Togolese women receive tools through the ITTO project to plant trees and improve agroforestry practices. Photo: REFACOF

Yokohama, 12 November 2021: An ITTO project financed by Soka Gakkai* to support forest landscape restoration is changing the lives of women in two prefectures in Togo as they benefit from improved agroforestry practices, according to a report in Japan’s Seikyo newspaper.

In the first year of implementation of the pilot project, “Support for women’s groups with the restoration of forest landscapes in the prefectures of Blitta and Lacs, Togo”, more than 100 women have planted over 30 000 seedlings, despite disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deforestation is widespread in the two provinces, and many women are living in poverty.

“Due to culture and traditions, poor women in these parts of Togo have limited rights to land and property, hindering their independence,” said project leader Cécile Bibiane Ndjebet, as quoted in Seiyko. Ms Ndjebet is founder and president of the African Women’s Network for Community Management of Forests, the project’s executing agency.

“Women in the community, however, support their families through their household and community work, and they should be empowered through income-generating activities to overcome such societal issues,” said Ms. Ndjebet.

The ITTO project is helping women learn new skills, gain employment and become financially independent.

“It is often women who support families and communities through housework and childcare, and they have the power to overcome issues related to society as a whole, such as poverty, hunger and environmental conservation,” said Ms. Ndjebet.

The response of participants to the project has been huge, according to Ms. Ndjebet.

“Some said, ‘My longtime dream has finally come true,” she said.

The project is contributing to Togo’s efforts to achieve various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as to the UN Decade of Family Farming (2019–2028) and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030).

Ms. Ndjebet hopes that the project will also have an influence well beyond its direct areas of focus, with the potential for scaling up.

“Women who have experienced this project will visit different areas in Togo in the future to share their experiences, … implement initiatives and learn from each other,” she said.

See the article in the Seikyo newspaper (Japanese only).

* s a global community-based Buddhist organization that promotes peace, culture and education.