Report on Poverty Reduction and Capacity Building among rural Women

1. Report on Poverty Reduction and Capacity Building among rural Women

2. GRENCODA Executing Agency’s- Mission • To provide guidance and support to rural individuals, families and communities to improve their quality of life. “It does this by encouraging people’s participation in community based initiatives, which will build self-reliance particularly among small farmers, low-income workers, women and youth.”

3. Strategic Objectives include: • Development of and support for economic project activity so as to improve livelihood particularly for women. • Facilitating skills training and the acquisition of life skills for personal development to alleviate poverty. • Advocacy on policy issues that are impacting on the situation of marginalize persons/groups.

4. Programme Objective • To enhance livelihood skills of seventy-five 75 rural women in three (3) parishes.

5. Programme Criteria • Single Parent s from low income Households; • Young mothers with dependents and zero income (teenage mothers who dropped out of school due to early pregnancy ); • Education level – senior primary school leavers & secondary school dropouts and /or secondary school Graduates ; • Number of Children/Dependents of school age (3 plus); • Skilled or unskilled – technical, social skills possessed;

6. Programme Criteria Cont’d • Current employment status (unemployed, underemployed); • Interest in training as well as income generating opportunities; • Women struggling to manage a cottage industry or small business; • Women who may have experienced one or other forms of abuse or domestic Violence.

7. Programme Target/ Selection Women from the parishes of St. John, St. Mark and St. Patrick were the target. • Women were mobilized through handouts, posters, electronic media and public announcements. • Application forms were distributed to interested women • over one hundred and twenty seven (127) applied. • Selection team comprising agency’s staff selected eight-five (85) women • based on information provided in the application , advice and recommendations by community leaders.

8. Programme Target/ Selection • Successful applicants were informed by telephone/ letters. • Pre-training orientations held in two locations: • St. Mark/ St.John at the Anglican Pastoral Center • St. Patrick at the Leapers Hill Café • Packages with time tables, training materials & ground rules distributed.

9. Women participating in Pre- Training Orientation, St. John/St. Mark

10. Women participating in Pre- Training Orientation, St. John/St. Mark

11. Women receiving training package, St. John/St. Mark

12. Women participating in Pre- Training Orientation, St. Patrick

13. Women receiving training package, St. Patrick

14. Training Components included • Information & Communications Technology • Personal Development/Life Skills • Five Practical skilled area: • Sewing; • Agro Processing; • Plant Propagation; • Dried Fish Processing; • Animal Production. • Business Development training • Course content base on standards set by the National Training Agency (NTA) • NTA provided: • Training Manuals • Assessment to be done.

15. ICT and Personal Development • Eighty (80) women participated in Information & Communication Technology. Sixty eight (68) in Personal Development sessions held in five (5) Centres. • A total of ninety (90) hrs were covered in these two activities. • (In this components twelve (12) women who attended at Clozier ICT Centre did not have Personal Development at the time).

16. Information Technology session at Gouyave

17. Information Technology at Sauteurs Centre

18. Information Technology at Clozier ICT Center

19. Personal Development Session at River Sallee

20. The Practical skills: sewing Consisted of 108 hours and was conducted in two venues- Sauteurs and Palmiste (NEWLO). Twenty- three (23) women participated.

21. Sewing at NEWLO, Palmiste

22. Finished Garments at NEWLO, Palmist

23. Sewing at Sauteurs Center

24. Finished Garments at Sauteurs Center

25. Agro Processing Twenty-four(24) women participated in sixty (60) hours of training conducted at the Produce Chemistry Laboratory in Tanteen.

30. Plant Propagation Fifty- nine (59) hours of training, conducted at the Innovative Agricultural Seedling Centre in Happy Hill and the Mirabeau Propagation station; three (3) women participated

35. Dried Fish Processing Nine (9) women participated in thirty-eight (38) hours of theory and practical sessions conducted at the Anglican Pastoral Center and the Waltham Fish Plant

36. Women involved in Dried Fish Processing Fish Dryer

39. Class of Dried Fish at Waltham Fish Plant Theory sessions for Dried Fish Procession Dried Fish

40. Packaged Dried Fish

41. Animal Production Twenty (20) hours of training, sixteen (16) women participated conducted at two (2) venues - St.John and St. Patrick. Their training included field visits to the Oasis Chicken farm and Ms. Margaret Nurse and Belmont Estate Goat farms.

42. Field Visit to Oasis Chicken Farm

43. Field Visit to Oasis Chicken Farm

44. Animal Production Class – St. John’s

45. Business Development The Business Development component was conducted over a two week period by the GIDC Business Development Center. A total of eighty (80) women divided into four (4) groups did eight (8) hours of training per group.

46. Business Development in St. John/St. Mark

47. Business Development in St. Patrick’s

49. Outcome-Summary 127 women Applied for the programmeEight-five (85) were selectedEighty (80) women started ICTOf the eighty (80) who started 68 or 85% are graduating today having successfully completed the course offered by the programme.

50. Twelve (12) women discontinue in the programme Five (5) women found full time or part-time employment Seven (7)had health and/or domestic issues