40 Women Improving Income through a Sweet Business

Winter arrived in Tucumán Province and, with it, the enthusiasm to continue making bakery products within the framework of the Women Entrepreneurs project.

The group of women, called “Manos Artesanas” (Artisan hands), are motivated and work harmoniously as a team. Each member’s role is clear and defined, they feel comfortable being part of it and, most of all, they know that their work pays off. Nowadays they have a meeting space where they share pleasant moments; they have become friends who produce together and at the same time, they can have an extra income to improve their family situations.

The group made important decisions in relation to entrepreneurship in the first half of 2022. For example, through the support received by ACDI, they had the advice of a professional expert in Marketing and were able to constitute their Brand and Identity, with a logo designed by themselves and materialized by a Graphic Designer. Today they feel that this logo totally represents them and their products, they feel proud of having an image that reinforces their work and effort.

The name of the group “Manos Artesanas” was chosen by the women to highlight the value of the handmade process of production of their bakery goods. Their products do not contain additives or preservatives, so their name represents the essence of what they consider to be more valuable: producing quality bakery products with their own hands without preservatives, reinforcing the production carried out “at home”.

Among other learnings during this year, this entrepreneurship assumed the importance of strategic choosing  of products according to the time of year. In the Financial Education Training provided by ACDI, they learned about the importance of analyzing the season and producing according to it and the needs and desires of their customers. Also, they started to buy inputs in bulk allowing them to acquire them at lower prices and, therefore, increase their incomes. Thus, they offer specific bakeries depending on the time of year, specializing in them, and at the same time, paying attention to the demands of their customers.

On the other hand, the group "Manos Artesanas" decided to expand the scope in the sale of its products. Having achieved great success in their own town, they currently produce to sell at fairs in neighboring towns and their eagerness to keep building this enterprise does not rest even though this small step implies overcoming great challenges: the distances to the other towns (some located more than 20 km); the bad state of some roads; the lack of public transport mobility among other difficulties, supposes a great effort in planning the logistics of this decision.

Despite the difficulties and with the support of ACDI’s territorial promoter from their rural area, they manage to organize themselves in such a way that they set up their own stand at these fairs. 

The women recognize that participating in these sales spaces is not only an opportunity to improve their economic income, but also to position themselves in the region as a group of enterprising women, who, with their artisan hands, produce quality baked products, and  do it with much love and dedication.