PELUM Uganda kickstarted the 2nd Cohort of African Women Leaders in Agroecology (AWOLA) mentorship programme. (April 2024-April 2025)
PELUM Uganda proudly announces the commencement of the second cohort of its African Women Leaders in Agroecology (AWOLA) mentorship program that will be running from April 2024-April 2025. The AWOLA program is designed to equip women with critical leadership skills and advanced agroecological practices to spearhead sustainable development in their communities.
This initiative is tailored to address the unique challenges and opportunities in agroecology by fostering skills in leadership, sustainable farming practices, and environmental stewardship. AWOLA plays a vital role in transforming the agricultural landscape by integrating gender sensitivity and ecological awareness into leadership within the sector. It supports PELUM Uganda’s mission to promote ecological land use and sustainable farming among 3,000,000 smallholder farmers of which 60% are women.
The first cohort of AWOLA, which concluded in 2023, marked significant strides in mentorship and professional growth for its participants. Women from the program reported breakthroughs in personal and professional realms, launching initiatives that directly impacted their communities’ agricultural practices and sustainability. Mentees reported enhanced skills in strategic management, leadership, and agroecological practices, with many stepping into roles that allowed them to directly influence agricultural policies and practices in their regions.
Success stories from the first cohort illustrate AWOLA’s transformative impact. For instance, one mentee launched a community seed bank, while another initiated a profitable agroecological inputs, founding NGOs focused on agroecology, Increased participation of women in international agroecology conferences, Development and implementation of innovative community projects. These ventures have not only increased biodiversity and economic stability but also set a precedent for what AWOLA participants can achieve.
ABOUT THE AWOLA INITIATIVE
AWOLA (Africa Women Leaders in Agroecology) is a leadership career development initiative of the PELUM network, with the aim of equipping women working on agroecology, sustainable agriculture and food systems with leadership skills. Through the AWOLA initiative, the PELUM network envisions strengthening leadership capacities and the active participation of women in agro-ecology institutions. PELUM association, the initiative owner, is a regional network of over 250 civil society organizations in 12 countries in East, Central and Southern Africa founded in 1995 and working in the area of participatory ecological land use management. The Association works to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers and the sustainability of farming communities, by fostering ecological land use management. With country chapters in several African countries.
WHY YOU NEED TO BE PART OF THE INITIATIVE
AWOLA aims to put women at the heart of transforming African agriculture. The 3-year leadership program aims to create high level women leadership in agroecology, sustainable agriculture and food systems transformation, who will influence and negotiate for the space of agroecology in policies and programs across African countries. The many years of PELUM work have proved that women are at the forefront of ecological agriculture, and hence need to be at the centre of influence by forming a connected and committed movement of Africa women leadership in agroecology. You can be part of AWOLA as a mentee or as a mentor.
WHAT AWOLA OFFERS
Mentorship: The actual mentorship will entail a process where mentee and mentors who are at different scales and career levels develop supportive relationships around their professional and personal capacities. The process will entail a matchmaking session based on the gaps and skills across mentees and mentors.
Training: AWOLA will support mentees in a 1-year program (through virtual and face to face sessions), who will be trained to become leaders and effective negotiators, in influencing policies and programming while building collaborations with different stakeholders for desired outcomes. Through AWOLA mentees and mentors will be supported to participate in structured learning to build up on the agroecology and leadership knowledge base.
Development of leadership innovation ideas: The mentees and mentors will be supported to develop networks and work on innovation ideas. The innovation ideas will be shared with PELUM networks for integration across programs, where possible the coalition members will be encouraged to fundraise and further supported through the PELUM network to implement their ideas with the aim of supporting transformation of agriculture and food systems.
SELECTION PROCESS
- The AWOLA mentees and mentors will be identified through a competitive selection process that will include assessing their experience and leadership potential in agroecology, agriculture, and food systems development.
- Potential mentees and mentors will respond to an open call for application that will require them to demonstrate their suitability (application here)
- A selection panel of experts in agroecology, agriculture, food systems and leadership will review the applications. The final selection will be carried out by the AWOLA advisory panel.
If you have questions about this application, please contact us at:
email (pelumuganda@pelumuganda.org, or hadijahnalule@pelumuganda.org)
