What’s the buzz about? Meet the beekeeper and snail farmer who are growing their green businesses in Ghana. Watch now.
Snail farming wasn’t on Alima Salifu’s bingo card of careers. Yet here she is, an escargot expert on a slow and steady path to prosperity.
“I have made a lot from the snails, and people say my shop is the best in the area,” says Salifu. “It is all because of the snails.”
Salifu’s convenience store was on the verge of collapse after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first half of this decade, the pandemic, the surging cost of living and the effects of climate change have made it that much harder for rural women in Ghana to be self-sufficient.
In 2021, the average savings for women in Ghana like Alima was 337 Ghanaian cedis (GHS) – about C$31. Only 11% of working or farming women used modern business and agricultural techniques, and four out of five men surveyed did not agree with women becoming financially independent.
So, what changed?
Alima learned how to farm snails and other sustainable entrepreneurial skills. She, Gifty Ninfaabetegre and Rebecca Mumuni are among the 3,000 women in Ghana who have ventured into starting small green businesses with support from Plan International’s Women’s Innovation for Sustainable Enterprises (WISE) project .
For five years, the WISE project partnered with women to help them overcome the overwhelming economic conditions of the early 2020s to become more financially independent and run more profitable and sustainable small businesses.
With start-up support, skills training and access to savings groups and child-care services, women like Alima, Gifty and Rebecca have the tools, time and trust to make a better life for themselves and their families.
“You can see the smiles on their faces with the small changes that are already happening in their lives,” says Rose Aawulenaa, the project manager at Plan International Ghana .
She and the WISE project team spoke with people across Ghana, raising awareness that when women become earners, entire communities benefit from greater prosperity.
“A woman in a rural community gets the chance to be respected,” says Aawulenaa.
Words from the WISE
A woman explains her photos and her business at a photography exhibit in Tolon, Ghana.
These three women were among two dozen who documented their journeys as female small business owners. Using a research method called Photovoice, they show through photographs how snail breeding, beekeeping and mushroom farming have made a difference in their lives. The women worked with Justice Baidoo Consulting Ltd. to exhibit what they’ve learned as entrepreneurs and what they’d change to weather future economic storms.
These are their photos and stories.
She sells shells: Alima’s story
Alima Salifu, 46, lives in Techiman, where she owns a convenience store with her husband. She learned snail farming and joined a savings group through the WISE project. Her group refers to her as “the president” because of the leadership and business support she offers her peers.
“I was selling provisions when the coronavirus came. Because of the lockdown, my business was on the verge of collapse. When [the WISE project introduced] mushroom and snail farming, I chose snail farming.”
“The project taught us record keeping and how I can benefit from the snail value chain – for example, how I can turn snails into kebabs, or dry them or fry them to sell in the market. I am even thinking of turning the snails into powder.”
“Before, I didn’t have the money to cook for my children. Now I can cook for them, and they are no longer roaming the streets. My husband, my children and I are always happy because if my child asks me for school fees, I am able to provide.”
Honey money: Gifty’s story
Gifty Ninfaabetegre, 49, lives in Sunyani, where she farms on her homestead, sells baked goods and now keeps bees through training from the WISE project. She makes and sells her own brand of honey to support her family’s income.
“The WISE project organized women into groups for village savings and loan associations [VSLAs] for a year. We were told to use whatever proceeds we got from the VSLA for our own businesses, a business that even when the WISE project is no more, one can rely on. Most of the group members chose what was suitable for them. I was the only one who chose beekeeping.
"We were farming when COVID-19 struck. I also sold koose [fried bean cakes]. COVID-19 reduced my work, especially selling in the market, because people were afraid they would contract the disease. It worried us a lot. I never thought a woman could also become a bee farmer had it not been for the WISE project. It was always crop farming and koose frying. We have learned that whatever work a man does can also be done by women.”
“The WISE project has shown me how to save money, how to drain my honey and even how to make my labels. They taught me how I could register my business at the Registrar General’s department. I started with 2,100 Ghana cedis, but as we speak, I have saved 7,000 Ghana cedis.”
Fungi funds: Rebecca’s story
Rebecca Mumuni, 44, from Tano North, has a pig farm with her husband. Thanks to the WISE project, she was able to diversify her farm with mushrooms, learning how to plant, harvest and sell mushrooms.
“WISE taught us not to spend on wants but on needs. It taught us to avoid impulse buying and rather save. WISE took us through a mentorship program. We did an elevator pitch contest and I won! Through that, I got money to build my mushroom room. WISE taught us how to package and sell to customers. Through the mentorship programs from WISE Project, I learned branding and record keeping.”
“Due to heavy winds and heat, my mushroom compost bags dry up faster than they are supposed to. This has affected my savings because I have to pay more for water. I increased my production by buying items in bulk to help me save when the cost of living and climate change affected my business. I spend less on transportation, and this helped me support my family and enhance our breakfast.”
The five-year WISE project finished in Ghana in spring 2024. On average, the women who participated in the project saw their average monthly savings multiply by more than four times, to 1,488 GHS (C$137). Community outreach activities about equal decision making, child care and division of labour have yielded positive returns too.
“It is very common now to see men caring for children and assisting their wives with farm work in this community,” one man told Plan Ghana – proving that investing in women and their economic opportunities isn’t just right, it’s wise business for everyone.
