Project Jazba: How Women Are Rewriting Their Own Story In Kashmir’s Border Villages

Kashmir occupies a strange space in the Indian imagination: at once an integral part of India and an exotic elsewhere we do not often think about. When we rarely do think about Kashmir and Kashmiris, it’s often through the lens of conflict, as either the perpetrator or the victim in a vicious cycle of violence. But the region is home to many people for whom it represents life beyond the binary of war and peace. Rubeena Begum of Drangyari, a small village with a population of approximately 500 individuals in the remote Bangus Valley, in Kashmir’s northern frontier district of Kupwara, is one of them.

Rubeena grew up watching travellers pass through this remote trans-Himalayan landscape drawn by its breathtaking natural beauty, but few stopped long enough to experience the lives of people like her who call it home. Like many border villages along the contested Line of Control defined by decades of conflict and isolation, Drangyari (which means ‘the confluence of many streams’ in the local dialect) remained outside Kashmir’s traditional tourism circuits. Despite having no formal training in hospitality or entrepreneurship, Rubeena opened her doors to travellers — turning a spare room in her house into a homestay and her kitchen into a place where guests could share home-cooked local meals over conversations that would stay with them long after they left Drangyari.

It was a movement in a community where women’s participation in the economy has long been limited. Rubeena’s initiative became the foundation for something much larger. Through ‘Project Jazba’, a community-owned entrepreneurship incubator and social initiative anchored by the New Delhi-based NGO Turn Your Concern Into Action (TYCIA) Foundation, border communities across Kashmir are receiving support to create sustainable livelihoods through rural and adventure tourism, handicrafts, food processing, media, and other small and micro businesses owned by local entrepreneurs. Supported by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), Ananya Birla Foundation, the Indian Army, and the local district administration of Jammu and Kashmir alongside TYCIA, the initiative attempts to address the structural barriers which historically kept these communities away from economic opportunities, offering business-owners like Rubeena Begum much-needed capital support, training, mentorship, market access, and guidance. The program aims to foster micro-entrepreneurship, create sustainable livelihoods, and support the rural economy in the region.

Today, Rubeena Begum’s initiative has forever altered Drangyari’s relationship with tourism. The village now has ten homestays, a community kitchen, and a café- an emerging local economy that grew from one woman’s determination to challenge what was considered possible.

Her story has since become part of a much larger movement. Since its inception in September 2023, Project Jazba has supported over 200 entrepreneurs, with 41 families now running community homestays across Kashmir’s border villages. Although many of these businesses are formally represented by male family members, it is often the women who manage day-to-day operations — welcoming guests, overseeing finances, coordinating bookings, and ensuring the businesses thrive. Inspired by pioneers like Rubeena, a second generation of women leaders has quietly begun to emerge, stepping into decision-making roles with greater confidence and visibility. The impact extends far beyond individual households. Entrepreneurs like Rubeena have not only become key contributors to their families’ incomes but have also created opportunities for others by employing local youth.

What began as one woman’s decision to open her home has sparked a ripple effect across the community, redefining women’s economic participation. Project Jazba’s impact goes far beyond creating and supporting these individual businesses; it represents a change in how development is imagined in marginal communities shaped by conflict, isolation, and limited resources and opportunities. By placing entrepreneurship in the hands of local communities, the initiative is helping Kashmir’s border villages transition from economic uncertainty towards self-reliance and resilience. In villages along the Line of Control and historically underserved districts like Kupwara and Bandipora in Kashmir, such sustainable livelihoods are not only a means to financial security but also a foundation for long-term stability and peace.

By building opportunities for local women and youth, Project Jazba offers alternatives to seasonal employment and dependency, allowing communities to build futures rooted in their own skills, resources, and knowledge. At the same time, the rise of women-led enterprises challenges long-standing social and economic barriers, enabling women to become both contributors to household incomes and stakeholders shaping their collective futures.

Follow @tyciafoundation on Instagram.

Learn more about Project Jazba here.

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