Fiona Harrison is one of many people whose life has been greatly affected by the COVID pandemic, right down to losing her office job.
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However, with help from charity, Global Sisters, she has been able to transform what was a hobby into a full-time business at Millthorpe.
Ms Harrison is a Wiradjuri woman who started Chocolate on Purpose in 2012 but made the business her main focus this year.
"It was always a side hustle doing local markets and farmers markets," she said.
Global Sisters helps disadvantaged and unemployed women start their own businesses and Ms Harrison said it supplied her with a support network and training courses that helped her create an online business with a website and social media presence using photographs taken by a professional.
She has now grown beyond markets and is selling her chocolate online to individuals, corporations and wholesalers as well as delivering to people in Orange.
She is having particular success with her premier range, Bush Food Chocolate featuring ethically sourced Belgian chocolate and Australian native plants such as quandong and Davidson's Plum that are sourced from Indigenous growers where possible.
Ms Harrison said it is also an opportunity to teach about the cultural importance of the ingredients and expand the conversation into broader First Nations experiences.
"Chocolate is my vehicle to be able to create a bigger conversation and be able to create a bigger vision," she said.
She hopes to run tastings in Millthorpe once lockdown ends.
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