When your usual way of life changes, it’s especially important to find activities that restore a sense of stability, help you stay active, and open up new horizons. For Vita Kalashnik from the Novovodolazhka community, cheese-making has become one such activity.
Vita’s life has always been closely tied to her family. Today, her daughters live far from home: one is serving in the military and defending Ukraine, while the other is abroad. The distance and constant worry for her loved ones have become part of her daily life.
During this time, Vita began devoting more time to an activity that would later take on special significance for her—making homemade cheese.
At first, it was just a hobby in her own kitchen. Vita experimented with recipes, studied the production techniques, and refined the process. Cheese-making requires attention to detail, precision, and patience, and each new result gave her the opportunity to learn and move forward.
Positive feedback from friends and acquaintances gradually changed her attitude toward this activity. Vita realized that her hobby had the potential to become her own business.
To figure out how to take the next step, she joined the “Dream. Create. Achieve” project in the Novovodolazhka community.
During the training, Vita gained knowledge on the basics of starting and growing a business: financial planning, marketing, product promotion, branding, and assessing entrepreneurial risks. She paid special attention to assessing opportunities and planning her future business.
The result of the training was the development of a business plan for her own artisanal cheese factory.
💬 “I used to think that business was for the young and the determined. Through this project, I realized that business is for those who have passion and a willingness to work. And I don’t lack determination—I have someone to be strong for,” Vita shares.
Family support remains an important part of her vision. Her daughter, who lives abroad, helps Vita manage her social media pages. This way, working together on their future business becomes another way to stay close, despite the distance.
There’s also a special dimension of mutual support in this story. Vita plans to donate a portion of the proceeds from cheese sales to support her daughter’s unit and her fellow soldiers. For her, this is an opportunity to help those who are defending the country.
Participating in the project has given Vita not only practical business tools but also the chance to organize her own ideas, assess the idea’s potential, and determine the next steps for bringing it to life.
There’s still a lot of work ahead—from preparing to launch production to developing her own product line and finding customers. But the idea already has a concrete direction for development and a business plan to build upon.
Vita Kalashnik’s story is one of professional fulfillment, which can begin at any age and under any circumstances. It also highlights the importance of access to knowledge, support, and opportunities that help women develop their own ideas and strengthen their economic capacity.
The “Dream. Implement. Achieve” project is implemented by Convictus Ukraine in partnership with and with the support of Norwegian People’s Aid Ukraine and aims to strengthen women’s economic empowerment in communities.