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September 8, 2022

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In order to produce environmentally friendly household goods such as tissues and wipes, Singaporeans Angela Sim and Lynn Yeo, the founders of Cloversoft, invested in bamboo trees as the material of choice. 

Bamboos were discovered to be the fastest-growing plants in the study, so they decided to cultivate them. Furthermore, unbleached bamboo does not contain any chemicals, which contributes to its sustainability.

Angela and Lynn founded Cloversoft in September 2014, and both are passionate about producing safe and environmentally friendly consumer goods. They became close friends while working at a bank for several years before launching their business. Lynn’s lifelong passion is recycling and green projects, whereas Angela strongly cares for animals.

According to Angela, a documentary on a polar bear in the Arctic brought her to tears on an aircraft back to Singapore from a business trip abroad. Because of this, she became fond of the cute critter that would eventually become Cloversoft’s mascot.

Cloversoft only uses superior, cruelty-free, vegan, and eco-friendly raw ingredients. No artificial scents, colors, alcohol, chlorine, or other chemicals that might harm the consumer were included.

Other brands may not adopt bamboo because of its higher cost, despite its environmental benefits. Angela and Lyn, however, keep prices low so people and companies may afford to go green. The duo plans to expand its operations in the United States, including Vietnam and Indonesia. 

Coversoft’s long-term objective is to build the most successful fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company in Singapore, with offices around the world, centered on the core values of providing products that are affordable, environmentally friendly, and derived from plants.

Lack of business experience made learning tough at first. There was no demand for their eco-friendly goods, and other corporations repeatedly turned them down. Angela admitted,  “This was one of the darkest moments in our entrepreneurship journey”.  

Fortunately, consumers now publicly acknowledge their items and frequently purchase their green products  Word-of-mouth and consumer feedback helped them quickly spread the word, and their sales grew 1,500% in one year.

They’ve also donated a portion of their revenues to Polar Bears International in Canada to help protect the polar bear population.

Cloversoft’s first year of business saw strong sales and rising client bases in Asia Pacific countries. The firm aims to become the largest FMCG company headquartered in Singapore, with branches throughout the world, by delivering safe, environmentally friendly, and fairly priced plant-based products.

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Khmai Fine Dining is a unique Cambodian restaurant in Rogers Park, Chicago. Owned by executive chef Mona Sang, the name is a mix of “Khmer,” the language and ethnicity of native Cambodians, and “me,” the Khmer term for mother, to emphasize her mother’s important role in presenting traditional Cambodian cuisine.

Mona, together with her sister, two brothers, and mother Sarom Sieng came to the US in early 1980 after surviving the Cambodian genocide. The Khmer Rouge tortured Sarom and executed her husband as the family fled to Thai refugee camps.

A single mother who never spoke English, Sarom began cooking for other families in the Cambodian community in order to survive and eventually expanded into catering events at Living Water Community Church in Rogers Park.

Mona hasn’t heard every detail of Sarom’s experience during the genocide, but the trauma her mother went through is still very clear to her. “I don’t know the whole story, but she tells it little by little when she’s cooking,” Mona told Eater Chicago. “I think there’s a lot of other people out there who have been through the same thing, but their story has never been told.”

In 2018, another family tragedy came when one of Mona’s brothers died unexpectedly in his sleep. Her mother discovered him the next morning and that image haunted Sarom.

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According to Eater, Mona isn’t simply conveying a message to its customers with Khmai’s name. It is also a way of healing and writing a love letter to her mother who has fought for them to survive through the restaurant.

Khmai’s mesmerizing dishes include “Nom Bahn Chok”, a vermicelli noodle dish with minced tilapia marinated in kreoung and prahok, simmered in coconut fish stock, “Sach Koh Ang”, beef skewers marinated in lemongrass, Khmer spices and chili peppers, and Mai’s famous eggrolls stuffed with ground chicken, bean thread noodles and taro root.

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Filipina Mom Started Her Career Selling Vegetables Got Her Degree At 32 To Become A Teacher

Liezel Nudalo Formentera is now ready to work toward achieving her lifelong ambition in the field of education.

Formentera works as a street vendor in Cebu, Philippines, and hopes to improve her family’s situation someday. The only way she can see doing so is to further her education and get a better job. She could not finish elementary and high school, but she was determined and decided to join the DepEd’s ALS (Department of Education’s Alternative Learning System) program. 

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The Filipina baker had just graduated from university when the pandemic struck. Danica began to reconsider her professional goals in baking when her family had financial difficulties, so she looked for a short-term position in the online world.  

Danica had limited experience in baking. But through hard work, she persisted in her quest to become a better baker until she became well-known for her delicious “bento cakes”.

The bento cakes were not only delicious but also the perfect size and price for those watching their spending. She also recently launched a “Selfie Mirror Cake” featuring a real mirror on top of the cake. So, you can take one-of-a-kind mirror selfies while taking a snap of your scrumptious cake.

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