Hope for Underprivileged Women (Paraguay)

A project that provides women with training and assistance to enter the workforce or to start a micro-enterprise aims to alleviate poverty in the poorest sectors of Asunción (Paraguay). Women are trained in skills such as bread-making, patisserie, cookery, sewing, and housekeeping. They also receive general education and small business management training. Through the project, they can either enter the workforce through a job placement program or start their own enterprise. Those in job placement are supervised and given support during work experience. Those who start their micro-enterprise are provided technical guidance during the early stages of their small business.

At the start, participants had little intention of working. The training they received engendered a desire to work well, and boosted their self-confidence as some of them found employment even before completing a minimum of work experience hours. Work experience placements have been secured in cafes, supermarkets, residences, dress shops, clothing factories, etc. The economic recession between 2002 -2003, however, greatly affected the possibility of employment for women. Therefore, a majority of the women participating in the project opted to set-up their own micro-enterprises. The most popular micro-enterprise consisted of home-made, wood-fired bread buns of various sorts (wholemeal, cheese, soy, etc) sold independently in streets, direct from home, at parks, local schools, offices, or as in a few cases, in local grocery stores or supermarkets. Those who commenced their small businesses doubled or tripled their income. A survey held in 2002 on 15% of participants revealed that the level of increase in income ranged from 30% to 230%. For at least 20% of the women surveyed, it was the first time experience at achieving any income. For these women, and many others after them, improvement did not consist only in enabling them to earn money, but also, in enabling them to feed their families on a daily basis and to contribute to a better standard of living in their homes. In 2003, the economic situation in Paraguay worsened resulting in higher unemployment rates. Since many men lost their jobs with the recession, the income these women were generating was essentially the only family income with which their families could survive the economic crisis.

Vicenta Rodriguez, one of the beneficiaries, attended bread-making sessions and made a study of the consumption of bread in her community and the requirements to set up a bakery. She managed to purchase second hand equipment to produce 100 kilos of bread per week. She also trained her children, some neighbours and friends. She now provides employment to 10 people in her community. She needs better equipment to increase production to 500 kilos per week. While she used to distribute bread on a horse cart, her son now distributes bread using a second-hand car.

Salvadora Silva also finished the bread-making course. She used to give away her products thinking that they were worthless, having been made by her. Through the course, she gained greater self-esteem and understood the value of her work. Now she markets her bread products at real value. Her unemployed husband introduced her products to three supermarkets and secured a business tax file number, bar codes and labels to have a fully accredited family micro-enterprise.

Another participant, Isidora Cabrera, started to make bread right after the first class she attended and immediately earned 12,000 guaranies (AUD$6.90) which allowed her to buy a week’s supply of the basic food basket for a modest family meal. The training enabled her to meet the needs of her four children. The project also developed her leadership qualities and her ability to give one-to-one training instruction. Isidora involved her daughter and four of her daughter’s school friends in her bread-making micro-enterprise. Three of her daughters will now also attend technical education courses offered at the same training school that coordinated the training Isidora herself received.

The project is implemented in Paraguay by Asociación para la Promoción de la Mujer Artesana y Obrera (PROMU) in conjunction with AusAID and Reledev Australia Limited. Through this project, Reledev Australia Limited has contributed to building PROMU’s internal capacity by: providing technical guidance in operations, encouraging the establishment of a job placement system and creating a wide industry network. At the close of the project, about 76 companies were participating in the project. The project increased local private sector commitment for development needs of Asunción’s poor.

Three-Year Goals:

1. 270 women complete training in at least one skill.
2. 195 women complete work experience.
3. 75 women start a small business.
4. Supervision and technical assistance is provided to all women during work experience and when starting a small business.

Achievements:

1. 711 women participate in the program.
2. 437 women complete training in a skill.
3. 314 women complete work experience.
4. 105 women in employment.
5. 113 women start their small business.
6. All the women receive supervision and/or technical assistance during work experience and when starting their small business.