The Dabu cooperative, with a total of 38 members, started its first business enterprise in January 2016 after receiving a start-up fund of 2,500 Kina (£600).
With that money they invested in an oven, baking trays and ingredients to make rolls, cakes and coconut scones which they sell at the local market in Gadaisu. Amazingly, the Dabu bakery has now tripled its profits, from 40 Kina (£10) per day in 2016 to now, earning up to 120 Kina per day (£30).
In 2017 our partners in Wabumari started a sewing group called STALIE (named after the initials of the participating villages) with twenty members which was successfully registered as a cooperative in October 2016.
They plan to teach skills to younger girls and provide income for women. Sewing and making clothes and textiles is a skill many women in Cool Earth’s partner villages already have. To harness this, the community association granted them K2,500 (£600) in August 2017 from the Cool Earth funds for machines and material. With investments in business training and savings groups, we can turn their smart ideas into income-generating micro businesses.
Cool Earth have supported computer skills workshops in our Gadaisu and Wabumari partnerships.
This involved Microsoft Office training to at least eight community members, from either the committee or local cooperatives, to improve their skills in budgeting and minute taking. Integral for setting up and effectively managing their own small businesses. The Cool Earth Community Coordinator is also receiving training in establishing Village Savings and Loans Associations to further help the community manage their business finances.
