Bilkisa harvests a bounty

On a red-dirt hillside in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, Bilkisa stands surrounded by waist-high sacks of potatoes. The bounty is more than a good harvest. These potatoes are funding her future.

A pressure felt especially by women

Families in Bilkisa’s rural community labour to make a living with the odds stacked against them. Years of overuse have degraded the soil, and climate change brings erratic droughts and floods that wipe out crops. Everyone is affected, but certain gender norms have put women and girls at a disadvantage.

Most often, it’s “the girls” shouldering household tasks—caregiving, fetching water, gathering firewood, cooking. And it’s also “the girls” who’ve been left out of the big, problem-solving work. Until now.

Working in collaboration, with women at the centre

On October 16, 2025, World Food Day calls for global collaboration to create a peaceful, sustainable, prosperous and food-secure future—one where all people have access to healthy food and live in harmony with the planet. RESILIENT-WE is a beautiful example of this kind of cooperation.

Funded by Global Affairs Canada, the project is implemented by World Vision Canada with two partners: the gender equality-focused Network of Ethiopian Women’s Associations and an East African early childhood care enterprise called Kidogo Early Years.

RESILIENT-WE has one overarching goal: to see women and girls like Bilkisa with the resilience needed to withstand the unique environmental challenges facing their region. What does this look like? Women gaining real power to make decisions; women skilled to manage their natural resources under climate pressure; women with varied economic options, who can keep their families steady and fed when challenges hit.

Bilkisa’s story

“I had limited knowledge of potato production and used local potato seeds, which resulted in low yields,” says Bilkisa. “I also lacked a saving culture and struggled with managing my finances.”

Like other women in her rural area, Bilkisa had no training in modern farming practices or ways of managing natural resources, and her productivity was suffering. She couldn’t afford to feed her children nutritious food. They went to school thanks to free public education, but without basic supplies like notebooks and pencils.

To support the community in addressing its challenges, RESILIENT-WE provided training in sustainable soil and water conservation and introduced a simple but innovative way of regreening the land called Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration. Families received hardy, fast-maturing fruit seedlings along with training and support cultivating them. Community-led management committees were set up to rehabilitate watershed areas—and unlike previous committees that had been dominated by men, these involved women in the work and decision-making.

The Women Producer Group

When an agricultural producer group for women was introduced, Bilkisa’s situation truly began to change. She joined hands-on potato production sessions and took training in savings and financial management.

She received 350 kilograms of seed potatoes for planting—a stronger, more resilient variety. At harvest time, those yielded an impressive 4,200 kilograms. From that bounty, she sold 2,800 kilograms, earning the equivalent of $1,870. The rest was set aside for family meals and next season’s planting.

With the increased potato income, Bilkisa made an investment that will pay off immediately: she purchased a bull and heifer, to help with the laborious work of tilling the land.

Today, her family finally has a buffer. School supplies have been purchased, the children are eating more nutritious meals, and Bilkisa has some room to breathe.

The path forward—rehabilitating the soil, expanding her production and adapting to an unpredictable climate—will take persistence. RESILIENT-WE continues as her partner, working to ensure her success continues, and that others like her are equipped to manage the future with similar strength.