On Friday, 23 October 2026, 310 women of Dera Ismail Khan brought food and drinks they had made in their own kitchens to the Deewan-e-Khas Marquee on Mosmiyat Road and presented them before an independent panel of judges. Every one of them went home with a cash prize and a certificate in her own name. It was the first Women’s Food & Beverage Competition in the district’s history, and the first public step of the Faizna Green Bites model, Every Home a Factory, before its launch in February 2027.
The day at a glance
- Date and venue
- Friday, 23 October 2026 · Deewan-e-Khas Marquee, Mosmiyat Road, near Darya Band Road, Dera Ismail Khan
- Participants
- 310 women in 31 teams of ten; each presented one home-made food or beverage item: 310 dishes and drinks
- Women leaders
- About 60 women volunteer team leaders, who registered, led and managed the teams
- In the hall
- More than 400 people: participants, guests, judges, team leaders and media
- Judging
- Five published criteria, 20 marks each: taste; hygiene and safe handling; cost and value; consistency; presentation
- Results
- The top ten positions shared two to a position: 20 winners
- Prizes
- A cash prize for every one of the 310 participants, for the 20 winners and for the volunteer team leaders; more than 400 certificates
- Security
- The District Police; the day passed peacefully
Our guests
Chief Guest: Mr. Hafiz Muhammad Adnan, DSP City, holder of the presidential award.
Guests of Honour: Prof. Dr. Sadaf Javaria, Director, Institute of Food Science & Nutrition, Gomal University, who led and supervised the judging; Ms. Ammara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety & Halal Food Authority, Dera Ismail Khan; Mr. Alamgir Khan, DSP; and Dr. Aisha Siddiqua, Director ORIC, Gomal University, as observer.
The judges
Prof. Dr. Sadaf Javaria (head of the panel) · Ms. Bella Kundi, Principal, Vocational Training College · Ms. Saira Bukhari, Assistant Director, Social Welfare & Women Development · Ms. Ammara, KP Food Safety & Halal Food Authority · Ms. Savera Naeem · Ms. Gul-e-Raina · Ms. Urwa Noor. Every dish was marked on the same five published criteria, and the panel’s decision was final.
What the day achieved
• 310 women recognised as producers. Each stood beside her own item before an independent panel, and went home with a certificate in her own name and a cash prize in her own hand.
• A producer register for the launch. All 310 are on our producer register; the 20 winners are first in line for home-kitchen certification before the launch of February 2027.
• A first layer of women’s leadership. About 60 women volunteer team leaders organised and led 31 teams, the role on which the network’s neighbourhoods will rely.
• Merit, seen from outside. One local page published its predicted winners before the results were announced, and confirmed afterwards that it had been right.
• Public ownership. At least 23 posts and reports were published by media pages and people outside the company, among them Damaan TV, Global Press News and Inkishaf Digital, and the women shared their certificates on their own accounts and in family WhatsApp groups.
• Institutions beside the women. The Police, the Food Authority and Gomal University stood with the women on the day.
“Hope for the hopeless, and a voice for the voiceless.”
— how the participants described the model, in their own words
Early signs, and the targets they serve
• Early signs (observed, not yet measured): hope; reach, as women who were not in the hall carried the day’s posts further on social media and WhatsApp; and trust between the women and the institutions that stood beside them.
• Targets for the launch, February 2027: 8,000 certified women home producers; 400 women-operated carts; more than 24,000 jobs for women from their homes. Every producer is paid weekly, digitally, into an account in her own name, and pays no fee and takes on no debt, ever.
• Measurement: Gomal University, as our independent academic partner, will take a household baseline before the launch and a midline at twelve months, and measure the social return on investment to a published method.
Since the day
• 29 October: our short report on Competition I and the joint invitation to Competition II went to the Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner and the Regional Police Officer of Dera Ismail Khan, the Vice Chancellor of Gomal University, the United Nations agencies in Pakistan and several embassies.
• 31 October: Gomal University and Faizna Green Bites signed a Memorandum of Understanding on internships, student volunteers, research and the independent measurement of the model. Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr. Naimatullah Baber signed for the University, with Dr. Aisha Siddiqua, Director ORIC, and Mr. Imranullah Marwat, Registrar, present.
• Alkhidmat Foundation, Dera Ismail Khan: a Memorandum of Understanding for the free training of 500 women under its Bano Qabil programme, 100 of whom will compete in ten teams with ten volunteer team leaders.
Next: Competition II, Monday 23 November 2026
Our second competition brings together more than 400 women: about 200 female students from different departments of Gomal University, and about 200 women from every walk of life, including women lawyers and nurses.
- Date and time
- Monday, 23 November 2026, 09:00 to 13:00 (Pakistan Standard Time)
- Venue
- Deewan-e-Khas Marquee, Mosmiyat Road, near Darya Band Road, Dera Ismail Khan
- Participants
- More than 400 women: about 200 female students from different departments of Gomal University, and about 200 women from every walk of life, including women lawyers and nurses
- Entries
- Each participant presents one food and one beverage made in her own kitchen, of any kind, local or international
- Teams
- Teams of ten women, each led by a volunteer team leader, with one helper per team and two numbered tables
- Judging
- Independent judges from outside the company, on the same five published criteria; the panel’s decision is final
- Certificates and prizes
- A participation certificate for every woman, signed by the Chief Executive and the Guests of Honour; prizes and certificates for the winners; and prizes for the 20 participants whose entries on our pages draw the most likes, views and comments
- How to apply
- Through a team leader. Last date: Thursday, 12 November 2026. Shortlisted women send a short video of their dish for approval; team leaders receive confirmation by Tuesday, 17 November 2026
- Send forms to
- WhatsApp 0300‑5792782 · events@faizna.com
- On the day
- Original CNIC required; latecomers cannot be admitted; photographs and videos only with each woman’s consent
- Invited
- The Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner and the Regional Police Officer of Dera Ismail Khan, the Vice Chancellor of Gomal University, the United Nations agencies in Pakistan and several embassies
After that
• Competition III — Saturday, 19 December 2026.
• The launch — February 2027, Dera Ismail Khan: 8,000 women home producers and 400 carts (targets).
Thank you
To our Chief Guest, DSP City Hafiz Muhammad Adnan, to DSP Alamgir Khan and the District Police; to Prof. Dr. Sadaf Javaria and every judge; to Dr. Aisha Siddiqua and Gomal University; to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety & Halal Food Authority; to the volunteer team leaders; and above all to the 310 women and their families. We also thank the Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner, the Regional Police Officer, the District Police Officer, the Director General of the Food Authority, the Vice Chancellor of Gomal University and our other invited guests, who could not attend because of official engagements; all have been invited to Competition II.
The public record
Twenty-three posts and reports published by media pages and people outside the company:
Competition II — announcements
Links open on Facebook, TikTok and Damaan TV in a new tab; nothing loads from those services until you choose to open them.
Join us
Women of the district can register as home producers at faizna.com/smes or on WhatsApp 0300‑5792782. Registration is free; there is no fee and no debt, ever; producers are paid every week, digitally, into an account in their own name.