As a result, both of the new cooperatives are interested in partaking in and benefitting from the F2F program.

Here are some further updates from that trip into the field.

Working with the Nour Atlas Cooperative

The Farmer-toFarmer team sat with the newly formed Nour Atlas Cooperative to discuss steps for establishing their initiatives.

Following a recent IMAGINE Women’s Empowerment workshop, 18 women in Tidili Mesfioua translated what they have learned during the workshop into a strong cooperative. The host members were inspired by Aboughlo cooperative, and now they are working to produce couscous. They have a vision of developing their cooperative even further in the future and adding new products to their list.

The F2F team gave some direct recommendations to the cooperative. They suggested that members meet at least once every two weeks and in order to discuss plans. They also encouraged the women to reach out to the commune president regarding a location/building for the cooperative.

Local Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer, Rachida, also guided the members to some provincial and regional markets and welcomed them to visit the Aboughlo cooperative in order to get more ideas on production and selling.

The host priorities are workshops on organizational operations, marketing, and planting barley. They also aim to find a building and materials for the cooperative.

The F2F team will be working to prepare an assignment in this regard and make sure to have more HOs to benefit from it.

The Women of the Amzawro Cooperative

Caption: Meeting with the women of the Amzawro Cooperative to discuss further steps to success.

The F2F team members were grateful to meet the 15 active young women who took a priceless opportunity after attending the IMAGINE women’s empowerment workshop, and with the support of the local men’s association, to create a cooperative. This is the first cooperative in the village to produce and deliver pastries within the community.

After a good conversation with the women, it was clear that they would like to start a tree and plant nursery project. The men’s association helped them obtain four hectares of land for this project, but they still need to dig a well and build greenhouses.

F2F can help with recruiting an expert volunteer in order to develop a business plan for this agricultural project, which will help the host apply for grants. The women may also be able to benefit from the trees Ecosia has helped HAF subsidize this tree-planting season.

Building relationships

Farmer-to-farm provides more than just agricultural skills for its beneficiaries. Life skills are surely incorporated into many aspects of the program.

Ait Bouali and Amzawro are two villages next to each other and unfortunately have conflicts. The Farmer-to-Farmer team invited the president “Hayat” of Nour Atlas Cooperative from Ait Bouali village to meet with the members of Amzawro Cooperative in Amzawro village, in order to build relations and exchange experiences between each other.

This was a successful step towards helping the women learn the importance of collaboration to attain their goals.

When you donate women’s empowerment projects, you help empower women with all the skills necessary to achieve their goals and improve economic circumstances for the entire community.