A quiet transformation is taking root in rural communities across Sierra Leone. In three different districts in the Eastern Province of the country, women farmers enrolled in the Nurturing Opportunities for Women (NOW) program, run by OneVillage Partners, are at the heart of an ambitious initiative working to shift the country’s social and economic future. This three-phase program empowers rural women farmers to achieve financial independence, gain leadership skills, and improve agricultural practices — all through a community-driven, participatory approach.
Women are increasingly being recognized as vital players in the fight against food insecurity, particularly through smallholder farming. Increasing small-scale agriculture can be two to four times more effective at reducing hunger and poverty than any other industry. Investing in women farmers specifically can be particularly effective. By enhancing access to their opportunities, women can boost their incomes and yields, manage natural resources more efficiently, improve nutrition, and secure livelihoods for their families and communities, all at once.
Directly addressing the needs of women in Sierra Leone, currently one of the poorest nations in the world, is essential to the country’s economic development. Nearly 60% of the population lives below the national poverty line, with 13% living in extreme poverty.
Founded in 2006, OneVillage Partners initially offered aid to communities displaced in the aftermath of the country’s 11-year civil war. However, the organization underwent a pivotal shift in 2014 when it moved away from simply delivering aid towards supporting community-led development instead. “We’re focused on a participatory approach where communities define their own needs and lead their development,” explains Chad McCordic, OneVillage Partners’ Country Director.
Women smallholder farmers in Sierra Leone, and participants of OneVillage Partners' NOW program, harvest their crop yields. Image: OneVillage Partners
He adds, “We work closely with our partner communities to build structures that last. We focus on training and supporting leaders to address their self-defined needs and dreams, not just today, but five, ten years down the road.”
Phase One: Fostering Financial Savvy
In the communities where NOW operates, many women can face significant obstacles to becoming community leaders. To address this issue, NOW's first phase emphasizes equipping participants with essential financial planning skills, empowering them to become active decision-makers within their households. The training is entirely picture-based to eliminate formal educational barriers, helping make financial literacy accessible to all. Literacy rates in Sierra Leone are low, hovering around 38% among adults aged 25-64, with even lower percentages among women and other underserved populations (in 2019 for instance, only 3% of the poorest children demonstrated age-appropriate reading skills).
An instructor assists women use their picture-based workbooks during a NOW meeting. Image: OneVillage Partners
"The cultural barriers are huge,” says Bernadette Mustapha, NOW Program Manager who has worked with OneVillage Partners since 2016. “In Sierra Leone, women have traditionally been expected to stay silent, fulfilling the needs of their husbands. But through the NOW program, we’ve been able to shift that mindset for both husbands and wives."
The program includes gender workshops that encourage both spouses to discuss household roles and the benefits of shared decision-making. This shift is fundamental to changing Sierra Leone’s trajectory, because empowered women and girls often lead to healthier families, better school attendance, improved food security, and increased incomes. “Women save separately for emergencies, household expenses, and business — this foresight makes them and their families stronger,” Mustapha explains.
The results are telling: graduates of NOW saw a 102% increase in making joint or sole decisions over household purchases, and 97% of their husbands now actively participate in domestic chores. McCordic credits the program’s pace and scale for such dramatic change remaining sustainable: “If we work more directly on a smaller scale at a slower pace with these farming groups, we’ll see better outcomes in terms of food security, income, and gender equity.”
Phase Two: On the Road to Business Development
Building on the confidence and skills gained in Phase I, Phase II focuses on entrepreneurship and running a small business to increase their incomes. Using a picture-based workbook, participants track expenses, calculate profits, and assess financial risks.
Women smallholder farmers come together during community meetings convened by OneVillage Partners during its NOW program, utilizing picture-based workbooks to gain essential financial and business skills. Image: OneVillage Partners
These skills pave the way to independence. 100% of NOW graduates successfully increase their earned incomes and business revenues — an impressive feat in rural areas where access to formal banking is often severely limited. Public speaking skills also flourish, with a 400% increase in women comfortable speaking up during community meetings. "We’ve had women go from feeling voiceless to becoming leaders who now represent their communities,” Mustapha says.
Phase Three: Agricultural Knowledge
For many women in Sierra Leone, agriculture is vital to their lives and livelihoods. NOW’s final phase focuses on improving agricultural skills to boost crop yields and reduce food insecurity, providing seeds and tools to apply new knowledge gained practically. Highlighting techniques such as crop rotation and sustainable farming methods, NOW graduates can improve their incomes by working in harmony with a changing environment.
Women smallholder farmers in Sierra Leone who participate in the NOW program bolster their financial literacy, business planning, and agricultural knowledge and skills. Image: OneVillage Partners
In a country that’s especially vulnerable to climate change, experiencing more intense and unpredictable rainy seasons, landslides, and droughts, these skills are essential. “Many of our farmers are seeing longer rainy seasons and more destructive storms that disrupt planting and harvesting cycles,” says McCordic. “We train women to handle these challenges and grow their farms sustainably.”
Community Is Key
NOW participants are encouraged to share what they’ve learned, creating ripple effects in their communities. While 561 women engaged directly with NOW in 2023, the program reached approximately 14,500 individuals through families and networks, underscoring its far-reaching impact.
“Our programs work because they’re not prescriptive; they’re collaborative,” McCordic says. “When you allow communities to lead, you see a level of commitment and sustainability that you can’t achieve otherwise.”
Women work together during a NOW Family Session to shade budget worksheets. Image: OneVillage Partners
Additionally, OneVillage Partners trains volunteer leaders in each village to foster a culture of mutual support and accountability. According to Mustapha, this peer support proves essential. “Each cohort is responsible for one another, so if a participant faces a challenge, the group can support them,” she says. “Women in the program now have the confidence to address their communities’ challenges and advocate for changes they once thought impossible.”
The Path Ahead
For now, NOW is just getting started. OneVillage Partners has ambitious goals to expand the program across all rural regions in Sierra Leone, aiming for 1,000 active participants by 2027. For Mustapha, this expansion is about more than climbing numbers. “I dream of expanding the NOW program to reach more women. I want to see women taking on leadership roles in their communities and becoming self-sufficient in agriculture and business.”
The NOW program embodies OneVillage Partners’ larger mission to address multidimensional poverty through sustainable change created — and led by — community members directly. Its commitment to putting women farmers at the forefront of this shift holds the potential to reshape the social and economic landscape of rural Sierra Leone, one family at a time. As Mustapha notes, when women are empowered, “the entire home is empowered.
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