You were given the opportunity to start your own business. Imagine breaking that cycle of poverty and becoming financially independent. Imagine the life you could create for your family if you were given the tools, training, and support to run a business from your home.
Sweet Dreams Project 2024
Free business training & tool kits for women to start a business from home
I WANT TO DONATE A SCHOLARSHIP
16
Years empowering women with job skills training, entrepreneurship bootcamps & job placement
2500
women have graduated from our programmes
13,000
family members lifted out of poverty
Imagine...
Imagine not having gone to school, because you grew in poverty. Imagine not being able to get a job, or even to be able to read this because of poverty.
Imagine you managed to find a job. The salary is £40 ($50) per month. Imagine making ends meet and supporting your family with that.
Imagine the stress of it all, and no one around you can help you. Because everyone you know is stuck in the same cycle.
But what if...
A life-changing program
The Sweet Dreams Project was a collaboration between XtraOrdinary Women (XOW), award-winning confectioner Amy Jarquin of Chavita Foods, and Uplifting Women MGA. Designed to support women in Nicaragua trapped in cycles of extreme poverty, the program provided training to start their own home-based candy businesses.
Achieving financial independence empowers women to break free from poverty and violence. The Sweet Dreams Project offered the tools and support needed to turn this dream into reality.
I WANT TO BE PART OF THE CHANGE
Each Woman You Sponsored to
join the The Sweet Dreams Project received:
XtraOrdinary Women Bootcamp Training
Teaching them everything they need to know about running a successful business, from calculating their costs and prices to understanding profit and loss, how to factor themselves a salary, and the basics of marketing products in their communities and online.
Lessons with an Award Winning Chef
In-person workshops with Amy Jarquin, founder of Chavita Foods, taught Sweet Dreams participants how to make 6 of her award-winning recipes. These recipes require minimal ingredients and no refrigeration, which is an important detail to consider for women living with limited access to electricity. The recipes are also economical to ensure there are no barriers to the continued production of the sweets.
Each participant received a startup kit with the ingredients and kitchen utensils to replicate the 6 recipes at home and launch their businesses. They did not have to make an initial monetary investment, they invested their time in the training. The XtraOrdinary Women bootcamp training means they knew how to generate enough profit after their first sales to repurchase ingredients.
3-6 Months of Follow-up Support
Each participant received personalized one-to-one support from XtraOrdinary Women. After completing the initial in-person course, the participants launched their businesses in time for the 2024 festive season. The timing was ideal, as the season guaranteed sales. However, after a launch, it gets harder! We understand that starting a business is challenging. Keeping momentum and motivation going is a challenge, especially if you are doing it alone. Training courses alone are not enough. That's why our program includes personalized support.
Each participant received 3-6 months of follow-up support tailored to their specific business and personal needs. This included home visits, family meetings, and assistance with marketing, budgeting, and any other challenges they faced. Every entrepreneur is unique, and their challenges are individual.
Our one-to-one support ensured that each participant's business remained on track. And, importantly, they are still thriving today!
Turning dreams
Into reality!
Many women in Nicaragua and Central America are forced to survive on less than $2 per day, which is an incredibly difficult situation that can lead to all kinds of challenges and hardships. With the support of programs like Sweet Dreams, women can gain the tools and resources they need to build a sustainable livelihood and break free from the cycle of poverty for good.
Tamara grew up in a landfill called La Chureca. She worked against the odds to finish school. She became a young mum of 2 and struggled to find stable employment. She mainly bought and resold products informally going door to door and standing on the street with wares. As her kids were young she would have to bring them with her or pay someone to look after her kids. She was barely breaking even.
Our Sweet Dreams project was designed to help women like Tamara, who need financial stability and desperately lack job opportunities.
The Sweet Dreams project taught Tamara to set up a home-based sweets business and create a product she can sell all year round within their community and beyond.
2 months after graduating, she applied for a market stall in a nearby village. 8 months on Tamara has started to build a house for her and her family.
XtraOrdinary Women is able to offer our programmes thanks to your support! Thank you
Cecilia had informal employment as a cleaner for years, juggling part-time nannying and hand-washing clothes for others in her community. Cecilia's is the perfect example of this relentless cycle often leaves women like her with no choice but to overextend themselves, taking on multiple jobs to generate enough income.
This program aim to empower women to create sustainable businesses that provide not just financial independence, but also the means to improve their lives—whether that’s building a home, returning to school, or gaining access to healthcare. Cecilia is excited about the prospect of supporting her daughter’s university education and creating a better life for her family through a home-base business.
Celia sold on average +200 cajetas a month and she is now working with her daughter and they provide enough income to cover their household expenses.
Thank you for supporting Cecilia!
At 56, Martha was left unemployed after an accident. Unable to find work, with three children, she was making ends meet selling jewelry, underwear, and anything that could bring in an income.
Entrepreneurship was her most viable option to generate income but this was unsustainable due to the high cost of investing in products to resell.
She joined our Sweet Dream Project and learned to make and sell sweets from home. XtraOrdinary Women provided Martha with business training, the equipment, ingredients, and one-to-one mentoring to kick-start a small business from home.
Martha learned to create a brand to promote her sweet sales and within weeks of setting up her business, Martha had shipped dozens of orders to Costa Rica!
For our Sweet Dreams Project, we partnered with Amy Jarquin, award-winning confectioner, of Chavita Foods, to provide women with a solid business plan, training, and tool kit to set up a low-cost business with a product that is seasonally in demand throughout the year.
Martha invested time, energy, and commitment, you supported her to set it all up. Today, she generates a regular monthly income that supports her household and provides her family with stability. Thank you for supporting women like Martha.
Eveling, a single mother of a 5-year-old daughter, lives in a crowded house with 8 family members. To support her family, she's worked since the age of 14, which prevented her from leaving her family home. She built a small room from scrap metal to provide some privacy for her daughter. However, her ultimate dream is to live independently.
Eveling's education and job opportunities were limited due to her socioeconomic background. Her family needed more income, so she had to drop out of school early. Despite working hard, she couldn't achieve financial stability.
Eight months ago, Eveling joined our Sweet Dreams program, designed to help women like her find jobs and start home-based businesses.
Through the program, she received training from award-winning confectioner Amy Jarquin, learned how to bake artisan sweets, and received business training and mentoring. We also provided her with the necessary equipment to start her business.
In her first month, Eveling sold over 250 sweets! Eight months later, she has her income for the first time. She continues to support her family, has enrolled her daughter in school, and is saving for a down payment on a plot of land for their future home. Eight months ago, Eveling joined our Sweet Dreams program, designed to help women like her find jobs and start home-based businesses.
With your support and her hard work, she's finally building the future she deserves.
Donate to make a difference TODAY!
A Dreamy Collaboration With
Uplifting Women by MGA
A dynamic organisation dedicated to women’s economic empowerment, Uplifting Women by MGA creates spaces for women to connect, learn, and grow collectively.
Chavita Foods
A thriving business since 2017 specialising in innovative gastronomy, Chavita embraces the Sustainable Development Goal of "Zero Hunger" by partnering with local producers and sourcing high-quality ingredients. They firmly believe in the power of collaboration, sharing knowledge, and improving lives through training and skill transmission.
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