Kanjana

Kanjana is a 44-year-old married woman living with her husband in a small community in northeastern Thailand. While her husband farms jasmine rice to earn a living, Kanjana runs a beauty salon as her primary source of income and supplements it by making bracelets for sale.

Kanjana’s bracelet-making business began long before she opened her beauty salon. She has been making bracelets since she was 16 years old. Her side business was inspired by her long-standing passion for DIY crafts and accessories. She began by working only with silver beads, creating simple yet elegant pieces. As she started selling to accessory shops in the region, customers began requesting a wider variety of designs. To meet their needs, she gradually expanded her work to include different materials and styles. Nearly three decades later, Kanjana has established a strong and loyal customer base of shops that continue to place regular orders for her handcrafted bracelets.

However, as more shops have become interested in her products and customers keep asking for more variety in designs, she has found it difficult to keep up. The main problem is getting materials on time to fulfil customers' orders. With the responsibilities of managing her beauty salon, she can't easily travel to supply shops whenever she runs low on beads or thread. This has slowed down her bracelet production and sometimes prevents her from accepting larger orders. To address this, Kanjana has applied for a loan to purchase silver beads, crystal beads, coloured beads, elastic beading thread, and other essential tools for bracelet making. This loan will allow her to keep production steady, meet shop demands without delays, and maintain the supplementary income stream she has relied on for nearly 30 years.