Besharam Cookies started with a cookie I baked one day. When my friend tasted it, we thought, why not start a small business selling cookies. So in September 2024, we launched Besharam Cookies. At first, our only goal was to earn some money. But during one of our baking sessions, we started talking about something more important. We asked ourselves what we were doing to give back to society. That is when we decided to donate 50 percent of our profits an NGO that teaches football to the visually impaired; Divyang. This small idea slowly turned into something more meaningful and became our CAS project.

LO3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

To start Besharam Cookies, we had to plan many things step by step. First, we looked at what other home bakers were doing. Most people were making cakes, but not many were making cookies the way we wanted to. We searched for eggless recipes online and tried many different ones until we found what worked best. Then we had to find good-quality ingredients at a low cost. We calculated how much each cookie would cost us to make. We also had to think about simple and affordable packaging and how we would deliver the cookies. All of this required planning, research, and teamwork.

LO6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance

When we decided to donate to Divyang we wanted to support two global issues: quality education and reducing inequality. We knew that children with visual impairments often do not have access to the same resources as others. By helping them in a small way, we hoped they could get better educational tools and training. This could give them more chances in the future and help them be treated more equally in society. We wanted to make sure that our work, even if small, helped others in a meaningful way.

LO7: Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions.

In the beginning, we planned to keep all the profits for ourselves. But later, we thought about how lucky we were to have families who supported us and gave us everything we needed. We thought about other kids, especially those who are blind, who may not have the same support. This made us question if keeping all the money was the right thing to do. We decided it would be more fair and kind to donate half of our profits. It may not be a big amount, but we believed it was the right choice. This taught us how important it is to think carefully about the choices we make and how they affect others.

Besharam Cookies started as a fun idea between my friend and me after I baked a batch of cookies. At first, we just wanted to earn some profit, but after a conversation while baking, we realised we wanted our project to mean something more. We decided to donate 50 percent of our profits to a school for the blind. This turned our business into a CAS project, and we began planning everything carefully, from finding recipes and suppliers to calculating costs and packaging.

Through this experience, I understood how even small actions can connect to global issues like quality education and reducing inequality. Donating to the blind school helped us support students who often don’t get equal opportunities. We also thought deeply about the ethics of our decisions. Instead of keeping all the profits, we chose to give back because we knew we had the privilege and resources that others may not. This project taught me the value of planning with purpose and thinking about how my actions can help others.