Women's Page

Tradition and circumstances often make women like emilia the workhorses of guinean society. During the spring cashew season, it is the women who harvest and sell the cashew nuts, transporting them to the market on foot, as they carry the raw nuts on their heads in 10-20 kg loads. women also process the cashew fruit into wine, which is then sold to the local, mostly male market. With the income they earn, women are expected to clothe, feed and provide medicine for their families.

cashew planting and processing represent an important opportunity for women, offering them not only escape from poverty, but independence. The shelling techniques taught at tips' quinhamel training center permit trainees to establish a home-based business that can quadruple their income from cashew nuts, income that is badly needed in a country where the average annual income is only $290 per person.

since 1994, tips has trained more than ___ women in home-based cashew processing, using technology appropriate to their situation. As the local market for processed cashews becomes saturated, they will be looking increasingly for export opportunities. This internet site has been established for procajú, an association of guinea-bissau's cashew processors, to enter the market for direct sales of these hand-processed, roasted cashew nuts.

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