad. However, Subita is convinced that opportunities for development also exist in her native village.

Having taken their parents’ divorce as an example, Yakov, despite the fact that this is traditionally a male type of activity, Subita challenged the entrenched social norms and proved that women can take on new roles that exceed society’s expectations.

Pastoral livestock farming in the mountainous region in the east of Nepal requires special resilience from herders – both physically and emotionally. According to Subita, in order to raise livestock in the harsh weather conditions of the highlands and on steep slopes, an unshakable calm mind is necessary.

“Animals feel your energy,” she asserts.

In addition to animal husbandry, Subita engages in household chores and takes care of her two-year-old child. She manages to do all this simultaneously. Day after day, she works in one of the harshest landscapes of South Asia.

Climate change has brought new difficulties into its life. The usual rhythms of the highland nature — seasonal changes, which it learned from parents and by which it was possible to determine necessary actions in advance — began to be disrupted, and this affected pastoral livestock farming. Rains became unpredictable. Grazing areas changed so much that it became difficult to predict and even more difficult to consider when making plans. During the monsoon season, its animals scatter over a vast territory, making it not easy to safely gather the herd.Taken together, these factors of uncertainty, characteristic for each season, require constant adaptation from Subit.

“Every season comes with its own difficulties,” he says. “But there’s no need to focus too much on them. I concentrate on what needs to be done right now.”

Exactly in this key – with patience, practicality, determination and without complaints – Subita talks about her life. “Women simultaneously raise livestock, manage the household and cultivate the land,” he says. “By maintaining this balance, we provide food for our families.”

Subita notes that the main stimulus for staying in the homeland for her was a radical change in the raw production situation.

Within the framework of a joint project implemented by the Secretariat of the Mountain Partnership (MP) under the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the cheese production enterprise from milk called “Kanchendzhunga”, the Subita family gained access to cheese production equipment, improved production tools, and a training program dedicated to methods of production, entrepreneurial skills, commercialization, and development of production and sales chains.

This initiative, carried out with the financial support of the Italian Development Cooperation Agency, helped solve a structural problem that for many years created limitations for livestock farming in highland areas: milk is a perishable product, and in remote locations it is often difficult for the population to gain access to markets for raw milk and its stable supply.

Thanks to the FAO and SCP organized training program, the situation has fundamentally changed. Now the Subita family uses all the milk produced by the animals to make farm cheese — a more valuable product that better withstands transportation, lasts longer, and is sold at more stable prices. According to Subita, as a result, post-harvest losses have decreased. At the same time, the stability of incomes has increased.

Currently, Subita and her husband are members of the management board of the enterprise “Kanchendzhunga”, playing a structural rather than a nominal role in its work. The educational component of this project was intended to give livestock families an understanding of pastoral livestock farming as a form of entrepreneurial activity, not just a traditional way of life.

From Subita’s point of view, this difference is very significant. “Women like me do not consider animal husbandry to be just a job,” he asserts. “It is our identity and our future.”

Subita speaks without unnecessary sentimentality about what this future requires. According to her, women engaged in agriculture in the mountainous region take on a multifaceted burden and at the same time face limited access to resources, high labor intensity, and complex climatic risks.She believes that this problem can be solved by taking practical measures, namely by providing female farmers with access to organizations, technologies, and opportunities to obtain professional status, so that they can act as subjects of economic activity, which they already are.

“I want women farmers to be respected as professionals in their field within five to ten years,” says Subito. She takes a brief pause: “And I think I’ll stay here: I’ll have healthy animals and a strong family.”

Subita notes that with the acquisition of experience, her self-confidence has solidified. According to her, persistent work contributing to the family business helped her gain mental clarity: this became concrete confirmation that her efforts yield results.

“This work brings me joy,” he says. “When you work with dedication, the results do not take long to come.”

Living with a herd of 20 heads of cattle in a highland area in eastern Nepal and serving as a member of the cooperative’s steering committee, Subit Rai lays the foundation for the further development of local livestock farming, which attests to the validity of his decision to remain in his homeland.