Enterprising Women

(This is Ann's article on the FADE women's collective, for publication by the Joining Hands newsletter of the Presbyterian Church USA).

What could you do with a thousand borrowed dollars? The members of FADE (Femmes Actives et Developpement), a women’s collective in Yaounde, Cameroon, used a loan of 500,000 CFA (slightly over $1000 U.S.) from RELUFA’s Credit Against Poverty program to purchase a large gas-heated food dehydrator, or sechoir. They were among the first to apply when the micro-credit program was launched in January 2007; nearly a year later, the women evaluate their progress and look toward the future.

(The stately sechoir)

(inside: drying pineapple!)

A visit to their November meeting finds five FADE members hard at work at the home of Marie Tchebembia, the group’s leader. They are clearly very proud of their sechoir, which gleams in a nearby outbuilding. When put into action, it gently dries succulent bits of local produce into delicious ready-made snacks or meal ingredients. Today’s order of business involves preparing a quantity of vegetables for drying, and the women sit outside in the shade, surrounded by large bowls of greens (kelen keleng), okra (gombo), and Cameroonian ‘plums,’ a purple-skinned vegetable with pale green flesh and a bitter flavor. They come together like this at least once a month, and more often if they’ve got orders from customers.

The women prepare one vegetable at a time, seeding and chopping the ‘plums,’ then separating the greens from their stalks, then thinly slicing the okra. As they work, they talk about their dried foods enterprise thus far. There are certainly challenges: keeping themselves supplied with raw materials, locating quality affordable packaging, spreading the word about their products, finding clients willing to purchase large quantities. But they continue to educate people on the advantages of dried produce: all the nutritional value is still there, it’s very convenient, foods keep longer and travel more easily, and one can enjoy fruits and vegetables outside of their specific growing seasons.

(The lovely finished products, ready to buy)

For now, FADE members sell primarily by word of mouth from Madame Tchebembia’s office at the government bureau where she works, and they attend expositions where they can promote their products. But they dream of finding more substantial clientele, hiring additional help, and above all of purchasing a field where they can grow their own supply of fruits and vegetables to dry, thus avoiding the whims of the market. As it is, they are doing all the work themselves, generating enough income to repay their C.A.P. loan, and are keeping their repayment schedule perfectly, with enough left to sustain their activity and put some profits in their own pockets.

A few days after the FADE meeting, we pay a visit to Madame Tchebembia’s workplace, the archives office in one of Yaounde’s town hall buildings, where she shows us the small vitrine that displays their wares. Surrounded on all sides by tall binders of birth certificates, she speaks of how groups like FADE make a difference in Cameroonian women’s lives. So many women wait at home with hands folded, she says, for an oft-unemployed husband to bring home a paycheck. This should not be! Women need to have confidence in their own abilities to support themselves and their families, and being part of a women’s collective provides them with a forum to share their experiences, learn new skills, and work together.

(Mme Tchebembia)

(Manioc: from root to starch)

Founded in June 2005, FADE’s goal has always been to empower Cameroonian women by putting them in charge of income-generating activities. Before the C.A.P. Program made it possible for them to purchase their sechoir, their primary activity had been processing manioc (also called cassava root) into starch and flour. Among the very first FADE activities were training sessions where the women became quite accomplished at guiding manioc from dirt-crusted root to a bottle of white laundry starch powder, enough for thirty shirts. They continue to process manioc to this day.

But things have changed since those early days, especially since the C.A.P. loan and the sechoir, according to Madame Tchebembia. Women hold their heads higher, are more likely to attend group meetings, and are seeing tangible financial results from their work. They are truly proud of what they’ve accomplished as a group, and are better prepared not only to face challenges along the way, but to dream about their future.