Burkina women spice up their profits
5 January 2009
At
50 years old,
Halimata Ouedraogo has 10 children. Divorced, and receiving no financial support
from her ex-husband, Halimata has had to bring up her large family using her own wits
alone.
Fortunately, she has a skill that, in Burkina Faso, is in great demand. Since
the age of 17, she has made her living from soumbala, a spice which
her mother taught her to make. Soumbala is popular as a
condiment that gives a good taste to sauces, soups and stews.
Halimata manages to clothe, feed and send all her children to school with the
money she makes from the spice.
In one week, she can transform a 100 kilogram sack of neere seeds into
soumbala and sell it on, making an average profit of £6. She is also lucky to have a
customer who buys her soumbala to take to market in the towns of Dori, Gorom
Gorom and Markure.
So far, so good. But now, with help from DFID, Halimata is building her business even higher...
Joining together
Halimata belongs to Wend Panga
('Power of God'), a women's self-help group that is currently receiving help from the
development agency International Service (IS), as part of a scheme supported by DFID.
Through this initiative, an IS development worker provides expert assistance to Wend Panga, as well as to 16 other women's groups in the area - reaching some 300 women in total. The area's women's groups are often poorly organised and have in the past suffered from low profits and faced difficulties in getting loans to increase their output. There is a real need to improve their business sense and widen the opportunities available to them.
The IS representative set to work with the women of Wend Panga by encouraging them to work collectively, rather than just as individuals. At first, there was opposition to this idea from the women's husbands. But when the women pulled together to negotiate a better deal with the group's parent organisation on prices and payment (particularly for soumbala), the men were won over.
The development worker also helped the women find a market for their products in the capital Ouagadougou, helping them to write a sales brochure, which brought in orders from five other towns.
Halimata's group now processes a 100 kg sack of neere seeds every month, instead of one sack in three months. And they are paid the full market price, whereas in the past it was only a third. Each woman now makes 875 francs (£1) a sack rather than 250 francs, and all have increased their incomes from finding new markets. They have also branched out into making oil and soap from neem and Banalité seeds, and producing dried fruits and vegetables.
Reaching greater heights
Although
the project is still young, the women have made enough to buy
condiments to make their family meals more tasty and nutritious. They also have
money to buy soap and contribute to medical and school fees.
This has had a positive effect at home. Rather than having to ask their husbands for money, they are now in a position to contribute to the household’s expenses themselves.
As a result of all of these changes, the women feel more in control of their lives. They have greater confidence and enjoy working together as a united group. And, now that two of Halimata's daughters have learnt the art of soumbala-making, it is hoped that future generations of women will be able to build on what the women of Wend Panga have learned to lead independent, and prosperous, lives.
Facts and stats
- The development worker who is helping the 17 women's groups is funded by International Service from funds made available via its Partnership Programme Arrangement (PPA) with DFID.
- Under the PPA, DFID funded International Service with £1,470,000 for 2007-8. In 2008-9, funding will rise to £1,514,100.
- Wend Panga is linked to the Association Nakoglebzanga des Artisans du Sanmatenga (ANAS). ANAS is an umbrella organisation that provides 23 women's artisan groups in the province of Sanmatenga with skills training and an opportunity to meet and collaborate.
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