The International Labour Organization (ILO) has delivered co-op development training to 20 agriculture managers in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Kasai province.
Held in the city of Tshikapa from 12 to 23 December last year, the training looked at the ILO’s key tools for co-operative entrepreneurship.
Participants, who will pass on the lessons by running training sessions at their own organisations, included representatives from Kasai province’s departments of agriculture, fisheries and livestock and community development, as well as NGOs working on food security issues.
The train-the-trainer course shared a number of co-operative development training tools with the participants, including Think.COOP, Start.COOP and My.COOP.
The Think.COOP tool provides an introduction to co-ops for anyone interested in starting or joining one. Start.COOP gives guidance on the steps needs to set up a co-op, while My.COOP is a guide specifically about the management of agricultural co-ops.
Plans are under way for the group to receive further coaching, as part of the ILO’s wider goal “to put in place a sustainable mechanism for improving the employability of young people, [and] the economic empowerment of rural communities“.
The course was funded by the African Development Bank as part of the National Road No.1 Rehabilitation Project, which will link Tshikapa and Kamuesha.
The course participants are due to receive their certification for participation in Tshikapa this month.
