We Are The Solution: Rural women’s campaign for food sovereignty

| November 16, 2015

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Fahamu is a non-governmental organization that creates networks for social justice. Its vision of the world is one where “people organise to emancipate themselves from all forms of oppression, recognise their social responsibilities, respect each other’s differences, and realise their full potential.”

According to the organization’s website, Fahamu strengthens and nurtures the movement for social justice in Africa by:

  • generating knowledge to serve activism, bridging the gap between theory and practice
  • creating learning for, by, and across movements
  • amplifying Africa-centred voices, perspectives, and solutions in policy and decision-making at all levels
  • creating platforms for analysis and debate

 

Fahamu provides rural women and their associations in West Africa with advocacy support, education, networks, and research. The organization says these services have initiated and strengthened the We are the Solution regional campaign for food sovereignty, and have supported the feminist movement for food justice in the region.

According to Fahamu, the We Are the Solution campaign was born from African farmers and peasant movements’ struggles against market-driven agricultural policies. Fahamu’s campaign is led by rural women’s associations and their leaders in West Africa, and seeks to create alternative models, systems, and practices that promote food sovereignty.

Find out more about the campaign on the Fahamu website: http://www.fahamu.org/WAS

Fahamu has published a seven-part series of articles which feature interviews with grassroots African leaders working for seed and food sovereignty, the decolonization of Africa’s food system, and the preservation of traditional farming practices. You can read the first article here: http://www.towardfreedom.com/30-archives/africa/4079-we-are-the-solution-african-women-organize-for-land-and-seed-sovereignty