Dare to Trust: WoMin supports women's livelihoods in Madagascar

Trust builds trust. That is what I have learned from how Both ENDS works - within our team, with partners in joint strategies and advocacy, and in our relationships with partners as a funder. Trust is the foundation. It is what allows compassion to grow, what gives rise to hope, and what fuels real solidarity. This is especially powerful in contrast to the prevailing global trend of political and international leaders who prioritize hard measures and self-interest, ignoring relations of trust. It is even more reason for us to share what we have experienced when we put trust first.

LILAK has worked alongside indigenous women communities for over a decade, focusing on building capacity and advocating for rights to land, the environment, and bodily autonomy. Despite gaining recognition and trust from allies, the journey was challenging. Starting with limited resources, LILAK faced resistance, particularly from patriarchal leaders and the state, which often labeled them as adversaries. Nevertheless, they adapted and continued their work, grounded in solidarity and sisterhood.

Historically, the Sengwer community has lived in harmony with their environment, relying on forest resources for sustenance  and integrating conservation into their daily lives. However, recent government policies aimed at forest protection have limited their access to these ancestral lands. Although these regulations intend to protect the environment, they often disregard the traditional conservation practices of indigenous communities like the Sengwer, who have been natural stewards of these lands for generations.  Faced with these restrictions, the Segerger Women’s Conservation Group intensified their conservation efforts, viewing it as both a cultural duty and a means to safeguard their heritage. 

Fórum Suape decided to help several women’s groups in their network. First, they wanted to understand the desires and needs of each group, with the aim of fostering collective thinking and understanding their collective interests and goals. Five groups were selected, one group had difficulty in organizing themselves. They did not move forward and did not receive the money. The other four had wonderful results. 

Collectivo CASA in Bolivia, with support from Both ENDS and Dare to Trust, found great satisfaction in assisting women defenders with personal and economic needs. This support allowed the women to express their needs and develop a shared vision for their improvement. Although managing funds sustainably posed challenges, the women defenders demonstrated their skills by quickly creating a “Plan for Good Living,” (“Buen Vivir” in Spanish) addressing health, economy, empowerment, and food production. 

The pilot of Dare to Trust, facilitated by NTFP-EP, was implemented in two grassroots women’s organisations in the Philippines and Cambodia. The Dare to Trust project provided them with the independence to utilize the resources they have and thus handed to them the agency for more grounded and better judgment. By giving more liberty to the communities we are moving them away from bureaucratic processes and power structures, and towards more empowered decision making capabilities. 

Lumière Synergie pour Développement (LSD) has helped 63 individual women who all have had problems due to the development of a controversial train project (TER) in Senegal and a recent big earthquake. These communities are displaced by the train project, involuntarily resettled, their property has been destroyed and they have been harassed. Moreover, they have never been consulted and are still waiting to receive fair compensation.

The Dare to Trust-initiative, led by Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Centre with support from Both ENDS, empowers individual women with support for their businesses and a sustainable income. The program has successfully supported 40 beneficiaries, enabling them to grow their businesses and skills without the need for formal proposals. 

Yasores was supported by the Samdhana Institute in our Dare to Trust-project, a no-strings-attached way of funding. We only asked them to send a creative report in any shape or form they want about the activities. The Samdhana Institute send this story about the history and founding of Yasores by Mama Loretha, to report about their grant.

In the Kingdom of Eswatini, rural women have been the custodians of local and indigenous seeds and preserving biodiversity for generations. Officially founded in 2011, the Swaziland Rural Women’s Assembly (SRWA) has brought together over 20.000 women across the country to reclaim their traditional knowledge of seed sharing. In the Dare to Trust project, the SRWA has developed a new Agroecology Demonstration Center as a learning facility for rural farmers and produced a seed bank to help the 20.000 seed savers in their community.