June 2007
Core Circle
Alean Haider
Stephanie Hiller
Mervis Reissig
Diana Young
Advisory Circle
Angela Dolmetsch
Jean Shinoda Bolen
Leslene della Madre
Danica Anderson
Riane Eisler
Ingrid Kepler-May
Inhui Lee
Joan Marler
Camila Martinez
Vicki Noble
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Individual Reports of AWEP
By Alean Haider
June 29, 2007
Members of the Afghan Women's Peace Circle. Photo by Marsha MacColl.
Torpaky Nawabi
Torpaky Nawabi used her loan to join with four other women to establish a business producing prepared foods. They named this firm Bargi Sabz (Green Leaf). Together they produce tomato paste, jam, and etc.
They hired three people to cooperate and assist with them and they pay each of them 3000 Afghani a month. Except for the driver, they are all women. The share the expenses of electricity, rent and transportation. Ms. Nawabi is very happy for receiving the loan as she could buy machinery and other necessary raw materials for the firm.
Their business is very successful. As their product is agricultural, their products change according to the season. In general, the net earning of each person is $120 per month. Ms. Torpaky repays $90 from that money for her loan. After she repays her loan, she will expand her business and maybe she will establish another new firm by herself. In this case she will be able to hire more women. She reports that their business is very good and they sell as much as they produce each month.
In Kabul, most organizations organize some exhibitions once or twice a year. Torpaky said that they sell their products in these exhibitions. Also, they sell products in their firm and in the bazaar. All of the women who work in the firm help sell their products.
In the future, Bargi Sabz would like to purchase a few big refrigerators so that they can produce more and store what is left. They also need equipment to seal the tops of the cans and bottles. Getting bottles has been a problem. They import bottles from Iran.
Zenab Abrahimi
photo by Marsha MacColl
Ms. Abriahimi is one of the members of Bargi Sabz. From the loan that she received she invested $500 in the firm. She used the other half for raw materials to make handicrafts. She mostly produces tops, shirts, skirts, children clothes, etc. She sells her products in the bazaar and does some custom work as well. She also sends some products abroad. Recently, she sent to London two shirts, three long coats like the ones Mr. Karzai usually wears, and three scarves. In addition, she collects the products of women who don't have anyone to sell their products in the bazaar and receives a percentage from the sale.
Shema Sadat
Woven textile
photo by Marsha MacColl
Shema Sadat works with beads to make beautiful clothing, jewelry, and some other products decorated with beads.
She works independently. From the $1000 loan, she purchased a weaving machine, a tailoring machine, and some raw materials. Her sales are good. She produces one blouse and skirt each week. She has trained ten people of whom three are disabled. These ten people work with her in her business. Together they make 20 products a month. They sell their products inside the country and also in Holland. Inside the country their products are in demand. They sell their products mostly in the exhibitions held by the Ministry of Women's Affairs and other organizations. Most of the women who received the loan sell their products in these exhibitions.
Also, Mrs. Sadat sells her products in the bazaar. She is very successful in her business and her business is growing day by day.
Jahantab Kazimi
Photo by Alean Haider
Ms. Kazimi makes handicrafts such as shirts, skirts and embroidery.
Khadija Sherbaz
Khadija
Photo by Alean Haider
Ms. Sherbaz is a jeweler. With her loan she purchased one beading machine, raw materials and benzene to use in the machine. Including She works with three other people who share this firm. Ms. Sherbaz has hired two people to work with her. In total, 18 women work in this firm. Her profits are about $65 a month, which goes to repay her loan. She intends to expand her firm once her loan is repaid. They not only sell their products in Kabul but in Mazar-i-shrif, Herat, and other provinces of Afghanistan. They export their products aboard too. Even inside the country they have lots of international clients.
Turquoise necklace by
Khadija
photo by Marsha MacColl
Nasima Payman
Ms. Payman got the loan in the second round in January 2007. She makes silky scarves and fabrics. Before receiving the loan she bought silky scarves from a company and sold them in the bazaar. Now she has become independent and has started her own business producing silky scarves and selling them in the bazaar.
Ten other women work with her and she pays eight of them monthly. Their products and sales are good. They almost produce 30 scarves in a month and sell all of them in the bazaar. They earn 25 percent on each scarf. They have a shop in the bazaar and they sell their products there. The shopkeeper is a man but the rest of the workers are women.
Anes Gul
She received her loan in March, 2007. Unlike the others, she is engaged in agriculture. She has gotten one horse and one cow from this $1000 loan. She works with her family in their farms to grow vegetables. She lives in the countryside and she uses the horse for the transportation of the vegetables and milk to the bazaar. She is successful and happy in her business.
Summary
All the women have been very successful in their businesses and as well as in the repayment of their loans. Each of them has been paid their loan on time with out any delay. We started the project with five women and now we have seven women.
