| Two IDRC Partners Recognized for Work to Improve the Lives of Women in Poor Rural Communities |
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Development through Access to Network Resources (D.Net) is the winner of the Gender and ICT Awards 2005 for its Pallitathya Help-Line (Call Centre for the Poor and Underprivileged) project. The award, which carries a cash prize of US $8 000, is sponsored by the Association for Progressive Communications Women's Networking Support Programme and Global Knowledge Partnership. The project has been bridging the information gap in Bangladesh where the lack and inadequate dissemination of timely and relevant information is a major bottleneck to rural development, and a leading factor in the exploitation of the underprivileged. As a result of the project, mobile phones are being used to reach communities with inadequate infrastructure and teledensity. "Mobile Operator Ladies" go door-to-door in their communities to allow other women — mostly housewives — to use a mobile phone to call a help-desk and ask questions related to agriculture, health, legal rights, and employment. Connected to an information database and the Internet, the help-desk operators gather information, answer queries, and share vital information such as market prices, emergency announcements, or health alerts. The project's success is twofold. Employed as Mobile Operator Ladies and help-desk operators, women have increased their self-worth, their potential to earn, and their knowledge. Those using the Help Line's services have access to timely and relevant information, which can contribute to increased employment potential and control over spending decisions. IDRC is supporting D.Net’s work in Bangladesh through its Pan Asia program initiative. For more information
Former IDRC partner Zoubida Charrouf has been awarded the prestigious Trophée de la Solidarité for improving the lives of women in the villages of Tamanar and Tidzi, Morocco. Charrouf established the country's first-ever argan oil processing cooperatives in Morocco's poor arid south-west region. The cooperatives enable poor Berber women to earn a living by producing and selling high quality argan oil for the cosmetic and food markets. The cooperatives' success owes much to the processing technologies developed with support from IDRC. Grouped into an association called Targanine, the cooperatives now provide employment to more than 450 women. They also offer training in business skills and in literacy. Their success and the popularity of argan oil has led to village development projects such as libraries and community centres, and boosted the region's tourism industry. Additional cooperatives are being set up to carry out the painstaking tasks of hulling and crushing the nuts. Native to Morocco, the argan is a threatened species. The cooperatives work to save this valuable tree and to promote more research and development into its regeneration. The Trophée de la Solidarité is awarded annually by Morocco's King Mohammed VI to those who have distinguished themselves in social action. It is part of the Fondation Mohammed V pour la Solidarité's (the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity) fight against poverty. For more information: Solving Pieces of the Argan Puzzle: Researcher Profile, Zoubida Charrouf
2005-12
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