Our hope for the women of 31 Bits is for each of them to eventually transition out of our program and into full-time sustainable businesses of their own.  This way, they have the opportunity to earn even more money than they are able to by selling jewelry and it also creates more room in the program for us to provide a source of income to other needy women in the area. Recently, the most entrepreneurial women have begun to rise out of the group as they begin their produce, clothing, and and animal raising businesses in their spare time. Their go-getter attitudes are amazing to see and it is exciting to witness how they are putting their financial and business training skills to practical use.

Oneka Helen, the oldest in the group, is one of these ambitious women and is setting an example for the others. She purchases chicks every two months, feeds them and allows them to mature, and then sells the ready-to-eat chickens to hotel owners and other customers.  She hopes to have more coops built to house the chicks so that she will be able to buy and sell a higher quantity but she is already making a substantial profit. She is grateful for the business skills she is receiving through our livelihoods project manager. We are excited to walk alongside her in the coming months as she slowly transitions out of our program and begins to financially rely solely on her very own sustainable business. Way to go Helen!