This is a rural “Women's Economic Development Enterprise that helps women to utilize their skills and earn wages to improve their economic status. The women are producing traditional tie-died textiles into colorful pressed cotton tablecloths and napkins, bedspreads etc. to market locally and internationally online through social media and networking. The profits generated are put towards establishing scholarships for rural girls’ education.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Mayagba
Describe the specific community with whom you will be working.
Technology has become an important tool for development which the project intends to utilize but does not have access as it is operated by rural women in one of the poorest chiefdom in Sierra Leone a country ranked 180 in Human Development Index where rural women are the poorest and least educated. 94% of them are economically active but are unpaid (UNDP-SL). The project’s goal is to addresses MDG Goal 3–Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women.
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
The women have hidden talents, wealth of experience and perseverance stories to share with the world. This project will help the women to share first hand stories about their lives, hopes, fears and experiences through storytelling and singing with the use of videos, digital and mobile phone cameras during production and show their finished products. This is a marketing strategy to promote the products by developing a website.
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established that will contribute to the success of the project.
Local hotels and motels in the country have shown interest in the project. Internationally in Canada, the Applied Agency at Fleming College has agreed to support the project with import/export logistics, and product development recommendations. Community Living Peterborough Women are interested to assist with the labeling and packaging of the product for international market. uMaMe Maternity will promote and market the products in stores.
How many participants do you think will be involved in your project?
The project has 20 members from 3 villages that will be trained on how to take photos and videos. 2 to 3 representatives with literacy skills from each community will be trained to develop online photo albums and YouTube videos for the website. 40% of the women in a chiefdom of about 17,000 population are interested in this project. Because this is a new initiative with limited resources we are starting as a pilot project with the current members
Besides the microgrant funding, what other resources and support are you seeking for your project to ensure its success?
The Kombra project is working on selling its products online since it has gained some international interest. We hope that Rising Voices will help this economic venture to become more visible online by promoting the project to your network, contacts, partners and donors to allow these invisible women to share their talents, stories and market their products.
Contact name
Mary Hawa Turay
Organization
Centre for Development and Peace Education (cdpeace)