ZINATMO
Zinatmo always sold her cakes for 50 somoni— roughly five dollars— never calculating what they actually cost to make. Then she took a CAI business planning session and learned the true cost of production. The answer surprised her. Eighty somoni.
" At first, I felt sad when I realized I had been selling my cakes too cheaply. But then I became very happy, because I finally understood the real value of my work. From now on, I will calculate the actual price for every product before selling it."— Zinatmo, Shugnan, Tajikistan
Zinatmo, 52, attending a business planning session in Tajikistan
Traditional Tajik bread for sale at the Cultural Days Festival in Dushanbe, Tajikistan
20 | 2026-2027 JOURNEY OF HOPE
CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE