Takafoo is a Social Enterprise that Seeks to Improve Working Conditions and Incomes for Young Female Farmers in Upper Egypt

THE CHALLENGE:

Minya is one of the poorest governates in Egypt, with over 50% of the population living in poverty. This poverty is most concentrated in rural communities, and while not every village suffers equally, the further a community is from the Nile and urban areas, the more profound their need for fertile land, employment and infrastructure becomes. Poverty is highest among the female population, with those able to work often seeing large parts of their income siphoned off by exploitative labour contractors, all while being routinely subjected to abuse my predominantly male farm management.

THE ORGANISATION:

Founded by Mariam Nabil in 2015, Takafoo, which means “equity” in Arabic, seeks to empower women and female youths across the Minya governate. It aims to provide these individuals with the means and training to seek safe and fair employment as farm labourers without having to rely on exploitative labour contractors. Acting as the intermediary between the labourers and farms, Takafoo hires female village officers who help ensure that any woman seeking work in farms near the village village can expect to be treated fairly, while also working with the village and religious leaders to secure their buy-in to the project.

The village officers are also responsible for ensuring that each farm provides the female labourers with appropriate sanitation facilities, transport to and from work, ensure a safe work environment, and also working with the farms to ensure that female team leaders are available. 

ALFANAR’S SUPPORT: LOOKING AHEAD

Alfanar’s support with Takafoo is currently at the pilot stage, and aims to strengthen the organisational and team capacity of the staff. This will be achieved with the ASSET programme, which will be combined with technical assistance in the development of a monitoring and reporting framework, as well as assistance in building connections with local and international entities to build capacity. There is great demand for trained labour in the agricultural sector in Minya, and development of the organisation will allow for far easier expansion of the programme in the future. 

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