Deadline: December 31, 2019.

Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is the largest national trade union of poor informal sector women workers from the informal economy. Established in 1972, SEWA has been working relentlessly over the last 4.5 decades organizing over 1.9 million women workers across 18 states in India and also spread its wings of action in 7 south-Asian countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan and Banglades

ELIGIBILITY

1. Open to woman aged 35 – 50 year

2. Woman who is a community-based leader of a primary cooperative or a grass- root Community Based Organization (CBOs)

BEENFITS

During these visits, the sisters would visit:

1. SEWA’s own cooperative bank – to understand how access to financial services like savings, credit insurance can lead to economic empowerment

2. SEWA’s tree-growers cooperative – to understand how eco-tourism and rural tourism can generate newer and modern livelihood opportunities for rural women

3. SEWA’s artisan cooperatives, federation and company – to understand how owning an entire garment value chain can enable integration of home-based women workers and artisans into every stage of a value chain leading to economic as well as social empowerment

4. SEWA’s agribusiness enterprise – to understand how organizing small farmers into their own agribusiness value chain can make agriculture of small farmers viable, sustainable and profitable.

5. The initial 7-day exposure visit will enable sisters from Africa to understand the SEWA model and also identify the areas of interest for them, which can then be explored further for Training of trainers.

6. SEWA will cater for international travel costs, local travels costs, accommodation and food costs during the visit.

OFFICIAL LINK

https://icaafrica.coop/en/strengthening-womens-access-economic-freedom-across-africa