Women accused of being witches are permanently banned from village life. Until this practice can be addressed, processing shea butter and "dawa-dawa" spice produces just enough income for survival.
When an unexplained illness or death occurs in the rural villages of the Volta region, the finger is sometimes pointed at a local woman. Accused as witches, the unlucky ones are murdered, while others are stripped of all possessions and banished to the isolated Timari-Tama Gambaga (witches' camp) where they survive on the barest minimum. The 285 women at the camp have expressed an interest in commercially processing dawa dawa spice and raising livestock for income.
Machinery for processing dawa dawa spice, funds for livestock rearing, and revolving funds for income-generating activities will allow these women to gain economic independence.
Economically empowering accused "witches" will allow them to be self-sufficient and help raise awareness to stop this practice.
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
