We wanted to find out, and that’s why our partners at WeForest and OZG conducted an interview with members of the communities of Lilengo and Béléhédé, two villages surrounded by Ecosia’s tree-planting program.
While we wait for all the material our partners collected in the past months*, including maps, socioeconomic data and videos, here’s a sneak preview of an interview conducted with twenty local women and men.
Common expectations
All 20 participants in the interview expressed their eagerness and willingness to actually participate in the project. Their main motivation was the multiple paybacks expected from the program, such as:
- Gaining fodder for animals
- Herbs for constructing roofs and doors
- Payment from seed collection
- More time to invest in other activities
Main differences
When it comes to the activities women and men are involved in, there are some basic differences.
While men mainly engage in keeping livestock and doing some farming, women’s activities are much more varied. Women too engage in farming but they also sell products at the local market, such as milk, seeds, food, soap and handcrafts (e.g. brooms and mats).
To be continued fellow Ecosians! You will hear back from us very soon!
All the best,
Your Ecosia Team
*Our partners on the ground usually collect a fair amount of information before travelling a long distance for the next internet connection to send it over to the Ecosia Team.
P.S. Credits for the wonderful portraits in our collage go to Beeldkas/OZG
