New Women’s Groups with GrowEastAfrica

About one year ago, we told you about a pilot program with SPI partner GrowEastAfrica (then DBCO) to establish community vegetable gardens in Billa village and Soyama town in Ethiopia’s Burji region. (You can read part one hereand part two here.) You may recall that they are an Ethiopian diaspora-led group based in the US. We recently […]

Promoting Agriculture in Uganda

Seed Programs International’s primary focus is nutrition and agriculture, but they also support program components that ensure women have access to resources that support livelihoods. Those components can include skills training, farming supplies and inputs, and access to expertise from local leaders who support the entire supply chain from seed delivery to harvest and market […]

East Africa Update: Mary & Esther

Last month, we told you about Mary and Esther — how access to good vegetable seed and agricultural support from SPI’s partner, Seed Savers Network Kenya (SSNK), changed how they sustain their livelihoods. Both women are gardening in Kenya, part of the Horn of Africa. The Horn of Africa has always included arid regions that […]

Empowerment Partners: Seed Savers Network Kenya & SPI

Empowerment Partners: Seed Savers Network Kenya & Seed Programs International Partners are critical to Seed Programs International’s work. We could not do what we do without them. We’ve shared stories about one of our East African partners, Seed Savers Network Kenya (SSNK), in earlier posts and we’d like to tell you another story from our […]

Honduras: Women Taking the Lead in Community Development

Honduras: Women Taking the Lead in Community Development This month’s Women’s Empowerment Initiative story comes from Honduras, where Seed Programs International partner, FIPAH (Foundation for Participatory Research with Honduran Farmers), is working with local farmer groups to lay a foundation for self-sustainability through community-led education and local seed production. Farmers are organized into field schools […]

Working Women

A typical woman in Liberia has a lot of work on her plate in addition to the work of managing her household. And to be clear, this is work, often unpaid and unacknowledged — gathering firewood, fetching water, cooking, hand washing clothes, and taking care of family members. Household work can be a huge burden […]

Women Passing It On

This month’s program highlight brings us back to Liberia, where SPI partner REAP (the Restoration of Educational Advancement Program) is providing women with access to resources and education. One way REAP facilitates empowerment for young girls and other students is by integrating school gardens and agriculture training into primary school curriculums. More than 30% of […]

Women’s Group of Bong County, Liberia

Did you know that women farmers produce more than half the developing world’s food, yet own less than 2% of land? Did you know that if women had the same access to quality seeds, tools, and knowledge as men, the increased agricultural output in 34 developing countries would lead to 150 million fewer hungry people […]

Graduating from Maize to Vegetables

Esther is a farmer from Makongo village and a member of the Makongo Farmers Network in south-central Kenya, where she owns ½ acre of land. She was forced to relocate from Eldoret in western Kenya due to political instability during the 2007-08 Kenyan crisis, which displaced about 600,000 people. A single mother, today she supports […]

Women in Gardening: Sowing Seeds to Grow Food

For over ten years, Seed Program International has partnered with Church Aid Incorporated (CAI) in Liberia to support capacity-building for women. As part of the response to Liberia’s Ebola outbreak, which claimed over 5,000 lives and left more than 25,000 orphans in Liberia and the surrounding countries, CAI also offers services to survivors to help […]