KATIA

My name is Katia and I am 36 years old. I am currently a house wife. In 2014 I have followed the entrepreneurship training with Gender Links (GL) and I have learnt a lot from the course.

Initially, I had plan to set up my business in the livestock field. I always had a passion for this domain. I had no experience though but I wanted to follow a course and learn about it. In fact I tried on my own to breed chickens but it was not profitable. Since after the course, I grew so enthusiastic to have my business, I did not really plan as it was taught. I thought it would be an easy business but it was not. Due to my bad planning, I could not earn profits out of it. I had two hens and I would sell the egg to my neighbours. Given the fact that I live in a poor suburb area, the place is not really accessible and often people are not aware of the business that I was doing and hence, I could not find a market to sell my products. I even have a plot of land to do the business but due to the problems occurring and lack of know-how, I am not able to do much. I plan in the near future to undertake a course by Agricultural Research and Extension Unit (AREAU) for livestock. I have in fact already enrol for the course, I am waiting for confirmation on their side.

Even though I had a first bad encounter with the business I encountered, I did not let my dreams go in vain. I decided to try something else that would keep me busy and make me independent. I contacted a lady who was sewing typical Mauritan clothes and asked her if she was willing to sell those to me. What I decided to do next was to sell those clothes to other people. My husband comes from Rodrigues and he has a lot of relatives in Rodrigues with whom we are in constant contact. I called those relatives and asked them if they would be willing to have Mauritian clothes to sell in Rodrigues. The idea impressed them and they were actually in need of these types of clothes which were not in their market. I started to sell the clothes and I noted with time that the business was really profitable. I had a market not only in Rodrigues but also people in Mauritius and tourists were seeking interest in the clothes. I could easily recover my profit from this business.

I did not stopped from expanding my business when I saw it flourishing in short time. I contacted a friend of mine who is also a neighbour and she knows a lot of people in Rodrigues. I told her about my business and she also joined in to find markets for me in Rodrigues. I must say that I am able to achieve a lot from this business. GL course taught us to start by small things first and this is what I did. The course also taught us to dream big because with hard work we can achieve all our dreams; this is why I have not yet let go of my dream to do livestock. I want to follow the training by AREAU and gain knowledge on how to embark the business. I have learnt with time that if we sit back at home, we shall have nothing. We need to be in constant move to seek knowledge. I have not been able to go to school but I have done adult literacy course. I never leave a chance to learn following the training of GL. I want to be independent even if it is with the small business of clothing that I am doing. I now do not have to rely on my husband to give me money to run the house. I am working and independent enough to provide food for my family and kids. I do not plan to stop here. I plan to dream big and achieve bigger.