Dema lives in Bhutan's capital city of Thimphu and hopes to open a small shop with her sister selling toys, sweets, and household items. She is 39 years old and was born in the eastern Bhutanese city of Tashigong. She has three children, ages 17, 10, and a two-and-a-half year-old named Sonam (pictured). Her two older children are currently in school.

Dema's husband passed away last year after struggling with alcoholism, leaving Dema alone without work. She and her husband used to run a successful bar, earning a monthly profit of nearly US$125 (7,000 Nu). However, when her husband died, she discovered that he had accumulated many debts and she was forced to use all of her family's savings to pay off his creditors. Dema he is currently staying with a relative and depends on the small amounts of money that her sister, Sumcho, can save from her salary. Dema uses this little bit of money for food, along with books and clothes for her children. She has thought of moving back to Tashigong but her family has no land and there are very few opportunities for work there.

Dema is hoping with excitement to open a small shop with her sister. Dema is able to read and write and learned how to do basic math using a calculator from her days managing the bar. She speaks speaks Dzongkha (Bhutan's national language) and Sharchhop (a common language in eastern Bhutan). Dema is already scouting out possible locations for the shop around the city and thinking of the best items to stock as inventory.


BUSINESS PLAN

$430 (24,000 Nu) for three months of rent for a small shop in Thimphu (8,000 Nu/month)
$90 (5,000 Nu) for a government permit to set up the shop
$14 (800 Nu) for two round-trip bus tickets to Phoentsoling, the border town where Sum and
Delma can buy their inventory at wholesale prices
$18 (1,000 Nu) for food and lodging for both sisters in Phoentsoling for one day
$1238 (70,000 Nu) for inventory--sweets, toys, household items