On the International Women’s Day- celebrated annually on March 8th- we bring awareness to the human rights struggles faced by women around the world. Many women in developing countries want to earn an income, but might not have the access to opportunities and education.
I’d love to introduce you to the inspiring Coca-Cola’s 5by20 initiative, a program that provides skills training, financial resources, and mentorship to millions of women entrepreneurs around the world.
Using recycled materials that would have been discarded, women in the program create and sell beautiful products. Sandy in Mexico makes gorgeous purses and iPad covers out of unusable consumer packaging; Benedicta, from Uganda, collects used plastic straws and weaves them into bags, jewelry, mats, and even dresses. The red handbag below is made from bottle-caps by Cop Madam in Turkey, while the white one is made from fish scales collected by river banks in Brazil- how clever is that!?
Supporting these artisans and their businesses means supporting their family. I was astounded to learn that women are more likely to reinvest 90% of their income in food, education and healthcare for their children. As these women rise- their communities prosper. Over and over, studies have found a direct correlation between women’s empowerment and GDP growth, business growth, environmental sustainability, improved human health, and other positive impacts.
The 5by20 Initiative was launched in 2010 with the goal of empowering 5 million women entrepreneurs, in more than 60 countries, by 2020. To read more about the artisans who craft these unique, environmentally-friendly items check out the 5by20 web site. This International Women’s Day, let’s join together to support this important program for women entrepreneurs by helping them access they need to support themselves and provide for their own families.
I received products from Coca-Cola’s 5by20 program; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
Love this! So powerful.
I absolutely love supporting women!! What an empowering program!!! 🙂
oh, great
Thank you very much for supporting women.
we are for the same cause though from different location.
Please look at this proposal and advise me on ho you can help us to support women groups we ork with.
BELOW IS THE PROPOSAL THANK YOU IN ADVANCETrade-Fair Marketplace PROJECT PROPOSAL
CRAFTS AND TOURISM BUSINESS PROMOTION CENTRE
Our Mission serve to support, promote and demonstrate the impact of arts and crafts as a way of engaging communities for Job and wealth creation for sustainable lively hoods while exploring design, skills and talents through village/urban exhibition centers, with a purpose to create and evolve new sustainable ideals, assuring that performing and visual artists gain and share skills and ideas.
Major focal areas
Capacity building for craft making organizations, groups and traders in quality improvement and marketing
Providing a permanent exhibition center for crafts from the East African region
Centre of buying and selling crafts from the East African region for both local and international markets
Tourism information-providing information on tourism activities, destinations and attractions in the region
The TFMP offers you a wonderful travel across the region
Location:
The centre is located in Biharwe Town Board 12km from Mbarara town in – South Western Uganda – opposite Igongo Country Hotel and Cultural Centre on the Mombasa-Nairobi-Kampala- Mbarara-Kabale-Kigali-Bujumbura Highway and Kaberebere TC opposite Kikokwa health center 3 Isingiro District.
The Centre is focusing on the Crafts mainly because:
It is labor intensive and involves significant numbers of poor people especially Youth and women unable to enter gainful formal employment.
It is an informal sector activity and a relatively easy sector for poor people to become involved in, often as a bridge to more formal employment It often provides an additional income to existing activities
Most value is added in-country locally unlike agricultural commodities
There is market and customer demand and this helps to maintain traditional skills and cultural heritage.
Though there is considerable in-house competencies and expertise in this sector there are still gaps that need to be filled especially in quality control and marketing
Government support in terms of resources to this sector is limited so the centre will go a long way in helping communities, groups and individuals involved in this sector realize their dreams
The developing world supplies 80% of the world’s crafts and the industry employs a large proportion of the working poor. An estimated 70% of rural women in developing countries produce handmade items for their families use and/or sale
Tourism
Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in Uganda so it has a potential for transforming lives
The local people are not fully utilizing the opportunities the tourism industry has to offer and some are not even aware that they exist. So the Center intends to build the capacity of the local communities to actively participate in the tourism industry
Tourism and the craft industry go hand in hand. The promotion of both tourism and arts, creativity and crafts by the center will greatly enhance the industry, create jobs, wealth among participants and enhance responsible tourism.
Beneficiaries
The Centre benefits a number of stakeholders
Organizations, youth and women groups and Individuals with creative/innovative minds.
These benefit from the Capacity building programmes in quality improvement and marketing offered by the center
The Centre will offer permanent exhibition stalls at subsidized prices for organizations, groups and Individuals dealing in crafts to exhibit and sell their crafts
The center will link organizations, groups and Individuals to markets both inside and outside East Africa. It acts as a center for collection, quality assurance, marketing and Export
Tourists
The center acts as a one stop center for tourists seeking information on tourism activities, destinations and attractions in the region
The center also organizes visits for tourists to parks and other tourism destinations in the region through its TFMP Safaris
Government
The Government will benefit from having its people employed and from taxes and foreign exchange when the crafts are exported. The Centre will also supplement government efforts in Job and wealth creation, Tourism development and economic development.
Products
The center focuses on promotion of locally made crafts within the East African community Countries. This is intended to build the capacity of local communities, groups and individuals to be able to generate income from the sale of the crafts made locally using locally available materials for them to realize income and improve their livelihoods. The industry will offer employment opportunities to the local communities through the different stages of making and marketing the crafts
The products will include but not limited to:
Mats,
Baskets
tye and dye patterned cloth
woven materials-wall hangings
door rugs and ornaments,
beads
Cards
Wood carvings – stools, utensils etc
Metallic traditional tools
Services
Tourism Information center
Internet services
Tours and travel
Restraunt Facilities
Training facilities
Cultural troupe
Strategic plan 2012 – 2016
Activity Time Frame
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Scope and Map all Craft-Making groups in the region starting with Western-Uganda x x x x x
Establish a permanent exhibition center-with stalls for crafts groups from-Uganda,Rwanda,Burundi,Tanzania and Kenya x x
Scale up existing small-scale craft producers to meet the needs of mainstream buyers. x x x x x
Establish Craft Export-Linkages for mainstream craft producers and ensure fair trade x x x
Increase value of sales from small scale craft producers to mainstream and fair trade buyers(exporters) x x x x x
Establish network of local service providers in each of the 5 regions of Uganda and eventually in the entire Regional Countries. x x x x
Establish/develop in-country and intra-country intermediaries to facilitate trading activity with and access to support services from mainstream exporters x x
Promote and facilitate the exchange of learning between producer groups and buyers across countries in the region x x
Scale up existing small-scale craft producers to meet the needs of mainstream buyers and Exporters x x
Scope and map tourism facilities, attractions and services in the region and establish a data base x
Establish linkages and contacts with all service providers in the region x
Establish a one stop tourism information –Center for the region at –Biharwe H/QTERS x x
Establish and operationalise-EACTBPC-SAFARIS to ease movement of tourists across the region x x x x
Budget estimates
Activities Unit cost Frequency Total cost
Maping of all Craft-Making groups in Western-Uganda 400000 5 2,000,000
Radio Talk shows 500,000 4 2,000,000
Establish a permanent exhibition center-with stalls for crafts groups from-WesternUganda Rwanda,Burundi,Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda at large. 24,000,000 1 24,000,000
Scale up existing small-scale craft producers to meet the needs of mainstream buyers. 400,000 6 2,400,000
Establish Craft Export-Linkages for mainstream craft producers and ensure fair trade) 500 120000 60,000,000
Increase value of sales from small scale craft producers to mainstream and fair trade buyers(exporters) 3,000 12,000 36,000,000
Establish network of local service providers in each of the 5 regions of Uganda and eventually in the entire Regional Countries. 250000 10 2,500,000
Promote and facilitate the exchange of learning between producer groups and buyers across countries in the region 12,500,000 1 12,500,000
Scale up existing small-scale craft producers to meet the needs of mainstream buyers and Exporters
Scope and map tourism facilities, attractions and services in the region and establish a data base
Establish linkages and contacts with all service providers in the region
Establish a one stop tourism information –Center for the region at –Biharwe H/QTERS
Establish and operationalize-EACTBPC-SAFARIS to ease movement of tourists across the region
Administration costs 13,000,000 1 13,000,000
TOTAL 167,400,000
Hallo to the concerned personnel,am happy to have read about this program.
May i please know how one qualifies to benefit from this program and the contacts. Thank you.
Fatuma