In recent years CAI Tajikistan ( CAIT ) shifted its focus from training to supporting these women in their entrepreneurship and business development objectives . The program envisioned by CAIT includes end-to-end support such as market assessments , specific skill training , and provision of raw materials and equipment . CAIT links them with financial institutions , networking opportunities , marketing products , and other knowledge and skills to help them better manage / operate their small businesses .
between Tajikistan and Afghanistan , and where the ruins of an ancient Silk Road kingdom once flourished . She lives here with her three children who she is single-handedly supporting after her husband moved to Russia some years earlier .
High up in these mountains , the birds are her alarm clock . She wakes early and starts preparing the dough for the day ahead . “ I always wanted to learn how to cook and during my childhood I learned from my mother and grandmother how to cook different delicious dishes ,” Yoqutkhonova says . “ Now with the help of technology I can bake even more delicious and beautiful dishes than they did .” Her baked goods are pieces or art , each one lovingly crafted and designed .
She kneels in her kitchen delicately stamping the raw dough before it is placed in the oven in her garden . Next to her , a stack of the round bread lovingly wrapped up awaits its journey along the dusty stretch of beaten road onto shops in the bustling city of Khorog . “ Our village is small with few stores , so it was difficult to do business here so most of my bread and cakes are sold in Khorog ,” she says .
Like Dovutova , Yoqutkhonova took part in CAI ’ s business training back in 2019 . Her neighbor , 39-year-old Sofiya Suhrobova joins her in her kitchen . She also took part in the training and has since developed her own bakery business . She is a widow supporting one young child .
“ In 2019 , the Women ' s Council of our village invited us for cooking courses . They were held for women who were at home and unemployed , but who can cook and make a business out of it . Then CAI invited us both for training ,” says Dovutova . “ Before , we cooked and mostly gave everything [ away ] for free . We didn ' t even know how many grams of ingredients and products we use . But after the training we learnt how many grams of products we need in each cake , how to price them , and how to send our products to the city and other districts .”
Yoqutkhonova talks about her business with joy and pride :
" In 2023 , after business plan training with CAI , I started selling more of my goods in my village , and I started receiving baked orders for more weddings and from the school . Last year , CAI gave Suhrobova and me a dough mixer and a new oven , and now I cook cakes in this oven , and in the big oven I cook cakes for weddings . I can provide flatbread and pies for 150 to 200 people . I went from being unemployed to starting my own business and supporting my children with their education ."
Yoqutkhonova and her daughter Gulchuncha
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