The hospitality of Nepali tea houses: redefining the boundaries of empowerment

Abstract

The paper reports on research which shows that in an environment where women traditionally represent the marginalised population, the female tea house owners/managers display higher levels of economic, social and psychological empowerment. It illustrates how commercial hospitality has catalysed social change in Nepal through empowering women. This phenomenon has driven the emancipation of women in patriarchal Nepal where involvement in the hospitality industry has improved the livelihoods of women. Working in tea houses has the potential to facilitate sustainable empowerment for future generations, providing them with education, choice, control and opportunities. The findings showed that the potential empowerment of future generations may not derive from, but may be enabled by, involvement in the commercial hospitality sector. However, their sustainable empowerment is also dependent on the removal of a number of barriers which currently limit the empowerment of women. Involvement in the commercial hospitality sector can act as a vehicle for the sustainable empowerment for women, although it has been noted that to ensure long-term sustainable empowerment, every empowerment dimension must be adequately represented.