The night before my video chat with the co-founders of Udyami Tech, I scoured their website and found the girls’ profiles. I was taken aback by how young they seemed. I did not yet know that I was in for more surprises. Neha, from Badlapur in Uttar Pradesh, Meenu, from Datiya in Madhya Pradesh, and Simran and Pallavi, both from Palampur in Himachal Pradesh, plunged into conversation as soon as our call connected.
“Growing up, our options for the future were few. The women we saw around us often worked in tailoring shops and got married soon after they completed school. College education is barely pursued by the women in our villages,” says Meenu.
Neha had just completed her 12th standard and the others had begun their college education when they heard about Sajhe Sapne, a not-for-profit organisation based in Himachal Pradesh. The organisation offers three courses–Project Management, Web Development, and Primary Maths–to women from villages. Not very interested in the college courses they were pursuing, Meenu, Simran, and Pallavi chose the opportunity to learn web development. Their families were furious. Why would the lucky few who got to begin college before marriage decide to drop out? However, the girls persisted, showcasing the zidd (determination/stubbornness) that is a core value at Sajhe.
For Neha and Meenu, the shift to Sajhe Sapne’s academy in Himachal Pradesh did not kick off smoothly. From the weather to the language, everything tested their resilience. Nevertheless, in a month, life at Sajhe took a turn. The girls bonded, cooked together, mastered teamwork, learned communication skills, and bettered their English. “It was at Sajhe that we understood the dynamics of living as a community and showing up for each other at every step in our journeys,” Simran says.
And then transpired the most decisive moment in their lives. The course at Sajhe came to an end, and the girls began applying to jobs. “We were often rejected and made to feel less worthy due to our rural background. The fact that we were good at our work did not gain us any advantage. After multiple rejections, we decided to take matters into our own hands. After days of discussions and deliberations, twelve of us decided that if no tech company wanted to hire us, we would start one for us and those like us,” says Neha.
They presented their idea before the Sajhe Sapne team who were delighted to provide an initial funding as well as laptops. With no other support or experience, the girls stumbled upon roadblock after roadblock. Projects were scarce, and soon, the team shrank. However, the ones that remained steadfast. Wanting to assert themselves better and push themselves to make independent decisions, the six girls who remained shifted to a rented room in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. “In the new space, we learned the ropes of entrepreneurship from ideation to conflict resolution,” says Pallavi.
“Our families were constantly displeased with our decisions. We were a long way from making significant profits, and they wanted us to return to our villages. When they came to know that more girls had left the team and only the four of us were left, the pressure increased. However, we kept our motivation alive saying “kar lenge” and “ho jayega” to each other at every hurdle,” they say, laughing.
At the tech residency at aikyam space (left), at their office space at Sajhe Sapne (right)
Neha: I want us to do as many projects as possible, make profits, and get Udyami registered. Ultimately, I want us to be able to hire more girls who are refused opportunities simply on account of being from a rural area.
Meenu: I want to prove to the world that a bunch of girls from villages who have acquired no traditional college education can do just as good a job as anyone else.
Simran (laughing): I love being called a software engineer. No girl in my village has ever ventured into this field, and I find joy in having chosen out of the box.
Pallavi: I too feel good that I am doing something that nobody in my village has ever done before. It also helps me inspire others in my village and let them know that they can also choose options beyond conventional paths.
The girls’ motivation is rivaled only by their eagerness to learn more. It was this urge that drew them to the tech residency at aikyam space, Kochi. The girls joined students from Sajhe Sapne for the residency batch that ran from October 24-26. “We have known Megha didi and Anjani from Sajhe and seeing them grow at aikyam inspired us further. It was daunting to come so far away, but the six days we spent at aikyam space were worth everything. We learned about open-source tools, stakeholder mapping, ways to increase website engagement, Ghost, Kobo Toolbox, and the craft behind content writing, among other things. We loved aikyam’s insistence on teaching through activities. Visiting TinkerSpace was another wholesome experience. The conversations we had with Mehar and the rest of the TinkerHub team introduced us to more ideas for Udyami Tech,” says Simran excitedly.
Despite the lack of funding and difficulty in receiving projects, the girls keep soaring ahead. “We often struggle with receiving the deserved remuneration because some clients prefer to focus on our lack of college education rather than on our work,” says Pallavi. The team is now shifting to Gurgaon where they have connected with the founder of Wildfire Tech Consultancy, Akshay Madan.
“I heard you're leaving Kerala tomorrow. What was the best part of the visit?” I ask. “The beach!” they say in unison. “We didn't want to return at all, and we had to be dragged away.”
Udyami Tech is a tech collective run by four young girls from rural areas in India, Neha, Meenu, Simran, and Pallavi. In a field where even men from rural areas find little representation, these girls are creating history.
