In Laos, CARE works with civil society to develop policies and strategies to combat violence against women and girls.
In Laos, CARE works with civil society to develop policies and strategies to combat violence against women and girls, improves access to food for remote ethnic communities through women’s economic empowerment; enhances the capacity of women and ethnic minority farmers to better anticipate and respond to risks and opportunities due to climatic change; improves food and nutrition security among rural households; creates sustainable agricultural outcomes at the village and household level and fights sexual harassment in the workplace in partnership with female garment workers.
Improving access to income
CARE has initiatives in Laos designed to enhance women’s income earning by increasing their ability to produce and sell agricultural, garden and livestock produce. This has meant building women’s technical knowledge of agriculture, gardening and livestock, while building commercial awareness of the potential of cash crops, selling of surplus food and selling non-timber forest products.
The inclusion of women in training initiatives, while also giving them roles in cascading training through the village, has increased women’s status in the villages and their perceived value within the family. Livestock banks have been an effective way of increasing women’s access to food production and income earning potential, as they enable shared ownership, responsibility and benefit for livestock.
Farming skills and resources
More than 70% of Laos’ population depends on farming to make its living. That means they work on their farms every day – but many still struggle to find a market for their coffee and, when they do, they don’t always make enough to provide for their family.
Coffee growing is not only a valuable source of income, but it’s also crucial in terms of improving food security. By diversifying farming practices, families will also develop skills to plant and grow other crops and improve their overall nutrition.
With their increased income and improved farming techniques, women can lift themselves out of poverty, families will have better nutrition and their children will have brighter futures.
Read more about the Boosting Coffee Production project.
Safe workplaces, safe communities
A growing number of women and girls are migrating from rural areas of Laos to the capital Vientiane in search of work.
Without information and social networks, women are especially vulnerable to risks such as dangerous work or sexual exploitation. Forty-five per cent of women in urban areas work in the informal sector and often lack labour protections or social benefits.
CARE is working with these women to help provide them with access to services and safe employment options. Along with training in practical vocational skills, we’re supporting women – particularly those in the garment, hospitality and sex industries – to establish women’s groups and networks so they can better understand their rights. We’re also training police, health service providers and employers in how to prevent violence against women and girls and introduce legal and labour protections to help prevent discrimination.
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Support our ongoing work to create a more equal world.
Your donation can help end extreme poverty and give people the means to build a better future for themselves in countries like Laos.
For those living in extreme poverty, your support brings education and training, healthcare and clean water, nutritious food, and new ways to earn an income. And in times of crisis, you help us deliver emergency relief. Please donate today.
