Between June 8 and 22, Marly Zambrano, coordinator of the Gender Working Group of the Comparte network (Fundación Suyusama), visited Peru to support a series of workshops with technical teams and producer organizations. These organizations develop rural enterprises in sectors such as dairy, community-based rural tourism, cocoa, and plantain.
The main goal was to strengthen gender equity and promote the equitable participation of women in economic and organizational activities.
To this end:
- Sessions were held with the gender teams of the participating organizations (CCAIJO, SAIPE, Fe y Alegría, and AVSI) to review and adapt tools and methodologies that incorporate a gender perspective into their daily work.
- In particular, the gender self-assessment methodology for social centers, created by the Comparte network, was used.
In addition, workshops were organized with male and female producers from the provinces of Quispicanchi and Condorcanqui to address topics such as:
- The care economy (the value of unpaid domestic and care work).
- Self-care and emotional health.
- Conflict resolution.
- Strengthening women’s leadership.
Lessons Learned and Highlights
From this experience, some key points were identified:
- Contextualize gender issues: It is important to adapt them to the reality of each community and to foster change that arises from reflecting on everyday inequalities, proposing feasible and sustainable solutions.
- Change starts from within: To promote equity in producer organizations, it is first necessary for individuals and institutions to continuously examine their own privileges, cultures, power structures, and decision-making processes.
- Spaces of care: Promoting and facilitating care spaces (for example, for children during meetings) is very positive, as it allows women to participate more actively and highlights the importance of care work, which must be recognized and shared. These changes also strengthen the leadership of rural and Indigenous women and encourage new forms of masculinity.
In short, we all have a role to play in making living conditions fairer and more inclusive.
***These workshops were carried out as part of the agreement “Circular Economy for Greater Economic, Social, and Environmental Profitability of Rural Enterprises in Peru,” promoted by Entreculturas, CCAIJO, SAIPE, Fe y Alegría, and the AVSI Foundation.