Tourism is one of the most important economic sectors in Botswana, in which a relatively large number of women work and which was hit particularly hard by the Covid 19 crisis. The project region is located around Maun, a starting point for travel to the Okovango Delta and thus in an area that is heavily geared towards tourism with lodges and other offerings and offers few alternative employment opportunities.
The project gives women the chance to build up alternative sources of income in typical local businesses such as vegetable growing, chicken farming and basket weaving. Training in relevant areas such as bookkeeping gives them a good foundation for their business and increases their chances of success. The aim is to help them build long-term business relationships that are not, as has often been the case in the past, geared exclusively to tourists.
At the same time, the project serves the survival of endangered wild animals such as lions, wild dogs or leopards. Especially around the Okavango Delta, there are numerous conflicts between livestock and wildlife due to excessive cattle ranching. Lions have been shot or poisoned. The situation was made even more dramatic by the lack of tourists during the pandemic, which caused many poor people to poach.
The Women Empowerment Project thus serves both the people and the species conservation. The women’s groups are empowered and enabled to earn money with their local products, which makes them independent from cattle farming.
„While the women’s children attend our E4C playgroups, the women have time to work on their projects and expand their business. The empowerment of women is the empowerment of the world.“
– Wabotlhe Letubo, Director SAVE Botswana –
The 3 project sites (Quqao, Matsaudi and Nxagara) are located in a very rural area close to the world famous Okavango Delta nature reserve.
Prior to Corona, tourism companies were the main employers in this region and employed a correspondingly large number of local people, including many women. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, this source of income for the people in the region has almost completely disappeared.
Women Empowerment Matsaudi
Women Empowerment Quqao
Women Empowerment Nxaraga
EMPOWERING WOMEN IN QUQAO
Initial situation: In Quqao, there is a group of 18 women who already grow vegetables together on a small scale. They now want to expand their project to a “Large-scale Vegetable Garden”. They plan to sell the harvest to lodges further away and to schools, for example, in order to create an income with which they can feed their families. The cultivation of different types of vegetables should ensure a varied offer for customers.
The funding will enable the installation of a solar system and a water supply for irrigation of the fields, among other things, which will be significantly enlarged and protected with nets for the project.
