Sustainable Origins^™ Strategy

Throughout all programs under Sustainable Origins^™, we actively promote the importance of the role of women in farmer organizations’ management teams and work towards creating economic opportunities for woman. We strongly support the participation of women in Farmer Field Schools (FFS) in order for them and their families to fully benefit from these trainings.

Depending on the country, women empowerment does not need the same level of attention as it naturally does not portray a constraint in each origin. For example in Ecuador we note women participation in FFS being above 50%, whereas it is closer to 5% only in Ivory Coast.

• Village Savings and Loans Associations

  Village Saving and Loan Associations (VSLAs) are a critical piece in Blommer’s Community Development work. The VSLAs are self-managed microfinance that provide communities with access to savings, credit and other capacity building opportunities.

  Association members are self-selected and self-governed. They meet on a weekly basis to deposit their savings and after 12 weeks of saving, have the opportunity to take credits up to 3 times the value of their savings. Members then repay the association within 3 months, with an interest rate that is set by the VSLA. Loans are typically used to invest in existing or new micro businesses, to pay for children education or to conduct collective income generating activities.

  At the end of a 12 months cycle, the savings plus interests are paid out to all group members.VSLAs have proven to be a unique way for woman to save money, earn interests and have access to working capital. Once the concept is proven in the community, we witness the creation of new VSLA groups that replicate the same model.

• Income Generating Activities

  We promote the creation of Income Generating Activities by providing technical assistance and material to women in cocoa farming communities. The type of activity varies depending on the needs identified by the community and the resources available.

  For example, Blommer has supported the construction of several greenhouses, lead and run by existing women groups. The greenhouses bring innovation into rural farming communities, improves food crop production, increase the variety of crops grown locally and thus the variety in diet in the communities. The woman groups usually sell a portion of the harvest to the local market, bringing additional income to the household. Another portion is usually donated to the local school canteen, and the rest is kept to feed the households.

• Functional Literacy

  The national literacy rates in Ivory Coast are still low at 43% overall and 33% for women. As part of our work in communities, Blommer trains women in 18 months literacy courses, supplying learning kits and paying for the instructors. Results show that achieving a level of functional literacy has an impact on the self-confidence of women as well as on social cohesion.

• Engaging Woman in Social and Economic Leadership Roles

  We strive to promote women throughout our programs to become increasingly visible and engaged in community social and economic leadership roles. For this purpose we conduct Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with women on the community level. The information gathered allows us to gain insight into the social, cultural and women specific roles within the community and household. Based on these learnings we further develop strategies to improve impact and efficacy.