Nona Qajaia - Tailor-made Success

Nona Qajaia, is an IDP from Abkhazia. Currently, she lives in Ingiri and has small sewing salon in a house where she lives with her family.  Nona is one of the beneficiaries who received grant support from the project “Improving local governance through inclusive development approaches” funded through the Austrian Development Cooperation. We asked Nona about how she learned about this grant opportunity and how accessing this grant has supported her in improving her business. Here’s what she had to say!

“I learned about the grant opportunity from an  information meeting held in our village by Zugdidi LAG members. This involved participating  in a grant competition [which] I won and received modern equipment to improve my sewing salon.

I used this grant to acquire a sewing machine, an overlock machine and an embroidery machine, all of which helped to improve my working conditions, diversify my service, and increase my income. There are other tailors in our village, but most of them take simple orders. With the new equipment, I have the opportunity to offer a different service to my clients.

A few days ago, I got an order from schoolchildren to embroider their initials on their shirts for the last school bell. Of course, such a service is available in the city, but my prices are more favorable.

Before, I used to produce only bed linen, but after receiving the grant support, I started sewing clothes.

The additional income made me more courageous and self-confident both in society and in the family, as successful and independent woman deserves more respect and appreciation. In the future, I hope to improve my services even more and expand my sewing business.”