2 hours ago
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BENIN – The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has organised a one day workshop for women in communities impacted by deforestation and industrial plantation expansion in Edo State.
The workshop tittled, ‘Promoting Solidarity Economy. Building Resilience,’ was aimed at providing alternative sources of livelihood to the women and was attended by women from no fewer than 15 communities spread across six local government areas of Edo State.
The women numbering 30, were trained on Snail farming, mushroom cultivation, and soap making, with the potential to grow into a thriving local economy powered by women.
Speaking during the workshop, the Interim Administrator, ERA/FoEN, Rita Uwaka, said the workshop was aimed at empowering and supporting women from impacted communities through a structured learning and healing programme that would equip them with information on environmental issues, their rights, and their struggles with support for alternative livelihood options.
Uwaka lamented that the impact of deforestation and industrial plantation expansion in the Niger Delta region has impacted every aspect of life, saying that this makes it more necessary to train and empower the women, whom she described as most affected, on alternative sources of livelihood.
“Women in these communities are particularly vulnerable, facing violence, disruptions to their livelihoods, health hazards, displacement, and increased gender inequalities. This workshop addresses these challenges by providing a supportive learning, healing, and empowerment environment,” she said.
She continued: “The once lush forests that provided for us are disappearing, taking with them resources that have sustained us for generations. We face challenges in providing for our families, accessing clean water, and in holding onto traditions that are rooted in the land. These are not just environmental losses; they are also social and economic ones.”
She expressed her organisation’s commitment to building a solidarity economy where every impacted community woman has skills, resources, and a support network that values her contributions and ensures her sustainability.
The one day workshop, according to Uwaka, is not just to train the women but also to provide a safe space for emotional healing, resilience building, and a collective solidarity economy for women impacted by deforestation and land grabs for industrial plantation expansion in Edo State
The Interim Administrator, who assured the women that they would not be left alone after the training, also disclosed that a modest grant will be given to all impacted women by Environmental Rights Action.
Uwaka, while advocating for women and the environment’s rights, stated: “Women’s rights are human rights; Plant Actions are not Forests. People Before Profit. We are Hurting. Save Our Forests. Avert Climate Crisis.”
Speaking further, Uwaka declared, “Today, we gather not just to learn but to stand together and inspire each other.
“Each one of us has the power to make a difference—not only for ourselves but for our families and communities.
“Let us build a future rooted in resilience, one where solidarity guides our economic practices, and where we transform challenges into opportunities for growth, unity, and environmental sustainability.
“As we move through today’s sessions, let us remember: resilience is within us, and our strength lies in solidarity.
“We have the power to transform adversity into opportunity, to rebuild what has been lost, and to create a future that honors our communities and our environment.
“Together, we can rise, thrive, and build a lasting legacy of resilience and economic empowerment as we collectively resist, mobilize and transform for social, environmental and gender Justice”.
Recalling on how her community has been impacted and created unbearable hardship, Deborah Omoruyi of Ora community said: “Multinational took over our farm, now we don’t have land to farm. We go to other communities to rent land as high as N70,000.00 to farm. And once you delay in renewing your rent, they threaten you with quit notice.”
Osaremen Jimoh, from Odiguetue community also lamented that due to deforestation and industrial plantation expansion, they have no land to farm, adding that this is their major livelihood.
The trainees thanked ERA/FoEN for giving them the opportunity to acquire skills for alternative sources of livelihood, just as they acknowledged that the training was mind reawakening.
