Gender Equity for Congolese Women Farmers

Every year since 2015, On the Ground (OTG) has funded gender equity programming in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to expand and strengthen the role of women in regional coffee production.

Despite being responsible for up to 80% of Congolese coffee farms labor, women are undervalued, under-compensated and generally oppressed. Literacy and basic education opportunities are markedly lower for Congolese women. Few have an equal voice in basic household finances, and even fewer own property or comprise leadership roles in local governments or coffee cooperatives. While they complete most of the coffee farming, their husbands usually control and spend the money earned from this work. OTG’s gender equity work seeks to change this. One crucial component of this work is the Gender Action Learning System (GALS). GALS is a year-long schedule of workshops with women farmers and their husbands to plan together the management of their coffee farming activities and finances and all aspects of their daily life in an equitable way; where the women have the same power in decision-making as their husbands. 

On the Ground has supported more than 1,500 women and their husbands in completing this program since 2016. Each year the waiting list grows longer as word of this program spreads throughout communities. In 2017, in response to requests directly from coffee farmers, OTG expanded to include more communities and three other activities alongside GALS. Our full Gender Equity Program has since included four components:

We are still in need of funds to complete the current year of this program with 250 women students and their husbands across ten communities: Mbasha, Kiata, Bwisha Bishange, Buchiro, Vomo, Karango, Ruhunde, Kiniezire and Mukwidja (indigenous pygmy community). Can you join us in supporting these women and their husbands? We are a 501(c)3, so all donations are tax-deductible.