Tunis/Tunisia — The first edition of the Takelsa Women's Festival was held on Thursday, under the theme "rural women's activity and contribution to achieving a healthy environment."
This festival was organised by the Takelsa Female Farmers' Organisation for Development, in cooperation with "Web Tunisia" organisation.
The aim of this festival is to promote products by women farmers in the region, particularly the 192 members of the association, aged between 18 and 54.
The Takelsa Female Farmers' Organisation was established in 2015, with support of the Tunisian Union of Social Solidarity (UTSS) and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said President of the organisation Hedia Ben Saoud.
It helps mentor and guide female farmers in promoting and marketing their products, namely cattle breeding, poultry farming and milk production, she added. Goods also include pepper products, spices, textile and others.
A number of training programmes was held in the fields of environment conservation and agricultural marketing for the benefit of member farmers.
The biggest complication facing these women is the lack of means of transport, Ben Saoud pointed out, calling on potential partners to provide a private vehicle to these women so as to help promote their products.
She also noted their lack of equipment and the need to develop infrastructure, to ease the farmers' movement across the area.
Secretary General of the organisation Rim Ben Saoud, for her part, urged the civil society to help the organisation become a centre for ecological production.
The organisation has turned farmers from rivals to partners, said UTSS local development coordinator Mohamed Meftahi, reiterating commitment to keep supporting farmers and financing their projects.
Likewise, Mayor of Takelsa Walid Amari commended this first edition of the festival, calling it a success for rural women. The municipal Council is fully prepared to support the women of the organisation, he said, noting that the locality is the largest in Nabeul governorate, with 27 thousand hectares.
It includes 17 residential tourist and industrial communities, in addition to the distinctive beach and forest.
