The energy efficient mill: The story of Silvia Rudicov and her sustainable business in Costuleni
An increasing number of businesses in the Republic of Moldova benefit from energy efficiency projects. An example is the business of Silvia Rudicov from the village of Costuleni, Ungheni district, who has been milling for almost 20 years. The story of her business began in the spring of 2004, when she found herself unable to support her four children because of the low salary she was getting at the kindergarten.
At that time, the inhabitants of Costuleni went to make wheat flour at the mill in the neighboring village. Even though it was a village with over 3,000 inhabitants, the Costulenians did not have a mill in the village and had to travel 8 kilometers to make bread flour.
"When people receive wheat from the warehouse, there are many requests and we have to come early in the morning, at 4-5. We only produce wheat flour, top quality and first quality, we produce sunflower oil", said Silvia Rudicov, entrepreneur.
The biggest challenge for entrepreneurs was two years ago, when the energy crisis intensified. High electricity prices also affected the prices of milling services, reads a press release of UNDP.
"The electricity price had risen and we had to increase the prices of services. Sometimes I felt sad when an older lady would come in and there was nothing to pay. I thought if I could install some photovoltaic panels, that would be great. And the prices would be lower and I would have more clients," remembers Silvia.
The Costuleni miller's dream materialized with the help of the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) through the UNDP project "Emergency support for agri-producers in the context of the socio-economic, climate and energy crisis". With the savings and free energy, she now wants to buy a fruit and vegetable dryer.
