Deep in the semi-arid region of Pernambuco, a network of women farmers and artisans called Rede de Mulheres Produtoras do Pajeú are working to strengthen and empower women. On July 11th their extraordinary efforts received an important recognition, winning the BNDES award for Best Practices in the Social Economy category. “[…] We were happy to receive the recognition, and above all to be able to share this dream with women in other communities. If we know that it is possible, then we can find more people to join our efforts in creating this ‘utopia’ to make it a reality,” says Marli Almeida, leader of the network.
The organization is composed of 26 groups of women from 10 municipalities in the Pajeú region. As a network, these women work to improve their productivity, working conditions, and technical capacity while maintaining environmentally-friendly practices. Their initiatives have had a significant impact on the lives of these women, who, in addition to increasing their product sales, have also generated income for themselves to achieve economic independence “[…] The direction of our efforts has proved to work! Through solidarity and cooperation, we can generate income and promote economic inclusion in social enterprise”, says Marli Almeida.
Learn more about their work here: www.redemulheresprodutoraspajeu.org
