By Faith Ndunge Muisyo | Head of Region-Southern Africa Network/Team Leader
We came to you for support and you walked with us. Thank you. Our project “A Seat at the Table” recorded 120% success rate in attendance. 95 representatives from 10 countries out of a planned 80 gathered in the Kingdom of Swaziland. Hey had opportunities to share their experiences and learn how to improve the running of their Fairtrade organizations and businesses. This took place in the month of October during a regional conference organized by Fairtrade Africa – Southern Africa Network to celebrate 10 years of farmers and workers engagement. The event was officiated by the Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Kingdom of Swaziland Hon Phiwayinkosi Mabuza (standing in for the minister of Agriculture Hon Moses Vilakati). The conference was followed by a further two days where participants mainly farmers, workers, traders and Fairtrade stakeholders benefitted from training and equipped with tools to make their businesses more sustainable. Training themes included: What does successful governance look like in an organization; How to harness market opportunities to leverage various value chains and sales. Farmers and workers had a session after these trainings to apply their skills by democratically selecting board directors to steer the priorities of producers in the next two years. Unlike the previous two boards, there were two women selected to sit on the current board.
Dorothy, was one of the women participants from Malawi. She is an association member from Lakeshore Cane Growers Association and gives us her testimony. “I feel very privileged to have been invited as a female farmer to a regional event. Very often it is the men farmers who mostly attend conferences and I am unsure sure how best they represent our interests. It was my first time to board a plane. Who thought a simple rural teacher and farmer like me would have this opportunity. At the conference, I was also given an opportunity to make a presentation about my role as female farmers and what impact I have has in being a member of Fairtrade certified association. I spoke not only about my own my role, but spoke on behalf of Fairtrade women in Malawi as we are the majority farmers’ and workers yet we have the least say in our own associations.
I enjoyed very much the training session on governance. From it I learnt that if I need to see change in my association, I need to be actively engaged and participate when there are opportunities to be elected. When I am a committee member or in the board, I will be able to influence business decisions and bring up relevant issues on how farming affects and impacts women. I learnt that Governance is about accountability and transparency for all”.
It is such positive reports that validate our work. While we did not raise the full amount that we needed through the platform, the exercise gave our organisation visibility and raised awareness of our call and generated interest from individuals and sponsors that reached out to support in kind. We are grateful to you for making this happen.
We will keep you posted on additional impacts that will be generated from this project.
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