• Women’s Farmers Academy

In 2020, FaN began its collaboration with Helen’s Daughters (HD), a St. Lucian non-profit organisation with a special focus on rural women’s economic development through improved market access, adaptive agricultural techniques, and capacity-building. Their shared goal was to remove barriers for women to access agricultural training and empower women farmers to think and function as agricultural entrepreneurs.

The virtual (COVID-compliant) Women’s Farmers Academy was launched in 2021 for women in St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines interested in sustainable agriculture and agri-business development. A train-the-trainers approach was used, where in-country facilitators were recruited to be trained and deliver the training. Implemented over three cohorts, between October 2021 and July 2022, five course modules were delivered twice weekly for two months via Zoom. WhatsApp and Facebook groups have created a peer network that fosters sharing of ideas, advice and even partnerships among students and facilitators. Helen’s Daughters continues to work with local facilitators, with several appointed to the WFA board; plans are to expand the WFA across more CARICOM countries.

Samples of the first sessions of each module from each country are accessible below. If you are interested in getting involved with this work, reach out to the Helen’s Daughters team at info@helensdaughters.org or visit their website, here.

Module 1 – Sustainable Agriculture, Session 1:

Module 2 – Nutritional Marketing, Session 1:

Module 3 – Food Safety, Session 1:

Module 4 – Financial Literacy, Session 1:

Module 5 – Market Linkages and Agribusiness, Session 1: