The Savanna Agricultural Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-SARI) has trained about 300 women in the Upper West Region in livelihood skills to enhance their income-generating opportunities.
The beneficiaries from Pieng in the Sissala East Municipality, Doggoh and Dazuuri in the Jirapa Municipality, were trained in household detergent and cosmetics production, including shea butter pomade and moringa soap production.
The training formed part of the Sahelian Landscapes: A Land of Opportunities (LOGMe II) project being implemented by a consortium of organisations including CSIR-SARI in the Upper East and Upper West Regions.
The project is being implemented in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and seeks to promote agroforestry as a climate-smart and income-generating agricultural practice.
The two-day training focused on promoting value addition to shea products while providing alternative livelihoods to women and girls.
Dr. Iddrisu Yahaya, Head of Department at CSIR-SARI, Wa Station, said the initiative was intended to shift the attention of women and girls from activities that destroy vegetative cover.
“Our women and our girls are involved in wood and charcoal burning, so we want to move them away from that by giving them hands-on training on alternative livelihoods, which is also value addition to shea-butter,” he explained.
The beneficiaries received hands-on practical training in the production of caked and liquid soap and cream from shea-butter and moringa for hair and body.
They were also provided with the necessary start-up materials and equipment to enable them to begin production in their communities after the training.
The three-year LOGMe II project is funded by the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security through the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Global Mechanism and is being implemented in 15 communities across four districts in Ghana.
*Source: http://accessagric.com / GNA
