She Grows
Working with 1,000 women in Mali to grow sustainable businesses.Why is this project needed?
Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world where women have few opportunities to earn money. Most women depend on what they can grow on their land for food and income, but the climate crisis is making this even harder.
To make matters worse, women living in Mali have less access to healthcare, education and jobs. They are also prevented from managing the trees and land they rely on.
Our aims
The three-year She Grows project aims to support 1,000 women with the tools and training they need to earn an income from tree products. Women will work together in enterprise groups to process and sell shea butter. This will help them gain financial independence and increase their ability to support their children.
They will also plant 5,000 trees and learn how to care for them and help their local forests thrive. These trees will help to keep the soil fertile, the positive effects of which will be felt by the whole community.
Our progress
The project kicked off around the time that COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. We adapted our project to provide essential information on the global health crisis to the people we work with, including how people can prevent its spread.
Women from ten cooperatives in the region have formed enterprise groups and some training has started. They also received shea butter processing equipment as well as tools and training to help them restore and manage their land and trees.
Our partners
This project has been made possible thanks to match funding from the UK government through UK Aid Match.
