Empower 600 Women in Ghana with Microcredit Loans

This past October, 30 women in Kwaso, located in the Ashanti region of Ghana, successfully completed a 3 day training program. This special training taught the women how to make bar and liquid laundry soap. The group's name, "Nokware" translates to "truth" in English. They decided they would brand name their soap "Nokware" as well. Each bar weighs 135 grams (4.8 ounces) and sells for .40 Cedi (29 cents) and the liquid soap is sold for 2 cedi ($1.45) per liter. The Nokware laundry bar soap comes in two colors, white and yellow.

The women's goal was to find a way to add value to their products and potentially increase their income. Training was aimed at helping the Nokware group acquire additional knowledge and skills in order to deepen their understanding of existing business operations which will help them reach their goal. They are excited to begin selling soap because it provides an opportunity to address the seasonal challenges which have slowed down their palm oil business for years. For women over the age of 50, they find respite in being able to do a job that is less strenuous than farming.

Theresa Owusu, pictured in orange and green, 'dragged' her husband to the 3 day training event. She said, "this is a dream fulfilled, for many years we waited for an opportunity like this, many thanks to Self-Help International".

Stories of development like these are made possible through the continuous generosity of all of Self-Help's donors.