Dimitra Clubs: What`s The Impact?10 years of empowering rural people to drive development

FAO story, July 2019

For 10 years now, Dimitra Clubs in sub-Saharan Africa have been empowering rural people to champion and galvanize development within their own communities.  With 3400 clubs and 102 000 members, the Dimitra Clubs are having a positive impact on an estimated 2 million rural people. 

Dimitra Clubs are voluntary, informal groups for women, men and youth who discuss common problems and determine ways to address them by acting together and using local resources. Agriculture is a common theme, but it’s not the only one; other topics include climate change, education, health, infrastructure, nutrition, peace and women’s status. Although FAO facilitates their set up and provides them with training and coaching, the clubs themselves are self-managed.

Dimitra Clubs create a space to also discuss and take action in relation with community social norms and behaviors affecting women – enabling women’s leadership and encouraging men’s engagement. Nearly all clubs own a solar-powered radio. By fostering partnerships with local radio stations, Dimitra Clubs learn from one another, broadcast their initiatives and spark dialogue in the wider community and beyond.

Here are four examples of the success the Dimitra Clubs have had over the past 10 years:

1. Fighting malnutrition by challenging dietary taboos

In several parts of Tshopo Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, rural women were facing upwards of 30 dietary restrictions banning them from many important sources of protein. Women were told that eating forbidden foods such as certain varieties of fish or eggs, would cause various diseases. The bans were established several generations ago, and they had never been challenged – until the local Dimitra Club stepped in.       

In August 2014, the club requested that the local radio station invite a nutrition expert into the studio. “Any food that can be eaten by a man can also be eaten by a woman,” the nutritionist declared. Leaders of various Dimitra Club echoed this message in their activities with traditional authorities. As a result, by June 2017, more than 20 dietary restrictions had been set aside. The Dimitra Clubs are still working to lift the remaining taboos.

2. Reconciling long-standing political disputes

For nearly 20 years, tensions have run high in the village of Debenso Bambara, Mali. When the village chief died in 2000, tradition dictated that his son should assume the position – but the son initially refused. Several years later, he changed his mind and ousted his replacement, sparking a village rift so severe that it has impeded local development work.

In 2018, FAO supported the Non-Governmental Organization AMAPROS in launching Dimitra Clubs in the area. From the first meeting the club members prioritized this local conflict as the most urgent issue to be addressed. For several months, the five clubs of the village discussed on possible consensual solutions to finally reach an agreement. All parties agree to nominate the son of the former chief as village leader. This latter acknowledged that his behavior had been the cause of the tensions and asked to be forgiven. The clubs gave the opportunity to all the village residents to recreate a bond, talk to each other and finally find a solution to this long dispute.

See more: http://www.fao.org/fao-stories/article/en/c/1200214/