In Senegal, West Africa (and throughout the continent), women do most of the work farming and preparing food for their families. Virtually all of this work is done by hand. Although women are the backbone of the rural economy, they rarely have access to technologies and training to help them produce food efficiently, market their crops, and earn money.

With support from local Rotary clubs, St. Paul based nonprofit Compatible Technology International is equipping women in Senegal with hand-operated mills so they can make nutritious foods like peanut butter and millet flour much more easily. Women are also receiving business training and mentoring so they can earn money selling grinding services and packaged food products.

Alexandra Spieldoch, CTI Executive Director, will be visiting the St. Paul rotary club to talk about the impact of the program and how empowering women as business leaders is a critical part of tackling global poverty.

 

She has worked in international policy and development for more than 20 years and has contributed to numerous articles and books related to global governance, gender and food security, rural livelihoods and sustainable development. Prior to CTI, Alexandra served as director of the Trade and Global Governance program at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) and global coordinator of the Network of Women Ministers and Leaders in Agriculture (NWMLA). As a global leader, she travels to numerous countries throughout Africa, Latin America and Asia and has organized and participated in high-level events at the United Nations, the European Rural Development Forum and the World Trade Organization. She lived in France and Argentina and speaks both French and Spanish. She received her B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, and her M.A. in International Policy from the Monterey Institute of International Studies.