June 2011: Ndiebene Toube is a small village in Senegal, close to the coast and the northern border with Mauritania. For many years, women there have been growing and preparing grains to sell at market locally and beyond the northern border.

A cornerstone of the local and regional diet, couscous is produced when semolina is mixed with a small quantity of water and rubbed between hands until small granules are formed. Thiakry is a regional favourite that combines millet and sweetened heavy cream and is eaten as a dessert.  The women prepare these finished items which are sold at markets, demanding a higher price than the raw materials alone can command.

For generations, women have been involved in this type of commerce, making extra money for their families. Business was good, but it was never quite enough to ensure financial security. “My parents were in this business,” explains Fatou Diop of her work. “It seemed though we always worked hard, we were unable to achieve success consistently nor take advantage of opportunities.”

One day in 2002, when a customer requested a particularly large order of couscous, Diop asked other women to join with her to take advantage of the opportunity. The women continued to work together from that point forward.

Business skills: the next step

Plan began working with the women in 1990, helping them to transform their loose organization into a well-functioning small business enterprise.

Teaching the women functional to read and write was the first step. The 25 women in the cooperative learned Wolof. Then, Plan provided courses in small business development and management to help the women budget, plan, and improve logistics for deliveries of their products. The women were also given instruction on how to create markets for their products to increase sales. From the loose organization, a formal group was established, Fatou Diop now serves as president.

Future prospects look strong

Now, the women work together making their products in a factory of their own. The main work room is hot and dusty, but the smell reminds one of a bakery. Despite the heat, the women are happily chatting about their everyday life while busily working at making products for market. In addition to couscous and thiakry, the women have added peanut butter and natural drinks and juices to their line of products including: bissap; ginger-mint-nutmeg; and bouye made from the fruit of the monkey bread tree.

A full day of production involves 30 women. Each woman can prepare an average of two bowls of couscous per day, and for this earns 1000 cfa. The finished couscous is sold in 5kg packages at local markets and in Mauritania. However, if more products are produced enabling larger orders to be filled, the women share the profits. The busiest time is during the month of Ramadan and in January, when the Day of Tamharyt or Couscous Day is celebrated. Women also sell the transformed cereals in the packages of 5 kg each to Mauritania and to places like the University of Gaston Berger of Saint Louis (UGB) or the Military Company in Bango; and to the local villages.

Plan saw an opportunity to further assist the women’s grain cooperative by providing machinery to help refine and prepare the raw grains. Machines including grinders for flour(2), separation of grains from dust (1), couscous preparation (5) were provided to help increase production and improve safety. “Now the women can safely prepare a ton of couscous each day in less time with less risk from burns (often caused when making couscous),” said Plan Project Manager Amadou Moustapha Sow. “Because they have to spend less time pounding grains, they are able to use the time caring for families, seeking more education or growing their business prospects and markets.”

With a little assistance from Plan, these entrepreneurial women have now been able to develop and grow a sustainable business, taking raw materials and producing finished products for market. They are also capable of seeking new market opportunities to ensure their financial security now and in the future. Thanks to Plan, the women have a very successful business and are able to provide for their families.

Read more about Plan's work in Senegal.