Women's cooperative

A women's cooperative is a group of women formed around a well to develop income-generating activities (crafts, sewing, leatherwork, market gardening, food processing). Les Puits du Désert supports 16 of them, with functional literacy in Tamachek, management training and zero-interest microcredit.

Details

• 16 active women's cooperatives (including Attri, Tidène valley)
• Functional literacy in Tamachek over 12 months
• Zero-interest microcredit (max ~€150) and working capital
• Livestock rebuilding (goats) with solidarity 'repayment' of one kid per year

Related terms

• Water access in Niger — In Niger, access to drinking water is among the lowest in the world: 2 out of 5 Nigeriens have no access to safe drinking water.
• Water chore — The water chore is the daily time spent fetching water, often several hours' walk from home.
• Vegetable garden well — A vegetable garden well is dedicated to irrigating an oasis garden, typically managed by a women's cooperative.