www.cozychristmasgiftbasket.org In the last 9 months of the war in Ukraine we have all become used to sending humanitarian goods from the EU to Ukraine. With LifeLine Ukraine we are doing the same and will be sending well over 50 trucks with aid to Ukraine by next January.But! Now we also start bringing Ukrainian goods to the EU! And not any kind of goods but the best that the Ukrainian craft industry has to offer. We have created The Cozy Christmas Gift Basket that holds six items, including the Basket, that are handmade with love and care in Ukraine. Gifts of of high quality that are produced in a sustainable way. By buying the Cozy Christmas Gift Basket, you will directly support six women-led sustainable Ukrainian companies so they can start rebuilding.  And you have the perfect Christmas gift! A win-win situation.

LifeLine Ukraine.org helps women-owned businesses to survive and thrive throughout and after the war. We help with micro-finance, equipment supplies, with creating access to EU markets, and with business mentoring. And we do this on a pro-bono and voluntary basis.

We selected 12 Ukrainian small women-owned businesses that produce fruits and vegetables, honey, grow flowers, bake bread, produce natural cosmetics, produce restaurant ingredients, make glassware, table linen, candles, baskets, and run farms. As a first result, 7 companies will see their products on the Dutch market still this year, 5 companies received equipment grants and micro-loans, and 2 companies already visited The Netherlands to have their first international business meetings. All companies got access to Dutch know-how, business networks, and partners. We are also in the process of creating a website matching Ukrainian women-owned businesses with Dutch or EU companies and entrepreneurs.

The war affects all small and medium sized businesses in Ukraine. Most entrepreneurs battle on courageously, but they experience a deep level of depression, and many are close to burn-out. They are occupied with short-term crisis management and have developed tunnel vision with a sole focus on day-to-day survival. They find it hard to prioritise and get organized. They suffer from supply chain disruptions, sales channel disruptions, and direct losses and damage caused by destruction of production assets, by the occupation, and by forced evacuations or voluntary relocation.

But! The entrepreneurs stay resilient and hopeful and continue looking for ways out of the wartime crisis.

When you buy a basket, you do not only support these businesses financially. The baskets also allows the companies to gain experience in exporting to the EU and selling on EU markets. To survive during the war and get ready to thrive after the war these women entrepreneurs understand that they should start to build business bridges to the EU market. And building bridges, is what you help them to do by buying the basket! 

Regular humanitarian aid is important, right now. However,  building business bridges between Ukraine and the EU, is important for the future, as it has a long-lasting effect by supporting Ukrainian businesses to survive during the war and thrive after the war. For Ukraine, this creates jobs and livelihoods, supports the economy, strengthens the middle class, develops civil society, integrates its economy with the EU economy, and opens the door to a self-sufficient and dignified future for Ukrainians. The wartime and generic challenges I highlighted are real. But, together we can easily overcome these challenges, and when we do, we will unlock a whole new level of Ukrainian business potential that will be the best way towards integration with EU markets, and societies. We have a responsibility to work hard on this, as it will help speed up a future victory, and a lasting peace.

All the proceeds of the sales of the baskets will go directly to the Ukrainian companies.

The Cozy Christmas Gift Basket is available as a limited edition for only € 135, including shipping. 

All six companies and their products have been carefully selected by LifeLine Ukraine during one of our visits. All (100%) of the proceeds go to these companies! So please order now (we only have 500 in stock!) and bring some hope, love and light to these fantastic women.  Learn more about the Women and the Basket.

The Cozy Christmas Gift Basket is realized with the help of Marius Dekker of “Stichting Help Oekraïne”.