This project will support Batwa (Pygmy) women living around Kahuzi-Biega National Park in South Kivu, DRC, by helping them establish sustainable income-generating activities. Women will receive vocational training, startup kits, and business coaching to develop small enterprises such as agriculture, handicrafts, livestock, and petty trade. The project will improve household income, strengthen women's economic independence, and reduce poverty.
Batwa women living in and around Kahuzi-Biega National Park face extreme poverty, social exclusion, and limited access to land, education, and employment. Many families lost their traditional livelihoods after being displaced from the forest and now struggle to meet basic needs. Without sustainable income opportunities, women remain highly vulnerable to hunger, exploitation, and gender-based violence.
The project will equip Batwa women with vocational training, entrepreneurship skills, startup kits, and ongoing mentoring to launch small income-generating businesses. Activities may include vegetable farming, goat raising, tailoring, handicrafts, and small trading. By increasing women's economic capacity, the project will improve family livelihoods, promote self-reliance, and strengthen community resilience.
The project will create sustainable livelihoods for Batwa women and their families, increasing household income and reducing poverty. Economically empowered women will invest more in their children's education, nutrition, and healthcare while becoming active contributors to local development. In the long term, the initiative will strengthen social inclusion, gender equality, and resilience among one of the most marginalized indigenous communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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