Hakima Zolfaghari is Innovating Agriculture in Afghanistan
Hakima Zolfaghari has loved the earth and all its creatures, big and small, since she was a little girl. This fascination combined with her knack for finding solutions led her to buck the system as a young woman in Afghanistan seeking her Bachelor’s degree in Laboratory Science, a typically male-dominated field. Over the years, she came to understand her passion and knowledge could benefit many by applying her scientific discoveries in vermicomposting to solve critical waste management issues in Afghanistan and the greater world. This led to her forming a partnership with her husband in 2012 to open Green Organic, one of Afghanistan’s first leaders on the organic composting front.
It was then that PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS® came into the equation, as Hakima graduated alongside the in-country Class of 2014 followed by two weeks of intensive Leadership Development in the US. Hakima came to the US hoping to expand upon the management skills needed to grow her business after completing her business plan during in-country classes. Yet she came away, like most do, being most struck by what she learned from her American mentor Barbara Crain and her husband, and how their business experiences so closely mirrored one another despite the miles and cultural differences between them: “they managed to overcome the problems with the support of each other, and that emotional support that they had towards each other had a great impact on me.” Hakima returned to her home country renewed by the connections made during her time in the US with a drive toward taking her business even farther, to continue forging ahead and learning new ways to solve problems through composting and science.
Interestingly, like many entrepreneurs before her, Hakima has recently embarked on yet another entrepreneurial venture to add to her portfolio. She has recently discovered a fabulous new compound derived from Eisenia fetida, a type of red worm, which is so beneficial for skin that its use can allow women to forego the potentially harmful effects of Botox and other procedures whose long term use we can’t project. While the cutting edge compound is currently in its prototype phase and is not currently available for sale, we are certain you’ll be hearing more from Hakima and her breakthrough scientific discoveries benefiting women and our world. Another entry into the strong global sisterhood that is PTB, we can’t wait to watch her continue to soar.
If you are inspired by Hakima’s belief that the smallest among us (a worm) can create something massive of real change, then please SIGN UP now to mentor students like Hakima! The Class of 2019 is currently applying to start classes in January, and we need mentors to guide the way.
