COUNTRY: Ecuador, Sucumbìos Province
FIELD OF INTERVENTION: Socio-economic Development, Gender Empowerment
SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT:
The project aims at contributing to the economic development of those communities living along the Putumayo river, in the Amazon forest, in the border area between Ecuador and Colombia, with a particular focus on women, through the creation of new opportunities for social development in their own communities. The objective of the action is to reinforce the social and organizational process for peasant women on the northern Ecuadorian frontier, through the implementation and management of a network of social cooperatives (tiendas) for the storage and distribution of basic supplies, to promote the collective commercialization of the farms produce, in particular coffee and cocoa, and to facilitate food supply and distribution. At the same time, the network creation is intended to strengthen women’s social role and to promote local sustainable development by supporting income-generating activities.
OBJECTIVES: ● Create a network of social cooperatives (tiendas) managed by women’s organizations on the Putumayo riverbank. ● Encourage the participation of local communities through the promotion of dialogue, investigation and the definition of collective production and marketing strategies. ● Strengthen women’s role and social inclusion and promote local sustainable development.
ACTIVITIES:
- Planning of training program, selection of local trainers and participants to training modules.
- Training program aimed at those women who will manage tiendas’s activities.
- Development of the tiendas, of the related management and control system and of family organic gardens.
- Education program on women and children’s rights.
- Training meetings/workshops for income-generating activities and for the optimization of product yields.
- Organization of a bi-national meeting involving women’s organizations in the Ecuador – Colombia border region.
- Coordination meetings with non-governmental and civil society actors.
- Information and awareness-raising campaign about the project in the province of Trento.
RESULTS:
- Local communities acquire functioning and regulating criteria for the tiendas, which are collectively defined by local women’s organizations.
- Cooperatives are arranged and implemented.
- The persons in charge of the tiendas are trained.
- Tiendas’ network is provided with a functioning and visibility strategy.
- Organic gardens are created and made operational.
- Local community is made aware of gender and children rights.
- A bi-national meeting (Ecuador – Colombia) between women’s organizations along the frontier is organized.
DONOR: Autonomous Province of Trento
TIME PERIOD/DURATION: 2013 – 2019
PARTNERSHIP: Lead applicant: Terra Libera. Partners: Progetto Sud, Federaciòn de Mujeres de Sucumbìos.
