Women farmers in Mali at the heart of our new project!

The brand new Dou Touloma project is officially launched! Indeed, the launch of the project took place last May, in Dioila, Mali, in the presence of the Minister of Rural Development. This project is possible thanks to the involvement of Malian civil society and local partner organizations as well as the participation of the Agricultural Alliance of Canada.

With a strong focus on promoting women's participation, Dou Tolouma aims to strengthen the socio-economic empowerment and well-being of women farmers in Mali. Ultimately, it is about reducing the socio-cultural barriers that hinder women's secure access to land and their entrepreneurial freedom. This project has two components and takes place in the regions of Dioila and San, Sikasso, Ségou and Koulikouro. 

A TWO-PART PROJECT

Dou Tolouma is a project with several facets and relevant actors for the emancipation of women farmers in Mali. 

On the one hand, the project acts on access, use and control of income and resources, and on the technical and entrepreneurial capacities of women farmers. It provides access to functional literacy and financial literacy services. This initiative aims to involve women farmers in the various agricultural sectors in order to strengthen their socio-economic power within their family and community in a context of climate change. 

On the other hand, the project will enable women's grassroots cooperatives and their unions (CFBU) to offer better services and products adapted to women in these regions. This improvement will be achieved by strengthening the capacities of these CFBUs in terms of participation, leadership and representation of women in decision-making bodies, as well as in the provision of products and services adapted to women.

In order to combat gender inequalities experienced by women farmers, the project will work with associations with specific knowledge of gender-based structural barriers; the National Federation of Rural Women of Mali (FENAFER) and its regional associations (ASPROFER). The cooperation of the different authorities, governments and federations will ultimately allow women to regain their economic and productive autonomy. The project acts on three complementary levels of intervention: the producing families, the producers' organizations and the National Federation of Rural Women (FENAFER) and Professional Associations of Rural Women (ASPROFER), in order to achieve its objectives. 

PLANNED ACTIVITIES

Several activities have been planned, which vary according to the regions and the issues faced by women farmers.

• A multidisciplinary training program on climate-smart production and transformation practices, self-esteem, gender equality and women's fundamental rights; 
• Implementation of a strengthening approach for PerformCoop organizations and training program for male and female leaders;
• Technical and economic support program for grassroots cooperatives and their unions for the development and implementation of profitable business models taking into account climate change adaptation;

Dou Tolouma wants to reduce gender inequalities in Mali for a real sustainable development in the face of climate change.