Coordination des Associations et ONG Féminines du Mali (Coordination of Women’s Associations and NGOs of Mali, CAFO)
Peasant women and gender nonconforming people in Mali often face the brunt of poverty and bad agriculture policies. CAFO fills the gap with advocacy, training, and organizing to address these rural groups’ needs.
Coordination des Associations et ONG Féminines du Mali, or Coordination of Women’s Associations and NGOs of Mali (CAFO), works to promote the well-being of women, gender nonconforming people, children, and families. It does this through advocacy for feminist policies, literacy training, health care, sustainable agriculture, and small-scale enterprise developments. Its primary strategy is to strengthen member groups, coordinate the actions of those groups, and influence social policies to benefit those impacted by patriarchy. CAFO has also played a coordinating role for Marche Mondiale des Femmes (MMF/WMW) and is a founding member of Nous Sommes la Solution (NSS/WAS).
A key component of this work is providing for these populations to produce, sell, and consume safe and nutritious food. Rural women and gender nonconforming people often lack the equipment and know-how to sell food. Meanwhile, urban women and gender nonconforming people do have access to equipment and markets, but not the healthy food that rural communities produce. CAFO links these groups to create joint initiatives and break through the rural/urban divide. They also work with community leaders to ensure there is access to land, and then help establish agroecological cooperatives there. CAFO is successfully helping these populations build sustainable livelihoods, advance food sovereignty, and tackle patriarchy through community-to-community collaborations.
