Focus 2024: Partnerships, soap studio and training

6° Network for Women is evolving. With help from the Nieuwe Gevers platform, 6°’s strategy was revisited and refined. The most important question is always: how do we, as a social enterprise, create the most impact for women in Nepal?

Founders Debbie and Gita explain. “Our ultimate goal is to create a true women empowerment (WE) hub. A platform where we can really make a difference by providing the right support for the long term. We have different ways of realising this,” says Debbie.

The support to women in Nepal to make them (financially) empowered individuals consists of:

  • 6° Ventures - small business start-ups, i.e. Eco Farm and the Soap Studio

  • Hāmī by 6° - products that we produce, purchase from third parties and sell, i.e. soaps

  • 6° Academy - training programmes, like Barista training and marketing training

  • 6° Connecting Hands - disaster relief initiatives

  • 6° Pay it Forward - local knowledge sharing by women for women


For the coming year, we will focus on three parts of our strategy: partnerships, the soap studio and training programmes.

Partnerships
“To achieve our ultimate goal, our focus in the coming period will be on entering into business partnerships in the Netherlands to obtain financing and co-creation of impact. And in Nepal to make impact,” says Gita.

“We are now making an inventory of companies and organisations aligned with our mission who want to join forces.”

Soap
The production of the soap is also a focus point this year. In recent months, good progress has been made in making soaps with different scents under the brand name Hāmī by 6°. Five women are currently working to produce 500 pieces of soap that the Medora Foundation has ordered in collaboration with the Nepalese organisation Dhaulagiri Integrated Rural Development Centre (DIRDC). Their mission is improving the health of poor children in Nepal.

“We are very happy with this order from the Medora foundation. It motivates the women to make good quality soap for sale. In addition, it is important that they realise that the more soap they make and sell, the more they can earn. And of course, that new ingredients can then be purchased to make new soap,” says Debbie.

Training
“Gita adds: “The women are currently receiving training in marketing by our volunteer Evonne so that they also gain more experience in this as well.”
 
The final focus point for the coming year is therefore training. “It is important to share knowledge with the women and ensure proper implementation. Ten women recently completed the Barista training and we want them all to get an internship in the catering industry or hotels in Chitwan. Our goal is that at least half of them will also find a job,” says Debbie. An ICT training is also planned for later this year.

Trip to Nepal
To further develop the plans for 2024 and translate them into actions, Debbie and Gita will going to Nepal at the beginning of April. “We will be visiting some of our current partners, such as Nikesh from Trikaya. For this year's Christmas Market, we of course want to sell beautiful scarves that he can supply. But we also have meetings with other potential partners/producers of beautiful products. We will keep you posted.
 
We will also provide a few training sessions ourselves to continue what Evonne started. And we will also talk to the nature guides to give them advice on setting up their own business. We can certainly help them with that,” says Gita.
 

Debbie MiddendorpComment