Empowering Internally Displaced Women Through Beans Cultivation

Every morning at dawn, Rachel gathers her tools and walks to the communal plot, hopeful that today's harvest will feed her children and perhaps also earn her enough to buy home essentials.

Persistent socio-political insecurity in the DRC's North Kivu province has led to the creation of many internally displaced camps (IDCs). One such camp is Bulengo, located at the far western edge of Goma, in the ‘Lac-Vert’ neighborhood. It is home to thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have fled regional violence. Residents of the camp faces severe insecurity, with women facing some of the greatest hardships as they struggle daily to provide for their families' needs amid the ongoing instability.

These women face significant challenges related to food access and land availability for producing food that could support their households and earn income. To meet their daily needs, women in the camp often venture into dangerous areas to gather firewood or seek work in surrounding villages, putting themselves at risk of violence from armed groups that control certain territories.

The basic needs of the residents in these IDCs are typically addressed through humanitarian food distributions. However, ongoing insecurity in the area can disrupt the efforts of aid organizations, leading to irregular and often insufficient deliveries, which further exacerbates the residents' vulnerability.

Empowerment through Agriculture: The Role of B4WE and LSC

The B4WE project - funded by Global Affairs Canada to empower women in the eastern region of DRC by improving the bean value chain - is dedicated to fostering sustainable collaboration and building a strong partnership with the Congolese Solidarity League (Ligue pour la Solidarité Congolaise - LSC). This partnership aims to enhance both organizations' efforts in supporting agricultural activities, particularly food production for internally displaced women. LSC (a local NGO) collaborates with international partners to support women in Bulengo camp, with a focus on empowering them to exercise their economic rights. This includes establishing savings and credit cooperatives, facilitating the processing of agricultural products, and organizing collective farming activities.

Bulengo Camp, North Kivu Empowering Internally Displaced Women Through Beans Cultivation - image 1 — Figure 2: Women tending to their community garden: a beacon of hope in the heart of Bulengo camp, North Kivu, DRC. Photo by: Bola Amoke Awotide

Challenges in Agriculture and Land Access

Bulengo camp is one of the LSC’s key intervention areas, where more than 60 women are engaged in farming on a temporary communal plot of approximately one hectare, provided by the camp's chief. With the support of LSC, these women grow vegetables (cabbage, eggplant, amaranth, tomatoes) and beans. They collectively work on this community farm every Monday and Friday.

Neema, a mother of four, shares, "When aid doesn't come, our gardens are our lifeline. Without them, I don't know how we would survive." Rachel added that growing beans makes them more resilient to hardship because they can mature early and can be harvested twice a year. Neema added that when there is no consistent support from humanitarian organizations, they survive by producing beans and other vegetables: "We eat what we grow, sell surplus beans in the camp market, and use the money to buy other household necessities". In essence, the women in this camp rely on cultivating beans for survival.

This is a strong indication that these landless women - who sometimes work as agricultural laborers on other people’s farms - are striving to improve their households' food security and self-sufficiency despite extremely difficult conditions.

Bulengo Camp, North Kivu Empowering Internally Displaced Women Through Beans Cultivation - image 4 — Figure 3: Women in the community garden

Despite the crucial role that food production plays in the survival of women in Bulengo camp, access to land remains a major challenge. The lack of farmland ownership greatly limits their ability to sustain themselves, exacerbating food insecurity. To make ends meet, some women work as wage laborers in surrounding villages, while others take significant risks by venturing into Virunga Park to gather firewood, where violent attacks by armed groups is frequently reported. Renting a small plot of 25 to 50 square meters around Bulengo camp can cost between $100 and $150 per growing season: an inaccessible price for these women who earn less than $1 a day.

Urgent Needs and Collective Efforts

A stable food supply for the IDP is essential for their survival. The women and families residing in the camps need to supplement their food supply through individual production. However, this depends on access to farmland throughout the year. Nevertheless, access to land remains the most pressing need for women in Bulengo camp. As in many other places across the country, land rights in the camp areas present a significant challenge. The women groups seeking access to land are often perceived as disorganized, thus making it even harder to secure plots of land for farming.

While some agricultural support structures are already in place within the camp to assist them, the women of Bulengo camp have expressed their need for high-yielding bean varieties, farming tools and training sessions on good agricultural practices to enhance the productivity of their crops.

To address some of the challenges faced by these women, LSC - in collaboration with other international development organizations - has organized collective action initiatives such as the Village Savings and Credit Associations (VSCA), which was launched in January 2024. This initiative is geared towards empowering the women to support one another, fostering hope for expanding their activities into small businesses, and exploring ways to finance their membership in local food distribution organizations.

Bulengo Camp, North Kivu Empowering Internally Displaced Women Through Beans Cultivation - image 2 — Figure 4: Focus Group Discussion: An In-Depth Exploration of Their Key Needs

A Path Forward: Hope and Resilience

Despite these challenges, the women of Bulengo camp demonstrate remarkable solidarity. Women support their neighbors' activities, ensuring mutual protection of their harvests. The visit from the B4WE project team marks a significant step toward deeper collaboration with LSC. Together, these organizations will continue to support agricultural and economic initiatives for displaced women, supporting them in rebuilding their lives and improving their socio-economic conditions through their participation in the development of the bean value chain.

"Facing risks with courage, these women continue to fight for their right to safety and autonomy" says an LSC representative. "Their unwavering determination is inspiring, and with continued support, they can achieve lasting success." Improving the current conditions for women in Bulengo camp requires a multifaceted approach. Addressing the ongoing insecurity is critical, as it would give residents more freedom to engage in livelihood activities without the constant fear of violence.

In the short term, strengthening the presence of humanitarian organizations to provide consistent food aid is essential to alleviating hunger. However, for long-term solutions, the focus must shift to resolving the challenge of women's land access.

Advocacy efforts are crucial to securing larger affordable plots of land for displaced women, allowing them to expand their farming activities and achieve greater food security. Providing tools, seeds and agricultural training will further empower these women to become more self sufficient and improve their economic opportunities.

The situation in Bulengo camp highlights the interconnectedness of socio-political insecurity, food access and issues of land access. Only by addressing these challenges with a holistic approach can the displaced women of North Kivu begin to rebuild their lives and achieve economic stability in the face of adversity. Despite the difficulties, the women of Bulengo remain hopeful, believing that their efforts and collaboration with partners and projects such as LSC and B4WE will yield lasting results.

The journey ahead is challenging, but with unwavering determination and the support of global partners, the women of Bulengo camp are sowing the seeds of a brighter future.

To learn more about our work with beans and its impact, contact Bola Amoke Awotide: [email protected]