Empowering women through resilient livelihoods in rural Rwanda
Sylvie is one of 180,000 people supported by WFP’s SMART project which empowers women and promotes resilience against natural shocks.
By Emily Fredenberg
The landlocked East African country of Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries on the continent. Despite agriculture being the main economic activity — access to agricultural land, finance and markets remains a challenge for thousands of smallholder farmers.
Over 38 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and almost one fifth are food insecure. Levels of stunting among young children remain very high — at 35 percent. The negative impact of climate change — most recently flooding — is also affecting national efforts to tackle poverty in rural areas.
Despite some progress on gender equality, women’s participation in Rwanda’s agricultural sector remains 20 percent less than that of men.
Sylvie is a farmer, business owner and a mother of one, who lives in the mountainous region of Ruhango in western Rwanda. She is one of 180,000 people supported by the World Food Programme’s (WFP) Sustainable Market Alliance and Assets Creation for Resilient Communities and Gender Transformation (SMART) project.
The project focuses on improving gender equality while promoting resilience to natural shocks by developing climate-resilient assets such as land terraces, marshland rehabilitation and irrigation schemes.
Activities are designed with a gender sensitive approach, including access to free mobile nurseries for childcare — enabling mothers to participate while their children are cared for — and addressing household dynamics.
For the past three months, Sylvie has been building land terraces to reduce erosion, increase soil fertility and improve agricultural productivity.
This provides her with employment in the lean season and vegetables to sell at harvest times.
“I run a small business selling vegetables during the harvest seasons and I know that the terracing work I am doing now will increase production and make vegetables cheaper,” she says.
This is good news for my business and improves nutrition for people in this area.”
Childcare helps to focus the mind
Free childcare has been a game changer for Sylvie. No longer reliant on the goodwill of neighbours — she can concentrate on her daily work.
“I drop off my daughter [Salia] at the nearby childcare centre every morning before work,” she says. “This gives me peace of mind and allows me to focus because I know that she is learning and socializing with other children in a safe space.”
The children are taught numeracy and literacy skills and also receive snacks which include porridge, milk, biscuits, and fruit.
The childcare centres also support parents with opportunities to learn about child nutrition and the importance of hygiene.
Change starts at home
Participants in the project are also encouraged to address gender equality and the division of labour at the household level.
Through the Gender Action Learning System (GALS), families are encouraged to consider pooling household resources and assets.
“I was able to show how many expenses I was covering myself, particularly clothes and food for our daughter,” says Sylvie, “Now my husband and I think jointly about our expenses and how we can save together for the future.”
The training sessions have also helped Sylvie’s husband, Hamimu, to recognize the importance of household dynamics.
“Sylvie would always do the cooking and cleaning with our baby on her back,” he says, “These discussions have helped me to realize that I can help Sylvie more at home — like taking care of the baby.”
Through her work on the SMART project — Sylvie has been able to save some money.
“We never really shared our visions for the future,” says Sylvie, “Now that we have been given a target — we are saving together to buy our own house.”
The SMART project is funded by the government of the Republic of Korea through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). Over 180,000 people will benefit from the project throughout 2020–2023 in five districts in Rwanda.
