In December 2020, the first batch of 25 women from Fairtrade cooperatives societies of Rural Commodity and Service Cooperative- “Bio Farmer” and “Kyrgyz Tokoy Bailigy”, became proud graduates of Fairtrade NAPP Gender Leadership School. The women leaders underwent a series of training as per the curriculum adopted from Fairtrade Africa and customized by NAPP to suit the need of our producers based on geo-specific details of the country. The curriculum consisted of covering 10 modules in 3 Training of Trainers.
The GLS focused on understanding the gender gap and introspecting the balance of women in leadership positions which meant including a more diverse team of leaders with different perspectives and a greater ability to contribute new ideas within the sector. To have both women and men in the Leadership school meant to help them reflect on the roles they performed as an individual and as a part of the supply chain that could gradually lead in establishing a sustainable foundation for a Gender equal agricultural society.
The convocation ceremony was held in Kyrgyzstan, Jalal-Abad city where the women were awarded certificates for successfully completing the Training. The event was co-funded by the European Union Commission (EU). The ceremony included the announcement of the result of the assessment undertaken by the leaders, and their overall performance during the course along with monitoring the results of the use of skills by participants learned at school followed by gender analysis of the country.
The graduates shared their experiences throughout the transformative process, the knowledge gained and the benefits they received from the Gender School such as essential leadership skills to face leadership challenges. Through the GLS training, the women leaders were able to improve their business acumen with a more sophisticated understanding of marketing, financial monitoring, and reporting, the art of negotiation, setting goals, and evaluation.
The Kyrgyzstan government representatives present at the convocation assured to support the successful candidates by providing them an opportunity to be part of the Government Gender program and hoping our graduates would utilize and derive benefit from it.
Way Forward for the Women Leaders:
- Post-graduation, 04 women members have submitted an entrepreneur proposal for creating an alternative means of livelihood. After internal screening by Fairtrade NAPP, 02 proposals have been selected for rolling out a Pilot Project to support the women to work independently in their respective market and supply chain. The projects will roll out from April 2021.
- Graduating to be Resource person @ country level for the Government of Kyrgyzstan.
- NAPP will also support these women to explore possibilities to avail funds from the local government to diversify and enhance their livelihood activities.
- Our world will never be the same after COVID-19 and we need to make sure it is better. At Fairtrade NAPP are fully committed to lead the transformation from the bottom-up approach and ensuring the Gender Leadership School will be spreading across the Asia Pacific.
The world will never be the same after COVID-19 and we need to ensure it is built back stronger and better which is only possible if women get equal access and opportunity. At Fairtrade NAPP are fully committed to lead the transformation from the bottom-up approach and ensuring the Gender Leadership School will be spreading across the Asia Pacific.
In the run-up to the International Women’s Day 2021, we were proud to have 8 women graduates lead the #IWD2021 #ChooseToChallenge campaign to strengthen the voice of millions of women who are fighting the daily battle in breaking the gender stereotype, and who believe that gender inequality can be disrupted one day. These leaders have a strong commitment to women empowerment and reflect on the challenges that millions of women in agriculture encounter. On Women’s Day, they chose to represent the voices of these women in bringing about a gender-equal society.
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NOTE: The women who graduated were also members of “Kyrgyz Tokoy Bailigy” which is no longer Fairtrade certified.
