Women in charge

For women to gain access to resources and have a say in their own destinies continues to be a major challenge. In the Mozambican districts of Tete and Changara, female-headed households have taken things into their own hands, forming groups to provide clean water and to construct toilets to improve family health. These groups are also playing a dominant role in the area by producing seeds. The group in the village of Salinhanga runs a productive goat-keeping enterprise which earns revenue through the sale of goat kids to other group members. All these initiatives are part of the Projecto Cobarema (community-based resource management), an initiative supported by the German NGO Weltfriedendienst. Since 1999, Projecto Cobarema has been working to increase communities self-reliance and to conserve the hilly areas flanking the Zambezi River valley. Other activities include farmer-to-farmer extension, farmer exchange visits, seed fairs and training programmes organised in conjunction with Mozambique s Department of Agriculture. [caption to illustration] Want to network? Go to the village pump. WFD Projecto, Degue/Boroma CP 561 Tete, MozambiqueFor women to gain access to resources and have a say in their own destinies continues to be a major challenge. In the Mozambican districts of Tete and Changara, female-headed households have taken things into their own hands, forming groups to..