Participatory Community Development
We are dedicated to creating economic opportunities for women farmers and empowerment for rural women. TierraEmpower, sister NGO to social enterprise EarthEmpower, creates a rare economic opportunity in rural Central America, by providing local farmers with training, technical assistance, and access to high value specialty markets for native and non-commercial crops by connecting to EarthEmpower food brands. The products are assembled by a women-led team, creating formal employment opportunities for rural, indigenous women. In addition to fair wages, TierraEmpower provides capacity building, leadership coaching, and empowerment training to the women to increase their economic autonomy and become agents of change in their communities.
The Problem
Women in Guatemala experience the second highest rate of discrimination in Latin America and one of the highest rates of femicide in the region, with at least two women killed every day. It follows that access to health services, nutrition, education, and fair job opportunities is limited for women, especially rural, indigenous women. In Guatemala, only 33% of women have access to formal job opportunities; this rate is three times lower than the rate of men.
Even when they have formal jobs, women are paid only 78% of what men make and only 15% are in managerial positions. This is largely due to the imbalance of unpaid and domestic work. Women perform unpaid labor at triple the rate of men and compose 93% of the domestic workforce. The labor disparity contributes to persistent poverty and malnutrition in Guatemala, where 53% of the population lives in poverty and 46% of children are malnourished. These rates are even higher for indigenous populations where poverty and malnutrition peak at 80%.
To reduce the extreme poverty and discrimination, women must have access to stable and safe employment that allows them to generate a fair income and exercise their right to control their resources. EarthEmpower creates economic empowerment opportunities for rural and indigenous women through its impact-driven business, which sources native crops from women farmers at a fair rate and provides formal jobs to rural, indigenous women. Through fair wages and empowerment training, these women become change agents in their communities.
Our Work
EarthEmpower creates a rare opportunity for fair work in the impoverished communities where we operate. We provide wages that are 60% higher than an average rural salaried employee in Guatemala.
We source native and non-commodity crops directly from farmers, especially women and indigenous farmers, to increase income opportunities among impoverished communities.
We invest in the social development of our all-women team, providing leadership coaching and empowerment training to provide rural women and farmers with the necessary tools to transform their lives and their communities
Our Impact
2017
2 jobs
created
$1500
5 women
2018
4 jobs
created
$8997
14 women
2019
7 jobs
created
$8783
32 women
Help us Empower Women!
When women work, they invest 90% of their income back into their families, compared with 35% for men. Resources in the hands of women are more likely to have an amplified positive affect across health, nutrition, and education. Further, women with financial independence can better manage their personal well-being and make choices to delay pregnancy, leave unsafe domestic situations, pursue extended educational or job opportunities. We empower rural women, because focusing on women generates economic progress, improves health and education outcomes and increases market access for everyone.