Empowering Women to End Poverty and Hunger in Guinea

Each harvest season, Aïda Dia saw cassava, mango and other foods go to waste because there was no infrastructure or know-how to transform or preserve the products. A pioneering initiative changed that in 2022.

Aïda’s town, along with two others in Guinea’s impoverished Boké region, is now equipped with a food-processing center that empowers local women to become self-reliant while addressing persistent food insecurity and childhood malnutrition.

Launched with the support of Alcoa Foundation, the initiative is the brainchild of Kanya Donse Fanyi (KDF). This Guinea-based non-governmental organization promotes micronutrient-rich local products to fight malnutrition and rural poverty through the processing, conservation and transformation of local agricultural products.

“We used to prepare cassava as a family, but this food was wasted because not everyone ate it,” said Aïda, who is a participant in the KDF initiative. “Now, I can transform this cassava into foufou, gari and atieké, which my family members like a lot. This allows me to feed the whole family and not waste food.”

With the foundation’s $192,000 grant, KDF established three food-processing centers in the towns of Sangarédi, Kamsar and Kolaboui. Each facility is run by a group of 15 economically vulnerable women, who receive ongoing technical training and material assistance. Infant food that the groups produce is given to local children identified as malnourished, while the rest is sold in the participants’ communities. A portion of each group’s profits is reinvested to increase food production, and the remainder is distributed among the members.

Closing the Gender Gap 
Income generation, especially for women, is an ongoing issue in the region, where the median income is below the minimum threshold of extreme poverty set by the United Nations (UN). While the land is rich in minerals, only 2 percent of the population is employed in mining activities. Agriculture remains the main source of income for approximately 40 percent of the region’s households, and the majority of its practitioners are women. 

“Despite growing their own food, many women must purchase additional items to meet their dietary needs,” said Abiba Diallo Mayaki, President of KDF. “The lack of alternative sources of income, limited access to sufficient products in the markets and inadequate food in the households have created general food insecurity in all three towns. A consequence of this is an increased rate of disease and childhood malnutrition that remain untreated due to poor linkages with health centers and difficulties accessing specific health services.” 

The food-processing centers have mills, solar-powered food dehydrators, scales and other equipment purchased with Alcoa Foundation funds to allow participating women to process and package locally sourced foods, which are also purchased with grant funding and a portion of the group’s sales. 

In addition to learning how to use and maintain food processing equipment, program participants received training on food packaging, labeling and storage. They were also trained on governance within the groups, simplified accounting, and marketing and commercialization of dried agricultural products.

The first production run at all three facilities yielded enough nutritious infant food to feed 450 malnourished children. This production remains ongoing. Other finished products, which are made with seasonal and locally sourced ingredients, include candied ginger, dried mango, dried sorrel for bissap juice and corn couscous.

“This program is an opportunity to do something to support myself by doing something I love,” said Houssaïnatou Sory Diallo, who lives in Sangarédi. “I have learned to process food, and this is very useful for my family’s diet. The production of infant food is also very useful for my family.”

Community Outreach  
Another important aspect of this KDF-led initiative was community outreach. Culinary demonstrations and presentations held in 25 villages drew nearly 350 attendees, including community leaders and mothers of malnourished children. Covered topics included transforming common foods, nutrition for pregnant and breastfeeding women, nutrition and related care for newborns to toddlers, proper food and environmental hygiene practices, and a healthy and balanced diet.

An additional $176,000 grant from Alcoa Foundation is ensuring the initiative’s continuation in 2023. KDF’s focus in this second phase is on boosting participants’ earnings by increasing the volume and variety of products processed. The organization also plans to continue monitoring and addressing childhood malnutrition, as well as providing food and nutrition education in the region.

“Alcoa Foundation is proud to continue funding for this program that expands income generation opportunities for women in Guinea and addresses food insecurity,” said Rosa Garcia Pineiro, President of Alcoa Foundation. “This second year will allow the project to build on the achievements of the first year and support the resilience of the impacts.”