Returnees prosper together

This is the 64th episode of Diaspora Diaries, a Nepali Times series in collaboration with Migration Lab.

Tirtha Raj Katuwal 

(19 years in UAE/Qatar)

We spent our youth overseas, and the trend to migrate for work continues. But Nepali youth are not thinking carefully about where they are going, why they are going. They are just going. 

They often get cheated. They do not invest in developing the skills that could help them overseas. When you do not have credible skills, you are forced to adjust to conditions that are not ideal. 

I had to first work in a supplier company too. Only after spending time in the UAE did I understand the labour market, and learn that I could apply for jobs overseas online. That is how I landed my second stint in a luxury property. 

Now in Nepal, our vision for starting Chef’s Burger and Chef’s Hospitality and Party Venue is to contribute to the country, by developing a skilled youth workforce in the hospitality sector, whether for the domestic or the international labour market. We also want to change the perception that Nepalis are competitive only in low paid jobs, as there are Nepalis excelling in the hospitality sector overseas when given the platform. 

To return or not indeed is a difficult decision for those of us working overseas. It takes years to start earning a decent salary. I started at AED850 and got it up to AED15,000 ($4,000). To give that up is not easy, of course. 

But the situation in Nepal politically is so bleak that you keep postponing homecoming. You wait for things to improve, but they never do. We were lucky as we were well-positioned financially to start our business but not everyone is in that position. They may have the skills and experience but not the money to start something on their own. Their skills and experience are going to waste, which is a big loss for the country. The government needs to do something about that. 

Mahendra Tamang 

(15 years in UAE)

If you get hired at luxury properties like Jumeirah, you are considered set for life. I got to work closely with two Michelin star chefs and learnt so much from them in a short time. When I changed jobs, I was quickly promoted to a senior position.  

I got to cook for celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and David Beckham. Once you train for a few years as a chef in that position, the world opens up to you. My peers moved to Australia and Europe. My heart, however,  was always in Nepal. 

My current partners and I worked in Jumeirah and all we talked about as we ate Nepali food on our days off was: नेपला गएर के गर्ने? During visits home, we would try out different restaurants to understand where we could add value. And we found so many gaps in the market: in food, quality of service, hygiene, employee management, that we had the confidence to believe that we could be the best in Nepal if we joined forces. All of us are from different backgrounds: hotel management, accounting, administration and chefing. 

Leaving behind a monthly salary of AED11,500, plus bonuses and incentives, was not easy. I had started out with a salary of AED1,200. But how long can a person stay away?  

The chef life is busy and if I put in the same level of effort in Nepal, I would be an employer and not just an employee. Being in Nepal would also allow us to think about more than just ourselves. 

I had reached a phase in life when I was looking for more than just financial security. My life’s missions and what gave me satisfaction was changing, and Nepal was my calling. I came home with one of my partners, Suraj Tamang, to open up our first branch of Chefs Burger while most of our other partners were still in the UAE. 

While I went back to the UAE, I cannot describe the joy we felt when Suraj sent us videos from Nepal as customers came into the outlet. I forwarded the video to my friends in Korea, like Basanta, to convince him to invest and work with us. After a year or so, we were ready to start our second outlet, and Tirtha and I returned from the UAE for good. 

There is a misconception in Nepal that partnerships don’t work. That discourages many returnees from joining forces, which limits how much you can achieve. We busted that myth. By working collectively, we were able to draw on each other's strengths and pool our finances. It has worked well for us. 

Even Jumeirah, the property we worked in, has at least 38 main shareholders. Big companies and growth require working together. Now we continue to dream of bigger expansion plans, and of eventually establishing a  world-class resort.

Basanta Simkhada 

(14 years in South Korea)

My partners are mostly from the UAE but I was working in manufacturing in Korea. One of my partners and I have experience running two restaurants in Thamel. We figured it was not going to be profitable to continue working in Nepal given the Maoist insurgency and the general uncertainty, so we decided to migrate. He went to the UAE and I went to Korea. At some point, we reconnected online and decided we should try another joint venture. Even though my background was in the hospitality sector, I was working in manufacturing in Korea in a plastic factory. I still learnt quite a lot about the value of hard work and time management. 

Incidentally, my Korean employer had spent nine years in Saudi Arabia before returning to Korea to start his business. He was always very clear about his message to us: working in Korea is temporary and we should go back to our home countries and contribute, just like he did. And that is exactly what we are doing. We are reaping the benefits of our hard work overseas, and providing employment to more than 120 Nepali youths.