In a small village in Odisha’s Bolangir district, Panchasila Kharsel is redefining what’s possible, with a smartphone in one hand and determination in the other.

Widowed at a young age and raising two children alone, Panchasila faced tremendous financial pressure. Daily wages barely met her family’s needs, and support was scarce. But when she joined Trickle Up’s MPowered project, funded by Tata Communications, everything began to change—not because she was told what to do, but because she was given the digital tools to decide for herself.

Panchasila began by learning how to tailor through YouTube videos on her smartphone. After receiving a seed grant to purchase a tailoring machine, she took matters into her own hands and taught herself new techniques online. Soon, she was attracting customers and earning income on her own terms.

But Panchasila didn’t stop there. With encouragement from her self-help group and coaching from her Smart Sakhi, she began cultivating her late husband’s small plot of land. She once again turned to the internet—not for entertainment, but for agriculture tutorials that helped her grow vegetables like brinjal, spinach, and onions. These not only fed her family, but became a reliable source of income.

And then came the most transformative shift: Panchasila used her smartphone to access government information about the PM-KUSUM scheme, a government initiative in India that provides support for the implementation of solar-powered irrigation systems. She didn’t wait for someone to guide her—she went directly to government offices to apply. Today, she runs her farm with solar-powered irrigation and sells excess water and solar energy to her neighbors.

Panchasila is no longer just a farmer or tailor—she’s an entrepreneur, a community resource, and a quiet innovator. Her story is a powerful example of what happens when women control smartphones and access the internet: they chart their own path, pursue their own ambitions, and lift up others with them.

At Trickle Up, we believe digital inclusion isn’t just about getting online, it’s about unlocking agency. Women like Panchasila remind us that when you put the right digital tools in the hands of those with vision and drive, they’ll create impact far beyond what any project can prescribe.

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