FROM AFRICA/ Guinea Conakry
Training hard
Women in the fisheries sector in Guinea Conakry train for new commercial skills
by Mamayawa Sandouno, who works for the NGO, ADEPEG, in Guinea Conakry
Women occupy a central place in the fisheries sector of Guinea Conakry. They are involved in fish processing and fish marketing. Women represent 70 to 80 per cent of fishworkers involved in this activity. However, a majority of them are illiterate. To address this issue, a training programme has been set up for women working in associations.
The educational needs as identified by the women themselves are:
All along the coast, fish processing is a major activity, providing women with important revenue, helping feed thousands of families, and contributing significantly to the socioeconomic development of the country. These are the reasons why women fish processors are so involved in training/educationthey know that through education, they will get access to information and communication.
Through these training sessions, women have been able to improve their skills in management, planning and commercial operations. Already, women working in the smoking centres of Bonfi, Temenetaye, Dixinn, Dabompa and, soon, women from Boulbinet will be able to use two big warehouses built by a Japanese project for women organized into GIEs (Economic Interest Groups).
