The partnership aims to establish 120 VSLAs linked to 10 farmer organizations in Cargill’s supply chain, using the VSLA platform for integration of broader gender, nutrition, and water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions. Cargill will help establish and support 100 VSLAs, and The Starbucks Foundation will support the creation of an additional 20 VSLAs, enabling women to advance, diversify, and expand their income-generating activities.
CARE, in collaboration with The Starbucks Foundation and Cargill, is launching a new effort that will help transform cocoa-growing communities in Côte d’Ivoire and builds on decades of CARE’s experience in developing Village Saving and Loans Associations (VSLAs). VSLAs increase the impact and sustainability of project activities, as members become self-reliant, and help establish other VSLAs for people in their communities.
The partnership aims to establish 120 VSLAs linked to 10 farmer organizations in Cargill’s supply chain, using the VSLA platform for integration of broader gender, nutrition, and water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions. Cargill will help establish and support 100 VSLAs, and The Starbucks Foundation will support the creation of an additional 20 VSLAs, enabling women to advance, diversify, and expand their income generating activities.
“Women are essential to the sustainability of the cocoa sector, and Cargill has been working with CARE for over a decade to implement concrete solutions to empower people. We are proud to now join forces with both CARE and The Starbucks Foundation to scale up the VSLA model and help women to build their capacity to become income generators in their own right, as farmers, as entrepreneurs, and across families. This partnership is also a testimony to Cargill’s continued commitment to driving economic growth in Côte d’Ivoire,” commented Kate Clancy, Cargill’s cocoa and chocolate sustainability lead.
