Rita lives in her home village of Chuchekhola in Nepal, on the edges of the forest.
To her, with its plants and wildlife, the natural world is a haven.
But, growing up, life was tough. Without her family owning land, and with few employment opportunities, they had to take firewood and anything they could sell from the forest.
With so much unemployment many people are forced to do the same.
Rita has always had passion for looking after the older people and children in her village – doing their hair and nails and making them feel special.
She decided she wanted to run her own salon, offering affordable treatments for everyone. And, with the help of ZSL, that’s exactly what she did.
By providing a low interest loan, ZSL helped Rita buy the supplies she needed to get going. The loan in turn pays back into a community pot helping more people in the village set up sustainable livelihoods.
Now her shop sits proudly on the main street of Chuchekhola, giving her a stable income – and the community some TLC. She now enjoys the forest she loves without relying on its resources, watching as it regrows and its animals return and thrive.