Uttarakhand CM Office Spotlights Almora Woman Turning Hill Crafts Into Livelihoods
Synopsis
Bhawna Sharma of Peepaldhar in Almora's Chaukhutia block is leading local women in producing packaged hill lentils, pickles, Aipan paintings, Aipan sarees, and crochet goods — turning Kumaoni heritage into household income, as highlighted by the Uttarakhand Chief Minister's Office.
Key Takeaways
Bhawna Sharma of Peepaldhar, Chaukhutia, Almora is the central figure spotlighted by the Uttarakhand CMO.
Her group produces pahadi dal packaging, pickles, Aipan paintings, Aipan frames, Aipan sarees, and crochet products .
Aipan is a centuries-old Kumaoni ritual folk-art tradition being converted into a marketable product line.
The initiative addresses out-migration pressures in Almora district by creating local employment for women.
The Uttarakhand government has a pattern of promoting such women-led micro-enterprises in hill districts to preserve cultural practices alongside generating income.
In the hills of Almora's Chaukhutia block, a quiet revolution is taking shape — one packet of mountain lentils, one hand-painted Aipan frame at a time. The Chief Minister's Office of Uttarakhand on Thursday, 20 August 2026, highlighted how Bhawna Sharma of Peepaldhar village is mobilising local women to convert centuries-old Kumaoni skills into steady income.
The CMO's post describes Sharma leading a group of women in packaging pahadi dal (hill lentils), making pickles, and producing Aipan paintings, Aipan frames, Aipan sarees, and crochet goods — weaving traditional craft into a working micro-enterprise right in their village.
Aipan and the art of earning from heritage
Aipan is a ritual folk-art tradition rooted in Kumaon's cultural fabric — geometric and floral motifs drawn with rice paste on red ochre, historically made by women for festivals and ceremonies. Sharma's group has taken this intimate household practice and scaled it into a product line: framed art, decorated sarees, and packaged items that carry Kumaoni identity into a wider market. Alongside the art, pahadi dal — prized for its flavour and grown in Uttarakhand's terraced fields — is being cleaned, packaged, and sold, turning a staple crop into a branded commodity.Chaukhutia's battle against out-migration
Almora district, nestled in Uttarakhand's Kumaon region, is among the hill districts that have faced persistent out-migration as residents seek work in the plains. Women-led self-help and micro-enterprise groups have emerged as one of the state's recurring answers to this drain — keeping families rooted while generating household income. The Uttarakhand government has periodically spotlighted such ventures as proof that traditional knowledge, when paired with packaging and market access, can sustain livelihoods without requiring anyone to leave the mountains. Shots like this one from the CMO serve a dual purpose: recognising ground-level entrepreneurship and signalling the state's interest in preserving Kumaoni cultural practices as living, earning traditions — not museum pieces. The real test for groups like Sharma's lies ahead: reliable market linkages, consistent branding support, and the ability to scale beyond the village. If those pieces arrive, Peepaldhar's model could travel to every Almora block.Point of View
Where out-migration hollows out village economies, these micro-enterprise stories carry political weight beyond the feel-good frame — they are implicit arguments that the hills can retain their population. The missing piece in such narratives is always market infrastructure; without branding support and reliable buyers, artisan clusters risk remaining showcase projects. Whether Sharma's Peepaldhar group receives institutional backing or remains a celebrated but isolated example will be the real measure of policy intent.
NationPress
20 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Bhawna Sharma from Almora Uttarakhand?
Bhawna Sharma is a woman entrepreneur from Peepaldhar village in the Chaukhutia area of Almora district, Uttarakhand, who leads a group of local women in producing and selling traditional items including Aipan paintings, hill lentils, pickles, and crochet goods.
What is Aipan painting from Uttarakhand?
Aipan is a traditional folk-art form from the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, characterised by geometric and floral patterns historically drawn by women using rice paste on a red ochre base during festivals and ceremonies. It is now being produced commercially as framed art, sarees, and decorative items.
What is pahadi dal and why is it significant?
Pahadi dal refers to lentils grown in the terraced hill fields of Uttarakhand. It is valued for its distinct flavour and nutritional quality, and women's groups in districts like Almora are now packaging it for broader sale as a branded local product.
How is the Uttarakhand government supporting women's self-employment in hill districts?
The Uttarakhand government periodically highlights women-led micro-enterprises in hill districts through official channels, drawing attention to groups that combine local agricultural produce and traditional crafts with packaging and sales as a model for rural self-employment.
What is Chaukhutia in Almora district?
Chaukhutia is a block and town in Almora district in the Kumaon division of Uttarakhand. It is a rural hill area where women entrepreneurs like Bhawna Sharma are building small-scale enterprises around local crafts and agricultural produce.
