WUNRN
Global Fund for Women
RURAL WOMEN LEAD
IN SUSTAINBLE AGRICULTURE FOR GREATER RIGHTS & EMPOWERMENT
Marceline Mwamuye had
a busy weekend. On top of planting maize and tending to her farm animals, she
worked with local fishery experts to dig a pond on her half-acre of land in
Participant at
Global Fund convening in
The fish in her pond won’t just benefit her household; she wants to use
her new fishpond to teach others in her village to do the same. In Marceline’s
community, most families rely on farming and fishing from the ocean for their
livelihoods. However, with declining wild fish populations due to pollution,
overfishing and climate change, they are forced to find alternatives.
“There used to be fish in the ocean, but now there is nothing,” said
Marceline, who grows a variety of crops, raises chickens, goats and now, fish.
Marceline Mwamuye
planting a tree in the Karura Forest in commemoration of Dr. Wangari Maathai at
Global Fund convening in Kenya.
Through her
involvement with Global Fund for Women grantee, Grassroots Organizations
Operating Together in Sisterhood (GROOTS), Marceline uses her own farm as a
demonstration plot to teach women about indigenous plants and organic farming
methods that can reduce the cost of production, improve productivity and
increase household income.
While women produce 80 percent of food in
As a Global Fund grantee partner since 2003, GROOTS believes that women
can become “masters of their own destiny through direct participation in
decision making processes.” Since their establishment in 1995, they have
increased women’s representation as village elders, provincial administrators
and managers of educational institutions. The network has mobilized over 2,000
women-led grassroots groups across 12 counties in
The Global Fund partnership with GROOTS is part of a larger initiative
to support rural women’s groups in
Over 50 percent of Global Fund’s grant-making in Sub-Saharan Africa
supports initiatives led by and for the empowerment of rural women, like
Marceline, who are vital to the revival of African agriculture and the
strengthening of the women’s rights movement. Global Fund staff met Marceline
this October as GROOTS was launching its grant project.
“I’m not afraid to speak my mind,” said Marceline, who is also a retired
teacher and volunteer district education officer. “I will keep speaking until
everyone who needs to hear something has heard it.”