FINDING TREASURE

WHEN JOOLI AND JAG LOST THEIR JOBS, IT WAS THE BEST THING THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO THEM

- Emma Levett

It could have been a terrifying situation for two new parents. It was 2020 and Jag Chan had recently been made redundant. His wife, Jooli, was on maternity leave with their second child, Tara, when COVID meant she also lost her job in digital marketing. Suddenly, the pair from Melbourne had no full-time income but, instead of panicking, they decided to focus on the side hustle they'd been building for the past few years. Jag is from Nepal and the couple had built a small business selling Nepalese craft at markets in Victoria.

“We went to Nepal a month after the [2015] earthquake, and after that, our primary goal was to help people there. There were some felt workshops left standing, so we decided to focus on felt products. Many of the women working there were depending on foreign aid – so selling to us was a way for them to rebuild their lives,” Jooli, 44, tells WHO.