To mark International Disability Day, DANA, together with the Indonesian Association of Women with Disabilities (HWDI) and Silang, organized an organic soap-making workshop aimed at supporting disabled MSMEs (10/12). A total of 20 participants with physical, hearing, and visual disabilities took part in the activity to produce soap products with economic value.

The workshop focused on building practical skills that could be developed into small-scale business opportunities to support participants’ future economic independence.

Practical Skills to Create Marketable Products

The session was led by Dewi Winarti Roro Shanti, the first-place winner of SisBerdaya 2025 and owner of Dewijaya Care. Over two hours, participants learned a simple and competitive soap-making process that can be applied independently at home.

The materials used included organic agricultural ingredients without synthetic chemicals, such as olive oil, clean water, NaOH, essential oils, and butter. This approach enabled participants to create products with selling potential using accessible methods.

Encouraging Business Growth for People with Disabilities

Revita Alfi, Chairwoman of HWDI, stated that people with disabilities have equal capabilities to develop businesses and seize opportunities through workshops and similar platforms.

“People with disabilities have equal abilities to continue advancing their businesses and make use of every opportunity through workshops and other platforms as capital to scale up,” she said.

Participant Experiences Highlight Economic Opportunities

The impact of the workshop was directly felt by participants, including Rira, a member supported by Silang. She said the activity gave her new insights into business opportunities.

“This workshop opened my perspective on developing products with economic value and seeing MSME opportunities in the future. The activity was very useful and encouraged me to continue learning and growing,” Rira said.

Strengthening Inclusive Economic Empowerment

Beyond supporting economic independence and sustainable business development for people with disabilities, the initiative also reflects DANA’s commitment to fostering an inclusive digital economy by empowering disabled communities through practical entrepreneurship activities.

PHOTO: DANA

This article was created with AI assistance.