YAKO—The Association of Women in the Mining Sector of Burkina (AFEMIB) organized a training session from August 19 to 21, 2024, focusing on warrantage techniques and small ruminant breeding for women at the artisanal gold mining sites in Bouda and Song-Naba, both located in the commune of Yako.

According to Burkina Information Agency, the training is part of the “community development component of the local content, economic integration, and community development sub-component” of the Support Project for Strengthening Land and Mines Management (PARGFM). The initiative aimed to empower at least 50 women and young people from the two communities with skills in income-generating activities related to mining, market gardening, small ruminant breeding, poultry farming, rain-fed production, warrantage, and shea butter production.

In Bouda, a village with an active gold mining site, women from the Relwendé Association received training in warrantage techniques, which involve the storage and marketing of cereals to enhance financial self-sufficiency. Meanwhile, the Renaissance Association in Song-Naba benefited from training in small ruminant breeding, focusing on the selection of breeds, feeding, health care, and the production and marketing of animals and related products.

N’go Sanou, head of the Livestock Technical Support Unit (UATE) from the provincial directorate in charge of animal resources in Passoré, led the training on small ruminant breeding. Sanou recommended that beginners start with a small number of animals, ideally one male and two females, and provided advice on feeding, watering, and maintaining healthy enclosures to prevent disease.

The training was well received by participants, with Sophie Kafando, head of the Renaissance Association, expressing gratitude for the knowledge gained. “We are leaving well-equipped and ready to better improve ourselves,” Kafando said.

Djamila Kiello, a representative of AFEMIB, indicated that this training is part of a larger effort targeting 500 women from 10 localities across Burkina Faso’s artisanal gold mining sites. She expressed satisfaction with the participants’ engagement and hopes that the women will eventually form cooperatives to achieve financial independence.