Project 01
WASH and Women empowerment project in coffee-and-tea-growing communities of Kenya and Tanzania.
GWC, The Starbucks Foundation, Amref Health Africa and Tanzania Association of Environmental Engineers (TAEEs) have developed a high impact partnership to empower women and girls in coffee-and-tea-growing communities of Kenya and Tanzania.
The projects are building community resilience and improving the health and economic status of smallholder women farmers and their families.
The initiative is part of The Starbucks Foundation’s commitment to positively impact 1 million women and girls in coffee-, tea-and-cocoa-growing communities globally by 2030. The projects have supported work in Kenya’s Embu, Meru and Tharaka-Nithi counties and Tanzania’s Kilolo and Mufindi districts (Iringa region).
GWC and its women for water platform manage the effort and collaboration with its implementing partner Amref Health Africa and TAEEs on the ground in Kenya and Tanzania, building the capacities of local partners and removing barriers to community WASH, education, health and nutrition in these communities.
The partnership is improving the health and economic status of women and girls in coffee-and-tea-growing communities of Kenya and Tanzania by:
- Improving community access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH);
- Establishing entrepreneurship groups;
- Promoting women’s leadership and training on various agriculture techniques; and,
- Training on agriculture techniques, entrepreneurship skills and financial literacy
Women and girls’ livelihoods are being improved through infrastructural development and outreach campaigns. This includes the extension of clean water access pipelines, the rehabilitation of water kiosks, training in WASH facility construction and the promotion of sustained behavior change in proper WASH practices. Additionally, women are receiving entrepreneurial training and resources to support income-generating activities.