Cooking Up Success

When she started, Afghani was making 40 to 50 bolanees (Pakastani pastries) per week and traveling by bus to deliver her food to Hunger Mountain Coop for resale.  Now, with Community Action’s microbusiness development support, she makes and sells enough food to serve 400 people every week.

Afghani arrived with her four children (then ages 8 through 16 years) in the United States on September 20, 2001.  A date solidified in her mind, as was the long journey from her life in Afghanistan.  In 1996, she had fled to Islamabad, Pakistan with four young children and no husband.  She searched and found little work.  Lacking proficiency in any local languages and singly supporting her family proved incredibly hard; she relied on the good will of a relative sending a little each month.  It was in Islamabad that Afghani learned her husband was imprisoned by the Taliban.  She and the children fled – handed an envelope as she boarded the plane for the United States with her new address: Vermont.  Critical support from the Office of Refugee Resettlement helped her find housing and a job.

It was a difficult transition.  Though they made friends in the refugee community, there was no one else from Afghanistan.  She was cleaning offices and homes for work.  Her neighbor was friendly and helpful, driving her to the store for groceries.  With no English, she would write down a sentence in Farsi and hand it to her daughter to translate.  They lived on little income and relied on Food Stamps.  “I was lonely, unhappy and bored,” remembers Afgani.   It was then that her children had an idea.  They saw the diversity of ethnic ready-made foods at Hunger Mountain Coop and encouraged her to give it a try.  “You could do this,” they prompted her.  Afghani made an appointment with the Grocery Manager, brought in a sample–some bolanees—and was told “This is great, but you have to have a package.”

Enter Community Action’s Micro Business Development Program.

Afghani met with Community Action’s Business Counselor Margaret Ferguson.  Margaret helped her design and produce her first packages and labels in Community Action’s Market Resource Center.  She assisted her with product pricing and writing a business plan.  Margaret taught Afghani how to find things out, a skill easily taken for granted—Where are the Farmer’s Markets?  Who do you call?  She helped her devise a schedule and map sites.  From the inspection by the Department of Health to registering with Secretary of State, she helped Afghani navigate the process of starting a business.  With Margaret’s support, Afghani secured $700 from Trickle Up to purchase a table and a tent for vending at markets.

In the seven years since starting her business, now called Pak-Afghan foods, Afghani has slowly expanded her menu and her markets to include three grocery outlets and two weekly farmers markets. She also learned English and helped her children graduate High School and enroll in college—two graduated from St. Michaels, one is studying computer science at UVM and the youngest is still in High School.  Most amazingly, she was reunited with her husband, thought deceased during imprisonent.

“After the US invasion of Afghanistan, they opened the prison doors and there he was!” remarks Afghani.  On his release, he found her phone number from a friend.  As a trusted resource, Margaret helped her petition Vermont’s congressional delegation for support.  On November 27, 2008, the family was reunited in Burlington.  Margaret was his sponsor.  “Margaret is always helping, always there,” appreciates Afghani.

Business is booming, but it’s hard work.  On the weekends and when home for the summer, her kids help.  Now, her husband helps, too.  It’s a family business and she’s finding the right balance to enjoy her family.

Photos courtesy of Aaron Codling.