On December 4th we headed about 25 km south of OHG to the village of Bougounam to visit PCVF Jennifer's village. She has been a volunteer there for a year now and works with several women's groups. The first group of women we visited work with tie dying pange material to sell. Years ago an NGO paid for them to have someone come up from Ouaga to teach the women some tie dying patterns. These pagne's are an income generating activity for the women and they sell the finished pagnes in the bigger city of OHG every couple months. Village women are too poor to be able to afford the tie dyed pagnes. Jennifer has been working with these women to diversify their patterns and markets. Jennifer has even helped them get a grant so they can have a tie dye specialist come and show them more patterns.
Jennifer is trying to join forces with other PCVs in Burkina Faso to create a network of women's groups teaching other women's groups how to tie-dye. That way it is more sustainable and not as expensive for the village women's groups. It will costs thousands of US dollars (grant money) to have that specialist come out to a village, however, if Peace Corps volunteers can work together this type of skill can be transferred throughout many women's groups in different regions of the country.
The main point behind what I am saying is to empower women, give them confidence. Show them that they can branch out, create networks, and not expect everything to be given to them. Take ownership. . . and take pride in the ability to teach others a new skill and prove that the project can be sustainable long after the Peace Corps Volunteer leaves.
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