Frozan incorporating several things in one shop
Out in an unconstructed part of Qala-e-Zaman Khan, Kabul, 22 year old Frozan’s shop is a noticeable place. Its walls spray painted with graffiti with handmade bags hanging from strings. She joined Zardozi in 2015 and today we are acknowledging her achievements and success since she first began.
Frozan comes with an advantage of being born in an open minded, but not so financially fortunate family. Her father allowed her to complete school and supported her in achieving her goals and objectives even though her family had financial difficulties. The financial difficulties forced Frozan to work instead of continuing her higher education. Frozan says, “I am very happy I have a good father. If it was someone else, they would have given me into marriage as an asset for earning some money which is a usual practice in Afghanistan.”
Ms. Frozan came to Zardozi already having some tailoring skills and owning her own shop which lasted for three months. At Zardozi, Frozan’s trainers discovered that her shop was short lived due to lack of modern tailoring, hand craft skills. In addition, she also did not have the general management and accounting skills needed for a long term business
After receiving a loan from Zardozi as well as valuable training, Frozan re-opened her shop to both teach and make handicrafts, clothes and stitch bags.
During this period, Frozan partnered with two girls and two boys who came with a different skill set: calligraphy, painting and drawing. Learning this art from her partners, Frozan could also teach these skills to students in the neighborhood. Since Frozanisan educated girl, Zardozi trainers suggested that she learn computing skills and graphics. With her newfound computer skills, Frozan joined her partners in repairing mobiles, designs and Photoshop pictures, as well as sell songs to people. “There is good money in incorporating several things all in one shop which is also beneficial for the community to learn different skills,” she explains.
Frozan says, “When I needed money for working on a new business idea, Zardozi gave me a loan, half of which I spent on buying a Laptop in order to manage my work and finances on my computer.” She says, “A trainer from Zardozi taught me how to use the internet and suggested to me several websites where I can easily access and learn about new clothing designs and find products that are in high demand in the market.”
Frozan says start-ups are not easy. “One has to invest a lot of energy and allocate a lot of time to it. Thanks to Zardozi for the seed money! Being too focused on running my business has prevented me from allowing time to study, but by the time I have enough money I will use it to support my education in the future. My dreams are not limited to this shop!”