Daisy Chains paying it forward

Back in March, 2 women from the Gyaneshwor group of our Daisy Chains project travelled to the village of Phulbari (just outside the Kathmandu Valley) to conduct a training workshop on candle making. You may have read previously that candle making has proved to be a very lucrative business for our women due to the large amount of time people in Kathmandu must live without electricity!

So 2 of the women from our first group of graduates were only too happy to share their skills and experiences with women of similar backgrounds. The workshops were conducted over 2 days and provided a great platform for the all of the women to meet and share their stories. This type of group co-operative goes far beyond simple economic empowerment for the members providing them with an important social outlet as well.

The workshop for day 1 covered the binding of thread (to form the wick) to the machine and filling the machine with hot wax to form the candle. As the session was completed, plenty of candles were left setting in their machines, ready to be revealed the following day. On the second day the women had to make a second batch of candles without assistance from the trainers. They then went on to learn about the packaging of the candles, some marketing ideas and pricing. 

The women from Phulbari were so excited by the prospects of a candle making business that they bought the 2 machines the trainers had brought with them so that they could start immediately! It was fantastic to see these women embracing this opportunity with such vigour. It was also wonderful to see the fruits of previous Daisy Chains participants in action, the confidence and skill they displayed in training the new group was truly inspiring. This was a real 'pay it forward' moment for the project!

You can see more photos of the project at our facebook page.

New groups of women will be starting their journey to financial independence when the 3rd round of the Daisy Chains project begins later this month. It costs just AU$1,000.00 to sponsor a group of 20 women on their journey to become literate, learn business skills and start their group business. That is just AU$50.00 to change a Nepali woman's life forever! Why not get a group of friends together and sponsor a whole group of 20 women? Visit our website or email me for more information on how you can make a difference. For Australian tax residents donations are tax deductible.