Like Jesus’ disciples, they were ignored when set out on a mission to join hands and transform their lives. These women were all disadvantaged financially. Susanne Mujawamariya, 64, says the group of 12 women from Shyogwe sector, Muhanga District, were seen as helpless poor individuals. Mujawamariya says this did not derail their mission of encouraging each other to set up income-generating schemes to improve their livelihoods and, ultimately, help transform their communities. The leader of Icyerekezo Co-operative that specialises in greenhouse tomato growing and processing says the co-operatives they formed were at first shunned by some women. She is, however, happy they did not give up, noting that the groups have so far been able to create sustainable enterprises that have helped increase members earnings. “We were 12 marginalised women when we were starting out. At first, many of the targeted women did not believe we could do much, but as time went on, no one either wished to be locked out of the group or questioned what we were doing,” she says. Mujawamariya says she used to grow fodder on small scale to feed her cows and increase milk production. “But the dream of self-sustainability was realised when we joined efforts together in a co-operative as disadvantaged women in Shyogwe,” she says. He says working in groups enabled members to nurture and take their projects to the next level. “All of us were living in extreme poverty, but we now have sustainable sources of income that have improved our living standards,” she says. Skills development Tomato sauce and juices made by Icyerekezo Co-operative, one of the 43 women co-ops in Shyogwe sector. (Photo.Julius Bizimungu) Mujawamariya says the members underwent a 12-month vocational training course conducted by Women for Women International (WfWI), an organisation that empowers women with practical skills and knowledge to make them key influencers in their homes and communities. “When we had just started, we did not know clearly what to do. However, a visit by officials from WfWI changed all that. When they visited us, they realised that we needed skills and knowledge to run our projects well. So, they offered to train us in vocational skills,” she says. She says women from different co-operatives were taught hands-on skills like basket weaving, tailoring, as well as co-operative management, and subjects related to women rights; economic empowerment, and saving, among others. Mujawamariya notes that they were also receiving Rwf6,200 each per month during the training, which her group members invested in a tomato growing project at the end of the course. This, she says, was the turning point in the group’s journey to success. Presently, Icyerekezo co-operative makes tomato juice, tomato wine and tomato paste that they sell to schools, restaurants, supermarkets and bars in and around Muhanga. The co-operative employs over other 20 people. Weavers co-op Belthilda Mukarunyange, who belongs to Itabaza Co-operative, a basket weaving group, says members could not afford school fees for their children and never subscribed to medical insurance before they started working in groups. “Life was tough. However, when we came together and formed Itabaza Co-operative, that opened doors for us, marking a new beginning to better and economically transform our livelihoods,” she says. The co-operative works with OAA Limited, formerly Rwanda Partners, a handicraft export company. Through this partnership, the group’s products have ready markets, both locally and internationally. “The good thing of working in a co-operative is that one gets easy access to better markets and finance. Since we started the co-operative, different organisations have also approached and trained us in various fields, which has helped improve our skills, enabling us to initiate many new business projects,” Mukarunyange says. Challenges However, women in Shyogwe sector have made great strides toward social and economic independence, challenges persist. Many of the tomato-growing co-operative members say the unpredictable weather conditions affect their projects. Mujawamariya says though they have greenhouses, climatic changes always leave them counting losses. She says, “if we can get facilities to provide emergency interventions, as well as acquire skills on how to address most of these issues, the co-operative could be able to increase production and earn more from our efforts.” “However, the biggest challenge is that we have huge demand, yet productivity is still very low. Our tomato juices, wines, ketchup, and pastes have a big market, but unfortunately we don’t have the ability to produce on a large-scale. We need more support to build our capacity to produce more products,” she notes. The basket weavers say they lack special facilities where they can operate from as they usually work from their homes, which Mukarunyange says makes it hard to co-ordinate members and projects. What district leaders say Beatre Uwamahoro, the Muhanga district head of gender and family promotion, says lack of requisite skills is a challenge that affects women’s ability to produce more, or come up with bankable projects. “Women have understood the benefit of joining co-operatives. So we are trying to address some of the challenges they face, especially skills development and business and project management.” Uwamahoro says there are 43 women co-operatives and small women groups in Muhanga, which promote women economic empowerment and transformation.
