Economic Empowerment of Rural Women: Income Generating Project: Development through Agricultural Based Entrepreneurship in Machinga District

Women in the Machinga District of Malawi are marginalized through lingering patriarchal systems combined with poverty and environmental degradation. The district has a population of almost 370,000 people, most of whom survive on less than $1.00 a day that comes primarily from agricultural labor. Women do not have equal access to resources for agricultural production, which further limits their income. This project works against the reality of women in the Machinga District by putting market power directly in their hands. Through community partners, 200 women will be recruited for entrepreneurial training to head income generating projects. The project includes marketing initiatives to overcome the lack of links between the local producers and national markets. By using the household model for development, this project works to help not just individual women, but also the households they manage.