Training and capacity building for women and girls in vulnerable situations - Bamako, Mali.

Association ORFED – Mali

Social Solidarity Economy entity description:

The ORFED association works essentially on training and capacity building for women and girls in vulnerable situations in working-class urban/peri-urban and rural areas.

To accompany these women’s groups, intervention logics based on SSE principles with an intersectional gender perspective have been put in place.

The organisation is based in the DIALAKORODJI / Commune I area of the Bamako district.

The ORFED Association is a member of RAESS.

Covid-19 context:

The COVID-19 pandemic has considerably affected the activities of the women’s associations, as the various meetings within the association have been suspended to comply with the measures taken by the authorities. These associations therefore suffer from a lack of communication, which makes their work more difficult.

General description of the Social Solidarity Economy initiative:

ORFED is mainly active in three areas:

• The first axis is the establishment of an economic and social activity to promote the empowerment of these women. ORFED works in the processing of seasonal products and vegetables. Today, the two women’s associations in Dialakorodji have been initiated into the processing of products such as tomatoes into sauces that can be packaged for a year.

• The second axis is the management of a credit fund. To help the participants in the programme to sustain their economic activity, ORFED introduced them to credit management by a facilitator in the national language.

• The third axis is literacy with a gender perspective. At this level, ORFED has undertaken the process of raising awareness of SSE with an intersectional gender perspective by focusing initially on literacy with a gender perspective, insofar as approximately 75% of women in these localities are illiterate. The training modules used are national language approaches to enable them to better master tools such as cash flow, association management, etc.

Key actions / activities:

The training of the Sutura and Kotogontola Associations in income-generating activities (IGA) and the social and solidarity economy. This technical training is complemented (thanks to the participation of the associations in the FDM network) by the integration of the gender perspective into the SSE tools so that the initiatives of the collectives’ women can really be vectors of transformation for the improvement of their quality of life.

A group of 15 young men is also undergoing a series of training sessions on masculinities and women’s empowerment.

Key partners:

The Association Quartiers du Monde (#QDM) through the women’s network called « Femmes du Monde » and funding from the Luxembourg embassy to support women’s empowerment.

Main results and impact:

The economic situation of the women has improved, as the income from tomatoes has allowed them to diversify their activities.

The women have also been taught how to process peanut paste and make liquid soap.

It is planned to train women in market gardening, focusing on tomato planting, harvesting and processing into finished products.