SAURAHA (CHITWAN), Nov 4: Her mother was killed by a rhino six years ago. Instead of running away from animals, Doma Paudel has gone still closer to them and is earning her living as a guide at the Chitwan National Park.
She would not have chosen proximity to the animals if she had been given other options. But she has no grudges against the animals and is enjoying herself as the first genuine female guide in Chitwan. She started the work as she had the responsibility to earn the bread for the family as she is the eldest sibling.
"My mother was killed by an animal. That was a sad incident. This is my livelihood and I am supporting my family. I can´t say I will not go near animals because my mother was killed by an animal," Paudel says.
Other women had also worked as guides before this girl from Bachhauli VDC got into the profession, but tourism entrepreneurs say they didn´t continue their trade. She took nature guide training course two years ago and was the first woman nature guide when she started the job on November 5, 2008.
Her friend Sunaina Raut followed her and they are the only women among 200 nature guides in Chitwan. "Sunaina and I had received the training together with four other women but I started the work earlier than she did," she clarifies and then adds she has faced no problem as a woman guide.
"I have faced some minor problems but none serious enough to make me think about changing my profession. I have decided that I will continue the work," she says. She recollects her nervousness on her first assignment when she had to guide a team from France and Germany. She was worried if she could do her task competently but she got encouragement as the tourists made no complaints.
"It doesn´t matter to foreigners whether the guide is a man or a woman. Instead they get surprised when told that there are very few women guides in Sauraha and Nepal," she adds.
She has also shown Tharu villages and Shaktikhor Siraichuli treks to the tourists and earns around Rs 10,000 a month that is sufficient to support a sister and a brother. She has also made her brother a guide.
She is also involved in conservation works. She was involved in awareness campaigns against poaching even before getting into the job and feels it has made her transition into a guide easier.
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While I admire Doma an Sunaina immensly, they are NOT the first female guides in Chitwan. Tiger Tops has had severla female Naturalists going back to the leate 1980s.
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She would not have chosen proximity to the animals if she had been given other options. But she has no grudges against the animals and is enjoying herself as the first genuine female guide in Chitwan. She started the work as she had the responsibility to earn the bread for the family as she is the eldest sibling.
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