Rural women are  farmers, wage earners and entrepreneurs, and are providing their families with food, which means that they are typically the primary users of forest resources. Yet women and other marginalized or vulnerable groups are often overlooked in forest management. 

At WeForest, we make sure that engagement with women is front and centre, and that all project activities are inclusive – including planting and restoration, which generate valuable income. Women’s interests are a core part of all project decisions and are a key factor for selecting the value chains that we support (nurseries, agroforestry, livestock husbandries). The tools and skills that our projects provide empower women, not only to start or develop their own businesses, but also to participate more actively and meaningfully in natural resource management, growing the confidence to speak out at community meetings or to run for committee positions. The benefits of this can be observed at household and community levels and beyond. 

This year’s International Day of Rural Women we recognise the thousands of women who are restoring forests and the ecological and financial health of their communities. 

This is  one woman’s story. Meet Gnilane Diouf.