Aliniha: women leaders at the heart of sustainable development in west Africa

• Main Author: Jean Goepp
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institut Veolia Environnement 2013-02-01
• Series: Field Actions Science Reports
• Subjects: Management ofnatural resources; Micro-finance; Skills improvement; Social credit; Sustainable development; West Africa
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/factsreports/2365

Born of an original association between tree southern partners in 2007, Aliniha is a methodology to link up women, the pillars of african society, for the sustainable development of their region, through their work and for their benefit. The Aliniha methodology combines the various areas of expertise of the three social entrepreneurs who created it, namely microfinance, improving women's skills, and management and protection of natural resources. The underlying principle is that every woman signing the “Aliniha Charter” benefits from a microcredit allowing her to undertaken an economic activity; in return, she undertakes to plant and look after three trees given to her with the money, and to follow the training courses offered by the Aliniha partner structures. The aim is to teach women sustainable management of their resources, be they human (knowledge), financial (money) or natural (trees). In order to make the project sustainable and ensure that the methodology spreads, the three partner organizations founded the Aliniha International association. Aliniha International is a network bringing together women's associations working for social, economic and environmental development of their respective regions: Gaoua (Burkina Faso), Kayes (Mali)and Tambacounda (Senegal).