TREE AID Update Magazine March. 2014 | Page 4

Empowering and supporting Women – Village Tree Enterprises In Sahelian countries where we work erratic rainfall, drought and deforestation are a problem for the communities we support. People depend on trees to make up for shortfalls in food and income, especially during the hungry months when locally grown food is scarce and food prices are high. In these arid countries, we help women develop Village Tree Enterprises to produce and sell non-timber forest products (these are tree products that do not involve chopping down the tree itself). We involve women in forest management through tree nurseries, tree planting and regeneration projects. We provide training in business skills and market understanding to make sure villagers know what best tree products to sell, how to sell them and when. Giving women more control over forest resources ha ́