For Ludmila Donica, entrepreneurship became more than a business opportunity — it became a way to honour her father’s legacy and bring her family back home. The 50-year-old economist from Mateuți, Rezina district, turned a long-held family dream into a growing carpentry workshop, combining tradition, craftsmanship and modern technology.
“I registered the company in 2023, inspired by the idea of opening a carpentry workshop and continuing the small business my late father had started,” Ludmila explains.
Her father had worked as a carpenter all his life, crafting wooden items in a modest workshop at the family home. After his passing, Ludmila felt a strong desire to preserve both his craft and his memory.
But the decision to launch the business was also deeply personal. For years, Ludmila’s brother had been working abroad and was considering moving permanently to Denmark with his family.
“I thought that if I started this business, my brother might return to Moldova,” she says. “He had been away for 15 years and only came home once a year, at Christmas or Easter.”
The carpentry workshop ultimately became the bridge that reunited the siblings and gave them the opportunity to build a future together in their hometown.
From a dream to a modern workshop
The first step was finding a suitable place to begin. The business took shape at the Rezina Business Incubator, which offers facilities and support for emerging entrepreneurs and small local enterprises.
Step by step, Ludmila and her brother began producing their first wooden items and developing their skills and product range.
A turning point for the workshop came when the business received support from the European Union through its EU4Business initiative, via the EU Confidence Building Measures Programme implemented by the United Nations Development Programme.
Through the programme, the workshop received equipment worth $14,610, enabling the team to introduce modern woodworking technology and significantly improve production.
“We received high-performance machinery that truly defines us as a company today,” Ludmila says proudly. “This equipment is our greatest asset.”
The new equipment allows the workshop to produce a wide range of products, including personalised engravings, traditional wooden carvings, shutters, railings and both indoor and outdoor furniture. These customised products help the business stand out in a competitive market and attract new customers.
More than equipment: mentoring and training
Financial support was only part of the assistance provided. The programme also included mentoring, training and consultancy sessions in key areas such as sales and promotion.
For Ludmila, who is an economist by training but had no previous experience in the woodworking sector, this guidance proved essential.
“We were not simply given equipment and left on our own,” she explains. “The training and mentoring helped me enormously to organise the business and secure our first orders.”
Today, Ludmila manages and promotes the company, while her brother oversees production. Although he has no formal qualification in carpentry, he inherited his father’s skills and strengthened them through specialised courses, becoming a skilled craftsperson.
A family business with a future
One of Ludmila’s greatest sources of pride is that the entire family is now involved in the project. Inspired by the workshop, her son decided to pursue studies in woodworking at college, further strengthening the family’s belief in the future of the business.
“Now the whole family is involved,” she says. “My son has chosen to study in this field as well, which shows that our business has both a present and a future.”
The workshop’s plans for the coming years are ambitious. Ludmila hopes to create at least three new jobs to meet the growing number of orders.
At the same time, the business is exploring partnerships with local wineries to produce wooden stands for wine bottles — a niche product with strong potential in Moldova’s developing wine tourism sector.
Ludmila Donica’s story is more than an entrepreneurial success. It demonstrates how determination, family values and the right support can transform a personal dream into a sustainable business that strengthens both families and communities.
