Togo:
Grain mill

The goal of the project was to reduce women’s workload in the household by providing them with access to and training on the use of a mill for grinding soybeans, corn and other grains, while at the same time sensitizing the community about gender issues and providing training for the women beneficiaries on business management, literacy skills and activities to generate income from the goods produced by the mill. This would ultimately enable women to participate more actively and take on more leadership roles within the community.

The project was organized around four main pillars: 1) buy and install a diesel-run mill for grinding the grains; 2) train 30 women beneficiaries on income-generating activities through the use of the mill; 3) train women and other members of the community on gender issues and women’s leadership roles; and 4) provide literacy and business management courses to the beneficiaries.

Following the project, many of the beneficiaries reported that they participated more in the decision-making regarding expenses in their household, many reported that their household workload had decreased by between 15% and 20% and almost half reported that they had been able to take on leadership positions in religious groups, local associations and other community organizations.