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Women entrepreneurs in the countries of the Great Lakes region are committed to promoting a greener economy. They come from Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC. In fact, these entrepreneurs presented some of their initiatives last month in Lubumbashi during the meeting of the Francophone cities platform on equality and climate change.
From our correspondent in Lubumbashi,
In Burundi, almost 90% of women work in agriculture, according to the FAO. They produce beans, potatoes, corn. In recent years, Burundi has been the victim of floods and landslides. To deal with these disasters caused by climate change, women farmers have developed certain techniques.
” Anti-erosion hedges can now be seen on all hills. Women make contour lines. All this in order to mitigate the effects of climatic threats that cause landslides “, explains Anonciata Senda Zirasa, Burundian women’s representative at the Lubumbashi meeting.
In the south of the DRC, in Lubumbashi, women entrepreneurs have also turned to the green economy. This is the case of Aimyrance Nzuzi, manager of Aimy Busness. She produces ecological charcoal from household waste. She thus contributes to the protection of the forest.
” To meet the charcoal needs of 200 households, for example, at least 2,000 trees must be felled. And if we, Aimy Busness, can provide clean coal to 200 homes, we will protect 2,000 trees. It is true that it will not stop the excessive cutting of wood, but it will decrease “.
Marie Claire Yaya, also a Congolese, runs LUGO Farm, which specializes in agricultural processing and raising awareness of ecological issues. ” I started a center to teach people how to develop sustainable agriculture, how to combine agroforestry and other crops so that the community can find itself economically, financially while making the carbon reserves that nature needs to preserve the environment. »
Preserving the environment also requires good management of waste, a source of pollution. For two years, Exact Congo has been involved in this sector. ” In the Kamalondo commune, we targeted 600 households. Then, we train them in the classification of waste and we give each household three bags of garbage, explains Elvire Nseya, director of Exact Congo. Likewise, we have introduced women to the transformation of degradable waste into organic fertilizer and in the incineration procedures of other waste. »
The women of the Great Lakes region are not short of ideas or energy to advance the cause of the environment in an area where ecological problems continue to worsen.
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