OUR PROGRAM
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Economic Empowerment and the Environment
BAFROW ensures that skills development translates into tangible employment opportunities for women by equipping its beneficiaries with livelihood skills, not only to acquire new competencies but also to apply them in ways that generate income and strengthen community resilience.
Key elements of the program include:
Skills Development
Beneficiaries from our various projects received livelihood skills training at the Centre, tailored to their community needs. The training programs included:
- Tie and dye
- Tailoring
- Knitting and crocheting
- Soap making
- Peanut butter processing
- Baby cereal preparation and processing (BAFROW’s High Protein Mix)
- Bread making
- Hairdressing
- Hair and skin hennaing
These trainings were reinforced with numeracy, basic business management and communication skills though our Functional Literacy Program to ensure the success and sustainability of small enterprises.
Given Gambian women’s traditional role in exploring, utilizing, and sustaining natural resources for family survival, they are recognized as key stakeholders in environmental protection. To strengthen this role, the Economic Empowerment Program integrated environmental education and climate change awareness into the Literacy Program. This approach emphasized how women could continue benefiting from natural resources to reinforce their families’ survival, while at the same time protecting and nurturing the environment for future generations.
Economic Empowerment, Community Financing and Health Security
To support entrepreneurship, beneficiaries received small individual and group loans to establish sustainable small-scale businesses aimed at:
- Reducing household financial constraints
- Gaining financial autonomy to improve reproductive health and well-being
- Contributing to improved community health outcomes
Entrepreneurs with the capacity were encouraged to reinvest part of their proceeds into revolving funds and micro-community reproductive health insurance schemes. These mechanisms enabled women in need to access low-interest loans for healthcare expenses and facilitated referrals for emergency obstetric care.
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BAFROW’s Sewing Centre in Mandinaba equips women with tailoring skills and provides an outlet to market their finished products.
Market Access
To increase women’s access to market outlets, we piloted BAFROW’s Model Centre Community Market in Mandinaba Village. This small market complex served both beneficiaries and local retailers from Mandinaba and neighbouring villages.
Impact
Empowering women with skills, knowledge and financial support translated into:
- Increased employment opportunities
- Higher family incomes
- Poverty reduction within their communities
- Strengthened resilience through environmental stewardship
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BAFROW
156, Mosque Road, Serrekunda,The Gambia
- +220 66 25 639, +220 37 73 500
- info@bafrow.org
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BAFROW Model Centre
Mandinaba Village, West Coast Region, The Gambia
- +220 37 00 783
© 2026 BAFROW