A student from Căușeni opened a bakery with European money and supplies bread to people in her home village and neighbouring villages. At the same time, the young woman has developed a social project - families with modest incomes bring a sack of wheat to the bakery and in return they can take 100 loaves of bread whenever they want.

She gave up translation work to become a baker

Doina Roscot, a 23-year-old graduate of the foreign languages faculty at a university in Chișinău, gave up her career as a translator to become a baker after receiving financial support of 10,000 euros from the European Union through the "Support to Confidence Building Measures" Programme implemented by UNDP Moldova. Now, she manages a small bakery in the village of Taraclia, Căușeni, together with her parents.

Dreaming of a family business since she was a student, Doina's idea was inspired by the realities of her village. "Before our bakery was set up, bread was brought from the district center, about 30 kilometers away. Bread was rarely found in stores, especially fresh one. I knew about this problem and dreamed of solving it," says Doina.

Upon receiving the grant, she leased an abandoned building, undertook necessary repairs and studied how to run a bakery. It took her about six months to finalize the documents, obtain the operating permit and connect the bakery to the power grid. She used the grant money to buy an electric oven and a mixer for kneading larger quantities of dough.

At every stage of establishing the business, she received assistance from a mentor employed within the project. "I knew nothing about business management, so the mentor's support was crucial for me. He helped with the business plan, company registration, and solving other issues that arose along the way," says Doina.

Word about the store opening spread rapidly, and the first batch of bread sold in the blink of an eye. Since then, the number of customers has steadily increased. They produce various types of bread – wheat, bran, rye, as well as buns, pretzels, and pies. During holidays, they make sweet bread and cakes. They sell their products directly in the store next to the bakery and in several neighboring villages - Baimaclia, Sălcuța, Chircăiești, Surchiceni. Last year, they signed a contract with the local school, delivering pies and buns to the students.

"With the first bread deliveries came the first suggestions from customers. That's how we found out that more people would like to buy sliced and packaged bread. However, we need money to invest in new equipment," says Victor Roscot, Doina's father.

They turned their bakery into a social project

To keep up with market demands and ensure continuous business growth, the Roscot family constantly explores solutions. After learning that many people in the village cannot grind wheat at the mill or afford to buy bread, they came up with a small social project. Older people or families with modest incomes bring a sack of wheat to the bakery, and in return, they can take a hundred loaves of bread whenever they wish. Dozens of families in the village are on the list of those benefiting from this practice.

One of these families is that of Dina Olărescu. The woman, along with her husband, raises four children. "It's convenient and easy for us because we know we'll always have fresh bread on the table," says Dina Olărescu. Someone from the family visits the bakery once every 2-3 days and takes bread in exchange for the wheat they delivered to the bakery depot. "We're glad this opportunity exists. The bread is very good and affordable. But if it's just out of the oven, there won't be any slices left by evening," the woman says with a smile.

"People will never stop buying bread"

Even though they haven't recouped their investments yet, all members of the Roscot family are confident that their business has a future: "People will never stop buying bread." In a year, they see themselves still at their bakery, hoping to modernize and expand it so that more people can have access to a quality and fresh product.

Doina Roscot is among the over 70 young people from both banks of the Nistru River who have obtained European grants of up to 13,500 euros to create or develop a business.

The Programme, funded by the European Union, "Support to Confidence Building Measures," implemented by UNDP, contributes to strengthening understanding between residents on both banks of the Nistru River by involving representatives of the business community, civil society, and local authorities in joint projects for business and social infrastructure development.