Hermoni Zerihun never expected to become a professional florist, let alone train budding florists.
Zerihun, who emigrated to Australia from Eritrea, started off as a trainee at The Beautiful Bunch, a Melbourne-based floristry and social enterprise.
The business works specifically with young women from refugee and migrant backgrounds aged 18 – 26 who face significant barriers to securing employment in Australia, including visa restrictions and cultural and language hurdles.
Like Zerihun, many trainees were born to parents who sought refuge in the country, while others have been in Australia less than two months. When Zerihun began working with Jane Marx, founder of The Beautiful Bunch, she was struck by Marx’s work ethic, telling Women’s Agenda: “She taught me a lot about personal and professional life.”
“Jane is smart and an amazing leader who regularly gives me her advice based on her experience and knowledge.”
Trainees come from across the world, including South Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ethiopia and Eritrea. The business works with The Brotherhood of St Laurence and other settlement service organisations who refer young women to the trainee program at The Beautiful Bunch.
Most recently, the business has created a subscription for flowers made by newly-arrived Palestinian trainees – where proceeds go directly into supporting the employment of new trainees from Gaza. Two recent trainees from Gaza are Shatha, 21, who was in her third year studying Software Engineering before coming to Australia, and Ola, 26, who arrived in Australia four months ago from Gaza, having recently obtained a Bachelor’s Degree of Arts in the English Translation Department.
Shatha and Ola receive a salary right from the beginning of their program, and continue to be paid at the casual retail award.
“It is crucial that the girls are earning an income from the beginning, even when doing basic training; that is something that we are really proud of,” Marx told Women’s Agenda.
“Our program exists to support young women who may or may not have had that early influence, but regardless, they understand the necessity of earning money and getting an education. The difference is, their aspirations are not being met with the same willingness to help that, and many others, receive.”
Marx acknowledges there are challenges to being a social entrepreneur, juggling the business demands with her social mission.
As a social enterprise, Marx said she tries to use business to make the world a better place for people and the planet.
“What’s good for business, at least in the short-term, is not always good for the young women we support and for the success of the program,” she explained.
“It is a constant balancing act between making sure that our business is healthy and that we are, at the same time, fulfilling our social mission. Training and employing people, most of whom have not had a job before, is a big financial commitment. At the front of my mind there is always an ongoing tension between business growth and increasing our social impact.”
Marx established her enterprise in 2020, hiring women from refugee backgrounds and training them for six months. Since then, every trainee who has graduated from the program has gone on to pursue education and employment opportunities – a result Marx said is testament to the impact of her program.
“Nobody leaves us without having something lined-up – it has been truly phenomenal to watch the young women who leave our program out there and shine,” she said.
“Most have gone on to combine formal study with work in retail, hospitality, business administration. Once they begin to build their skills and self-confidence, and of course, receive their first pay cheque at The Beautiful Bunch, it is hugely motivating to work hard to find a job they love.”
Zerihun said she is surprised she is now training other young women, after undertaking the program herself recently: “I used to struggle with simple flower arrangements and didn’t know the names of flowers, which made me less confident in my skills,” she said.
“[But] now, I’m good at making beautiful bouquets and remembering the names of different flowers, as well as making business orders for corporates and doing admin and training the girls and sometimes helping with events.”
“It’s amazing how much I’ve learned and grown [and] I hope to help other girls achieve their dreams.”