Project goal, objectives and activities

Sinsibéré was an environmental project with an exceptionally long duration through different phases from 2001 to 2015 executed in partnership with the NGO Dodo from Finland. It aimed to promote the local economic development of women in three peripheral rural communes of Bamako (Sanankoroba, Dialakoroba and Bougoula). This desire is manifested by the valorization of non-timber natural resources as a sustainable local economic alternative solution for the benefit of the cutting and sale of firewood and charcoal in order to preserve the environment, contribute to the fight against changes climate change, and strengthen the capacities of women so that they become more autonomous.

The Sinsibéré project supported women by supporting income-generating activities instead of the firewood trade. The women are united around a cooperative which produces very good quality improved shea butter and which is sold in supermarkets in Bamako as well as abroad. Thanks to the various capacity reinforcements received, the women developed their leadership. Today, some of them occupy elected positions at the level of their commune, and others are involved in the daily management of their village.

Afterwards, the Sinsibéré cooperative was used as a model by MFC and other actors in the creation of other similar women's cooperatives in southern Mali.