Gilgit has so much potential…the soil is rich, the possibilities for growing fruit and vegetables is abundant. A lot of people in the area process fruits and vegetables for a living, creating goodies like dried apricots, cherries, and different jams and juices. But so much of this abundance remains untapped.
Poonam, who recently got married and moved into the Ispitdas community, was so excited to share some of her ideas for how to better process these foods. She had learned how to process fruits and vegetables in-house in her old town, and wanted to continue her work in her new home.
She was also very eager to teach other women of the community – and set up a small enterprise that could empower them.
We thought that was an excellent idea! And we wanted to help her make it happen.
After having a detailed discussion with Poonam, we provided the community with seven gas cylinders with attached stoves, ten food processing units, steel utensils, and essential ingredients for processing (citric acid, pectin, etc.) – all of the items required to produce jams from local fruits, which are already growing.
“I wanted to teach food processing and jam-making to the community here but was having trouble getting started,” said Poonam. “I am thankful that your team listened to this idea and helped us in setting it up. I am confident that we will soon be selling our products in the market!”
On top of it all, the women decided that some of their income will be invested back into the school’s food and nutrition program for children. Definitely a win win!
Meet Zain! 
Hello Hello! I work for Alight Pakistan with the Program Development Team as an Associate. I have a deep interest in poverty alleviation and empowerment programs that can help lift people up, and I was so pleased to be able to help compelte some of these wonderful projects in Gilgit as part of Changemakers team. I am very excited to share these stories and the beauty of Gilgit with you!
