For Yuliia Pasichna, floristry is not just a profession but a pursuit that brings her joy, inspires her and allows her to create beauty. She had long dreamed of growing her own flowers and gradually turned this dream into reality by establishing a flower farm in Zaporizhzhia.
However, even the work one loves most comes with challenges. One of the biggest challenges was storing cut flowers. During the summer, temperatures in Zaporizhzhia often reached 30°C even during the morning harvest. To keep the flowers fresh, they had to be rehydrated, cooled and prepared immediately for onward transport. This was particularly important for shipments via Nova Post, as without proper cooling, the flowers lost their quality more quickly.
Periods of abundant flowering presented another challenge. Sometimes there were so many flowers that it was impossible to sell them all within a short period of time. Without a dedicated refrigerator, Yuliia risked losing part of her crop and profit.
The situation changed when Yuliia took part in an NGO Girls project. The support she received enabled her to purchase a professional refrigerator for storing flowers — equipment she had long dreamed of but had not been able to purchase on her own.
“This is not just a refrigerator. It is an opportunity to work more professionally, to be confident in the quality of my flowers and to develop my own business without fear of losing the results of my work,” Yuliia shares.
Today, the refrigerator has become an indispensable part of her work. It helps keep cut flowers fresh, extends their lifespan, enables her to properly prepare orders for shipment and significantly reduces losses during the peak season. Yuliia can now plan her sales more flexibly without worrying that part of her crop will be lost because of the heat.
Yuliia’s story is an example of how timely support can provide an impetus for the development of a small business. Thanks to the NGO Girls project, she gained new opportunities to grow, strengthen her business and move closer to her dream — bringing beauty to people.
The project: Strengthening resilience and protection of conflict-affected individuals, communities and systems in central and eastern Ukraine in partnership with CARE, with support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
