Set To Earn First Business Profit, Here's How Buli Pirbaka Uplifted Tribal Women Around Her

In the tribal village of Rayagada, Odisha, Buli Pirbaka grew up thinking that her life would be limited to being a wife, mother and homemaker. It was only when she saw other women working that she realised there was enormous potential still left to explore.

Among the several distinctive conversations I had with grassroots entrepreneurs visiting from across the country at the UN Women India Country Office, Buli Pirbaka’s story, too, stuck with me for more reasons than one.

Buli Pirbaka shares with SheThePeople her entrepreneurial journey, the challenges she faces as a breadwinner, her zest for technological advancement for her business, and why her purpose now lies in lifting other women up.

Buli Pirbaka Journey

32-year-old Buli Pirbaka started her entrepreneurial stint with a rose business first. Not having stepped outside of her home much, she felt intimated by the dynamics of working conditions but it was her drive to fend for her children that helped her not just adapt to a different setting than she was raised in but also thrive. “Like a lot of women around me, I was also married off early without any space to realise that I could do so much more individually. Having said that, I love my family and I was living a quiet, regular life, and it was actually a lot of financial issues that drove me outside the home to earn some money. I initially did it to fend for my kids but also realised that a part of me, who always wanted to try a work routine but never could, was getting a chance now,” she recalls.

While Buli Pirbaka started learning the ABCs of business, she realised there was so much more she could tap into considering the enormous possibilities her own region offered. Having come across an organisation Pradan that pushed her into exploring more opportunities around her, she decided to start a fish enterprise. Buli is now associated with Biofloc fish farm technology and runs a fish group enterprise with other women in her village.

As someone who learned the tricks of this business in no time, Buli also tapped into her leadership skills and is now leading different interventions guiding several women in her region.

Biofloc Farm Technology is an environment-friendly aquaculture technique which stems from in-situ microorganism production. When I asked Buli what were the challenges she faced in getting associated with the wonders of technology, she responded, “Understanding how the technology works in this particular business was challenging but I realised there was so much advancement and I could never have imagined it would grow so much.” Buli, who is waiting for her first profitable from her fish enterprise was initially scared because of a minor hiccup. She recalls, “During the winters, the fish were not eating anything and not growing in size and it terrified me. But they picked up slowly and it all fell in a process.”

“I want my first profit to serve as an inspiration for the women around me. I want them to know that they, too, can do anything if they just uncover that one layer and take a step forward.”

Buli Pirbaka’s mission now lies in not just giving a good life to her family but also helping other women do the same. Her ">financial independence story involves making other women financially independent too and that, she believes, is what can help bridge the gap in her tribal region. “I do not have bigger dreams of bringing change in the country, I myself am learning so many things now, but what I dream of is bringing a change in my region, and helping every woman realise her potential and access an opportunity.”

This story is part of the #KisiSeKumNahi series. UN Women India and SheThePeopleTV come together to celebrate women’s leadership with #KisiSeKumNahi, tales of women’s empowerment.

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