Post by account_disabled on Feb 20, 2024 6:12:18 GMT
Today, on International Cooperative Day, we want to tell you how behind Fair Trade products there are brave stories of real women who show that some inequalities can be changed. Stories, in this case, of women who fight every day to raise their families. We will start by meeting Viviane and Omou, two women who work at the Wouol Association of Bérégadougou and who will tell us what a fruit like the mango has meant in their lives. Let yourself be moved by their stories! © Pablo Tosco/Oxfam Intermón Viviane Barro, worker in the mango drying section of Wouol Viviane Barro, worker in the mango drying section of Wouol © Pablo Tosco / Oxfam Intermón The Wouol cooperative was founded in the late 1970s in the town of Bérégadougou, within the Cascades region, southwest of Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries in the world. Its objective was to promote its own crops such as mango in an area where 90% of the population is farmers. El mango now offers work to around 600 women through this cooperative, which results in improvements for the entire community. Antoine Sombié, its president, explained how previously almost half of the mango crop rotted, which is why the idea of drying the fruit arose.
Wouol , which has 22 drying ovens, exports mangoes that after cleaning, peeling, cutting, drying, sorting according to quality levels, packaging and storage, travel as dried organically produced mangoes through Fair Trade networks. . Oxfam Intermón has been working with the Wouol Association since 2002, helping to change lives like that of Viviane Barro , a married woman Europe Mobile Number List with 4 children who works in the mango processing unit and who tells us how important this work is for her: Now I earn a fixed amount at the end of the month and, with that, I can pay for my children's education, my family's health, food and clothing. The cooperative also carries out social work, offering professional training to its workers, teaching literacy courses and investing in projects to protect the environment and improve access to drinking water. That is the great transformative role of this type of initiatives! This is what another of the workers, Omou Kone, comments : What I like most about this job is the solidarity that exists between the workers.
Addition, I have received training in food hygiene, drying and communication techniques. On the other hand, working has contributed to changing my role at home and in the community: I am a financially independent woman and I feel responsible. cooperatives-women Women selecting mangoes for drying in ovens. © Pablo Tosco / Oxfam Intermón cooperatives-women Mango drawer for drying in ovens. © Pablo Tosco / Oxfam Intermón Antoine Sombié, president of Wouol, does not doubt for a second what the secret of its success is. For him it is very clear: “ Make solidarity the driving force of our work and not money . ” Changing the lives of many people is more within our reach than we think: we encourage you to remember these stories every time you go shopping and opt for Fair Trade products: the quality of life of many families is in your hands. free fair trade guide free download Of course, the important thing when playing is that they meet these characteristics: That it can be played in a group , without discarding or eliminating anyone That new boys and girls can be incorporated into the game at any time.