At Dreamer & Co we are passionate about equipping artisans with economic opportunities to help their business grow and flourish. We do this through business trainings, connecting artisans with local and international sales opportunities and by purchasing large wholesale orders directly from them.
In February 2020, we collaborated with two local non-profits to conduct a business training for the partner artisans as well as several other women in the community. The goal of the training was to enhance the women’s understanding of starting and running a business. Another local non-profit offered to teach their business training curriculum for the group. This curriculum is specifically designed for women in this community—those who come from low-income and vulnerable households and do not currently have the financial means to start their own business.
During the training, each women was asked to dream about what they want for their future and brainstorm a business idea. After the training ended, one of our co-founders, Jessica, met each person in small groups so they could share their ideas and have the chance to think through steps to making their dreams a reality.
It may seem like a simple idea, but some of these women had never been asked the question, “What do you want to do? What do you dream about becoming?” Watching these women dream for the first time was certainly a highlight. By the end of the training, each woman was able to describe their dream,
“I want to own my own sewing shop.”
“I want to be a hairdresser.”
“I want to own a jewelry shop and sell my jewelry in other countries”
One of the exciting things that came out of the business training was identifying new artisans to join the artisans as apprentices. Because the training was open to other women in the community, they were able to form relationships with different women during the week and identify others who would be a good fit for their team, and now five new women are part of the core group of artisans. Now that COVID-19 restrictions have lifted, we are excited and eager to host more trainings that empower artisans to put their dreams into action and grow as a business.
