STARTING a new business requires many steps but it’s not a journey that need be taken alone.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
An Albury market on the weekend will give some Border women the chance to sell products they have made individually, but developed with the feedback and support of the group.
The women took part in a program run by non-government organisation Global Sisters at the Sustainable Activity Centre on Gateway Island, Lincoln Causeway.
Global Sisters offers business coaching and resources to women who might face barriers to starting their own enterprise, such as a disability, unemployment or being a refugee.
The results of the Wodonga sessions will be sold at the Little Me Market, 10am to 2pm Sunday in QEII Square, with a Christmas theme being a natural choice.
Wodonga’s Ambika Monger will present angels, bells and dream catchers she made with skills learned while growing up as a refugee.
Originally from Bhutan, Miss Monger spent 20 years in a refugee camp in Nepal before arriving in Albury-Wodonga in 2013.
Amandeep Samrao, of Wodonga, has made Christmas decorations from sustainable materials like gum nuts and twigs.
The Global Sisters project allowed her to expand on a hobby she enjoyed with her young daughters.
“I think it’s a great platform for anybody who has some creative ideas and a great support for women,” Mrs Samrao said.
Leneva’s Shelley Robotham has been making durable shopping bags out of chicken feed sacks that would otherwise go to landfill. The mother of two hoped her love of sewing could lead to a future business venture.
“I’m feel like I’m ready to do something else, something more,” Mrs Robotham said.
The Wodonga sessions are an interim measure ahead of a more intensive program next year, called Sister School.
Global Sisters’ Hume organisers Mary-Anne Scully and Sandy King said this was not a welfare project but aimed to help people explore their ideas.
“We’re very much about providing that business expertise and support for people who may not be able to access it normally,” Ms Scully said.
“It’s about stepping stones to where they’re going.”
For more information, go to globalsisters.org.