Hetauda, Aug. 18 -- For generations, women in Ghale Gaun, a settlement in Hetauda-12, made gundruk as a way to preserve mustard greens for the winter. The greens were wilted, fermented in earthen pots and sun-dried before being stored for months.

The fermented greens were a staple in rural Nepali kitchens, but rarely seen as a source of income. That is changing.

Gundruk has gradually become the signature product of Ghale Gaun, giving the area a new identity as 'Gundruk village'. Women who once spent most of their time on unpaid household and farm work now run a growing enterprise that covers everything from cultivating mustard greens to fermentation, packaging and marketing.

The transformation began three years ago when women, most of ...