CARE’s work with collectives to build group conscientization and collective empowerment is an important pathway to address the deep structural power and relational barriers that create and reinforce gender and socioeconomic inequalities. To better understand the role that collectives play in CARE’s work to create gender transformative food and water systems, CARE, with support from the Cornell Atkinson Partnership, carried out a wide-ranging qualitative investigation of its work with agricultural collectives in Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Georgia, and Bangladesh.
This learning brief explores Multi-Stakeholder Platforms (MSPs) as a potential solution to sustainably address existing organizational and institutional challenges in agro-sylvopastoral value chains in the delta area (Mopti-Tombouctou). The brief highlights how these platforms are increasingly at the forefront of all marketing events to foster sustainable markets linkages between different value chain actors, negotiate contracts, and access financial services to create inclusive and profitable market opportunities for small-scale farmers and businesses. Read More
The Rupantaran project builds on a decade of work with landless and smallholder farmers in rural Nepal to increase resilience and improve their livelihoods. Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) were added to the Farmer Field and Business School (FFBS) model as a key way to challenge social norms around women’s participation and decision making, explore opportunities and promote economic empowerment. Read More
The Her Money, Her Life project in Tanzania is maximizing the potential benefits women receive from their crops through a focus on entrepreneurship and collective investment. This brief outlines how the project uses VSLAs as a platform to address root causes of gender inequality. Read More