Project profile — The Cooperative Model: Building Inclusive and Sustainable Communities

The expected results for this projects include 1) improved women’s participation in decision-making in households and co operatives, particularly with respect to economic activities and environmental considerations; 2) improved performance of co operatives in delivering products and services that meet the needs of women and men in member households, in light of climactic and environmental realities; 3) strengthened national and local support structures for co operatives in the targeted countries and economic sectors.

Results achieved as of March 2023 include: (1) increased participation of women on the boards of directors of the supported cooperatives, reaching parity or the parity zone in four out of five cooperatives; (2) trained 2,802 women and 1,814 men on various topics, including equal participation in managing family economic activities, leadership and management, agri-environment and climate change. These trainings aim to transform the dynamics within households and cooperatives by bringing women to participate in economic and institutional decisions. This seeks to meet the population's needs in a more egalitarian way; (3) implemented new products and services for the members of the cooperatives, which take into account the environment and the fight against or adaptation to climate change. For example, improved stoves that reuse waste from rice processing to heat water and more efficient boilers in Ghana; (4) five strategic development plans integrating the fight against and adaptation to climate change and gender equality aspects implemented by the five cooperatives; and (5) raised awareness of gender-based violence among nearly 1.1 million people in Ghana, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.