Context
Over the years, as the population has grown, agriculture has become increasingly productive and specialised, with the aim of meeting the needs of the population without regard for the environmental impact it would cause, or the impact on people's health (development of intensive conventional agriculture that uses large quantities of pesticides and causes pollution, monospecialisation of production leading to a reduction in agricultural genetic diversity, etc.). What's more, for some countries, this is compounded by increased dependence on "inferior" food imports subject to volatile price fluctuations, to which North Africa is relatively susceptible. Turning to local agro-ecological systems while taking human health into account is therefore necessary, but it requires real collective coordinated action. This is why the Nawaya association was launched in 2011 in Cairo (Egypt), by a group of young social entrepreneurs seeking to change the way small-scale farming issues are tackled in Egypt.
The project
Nawaya was born out of a deep concern for the future of rural livelihoods and the lack of coordinated action to support the development of small-scale farming and promote social and environmental justice.
For decades, Nawaya has partnered with small-scale farmers in North Africa to develop innovative solutions to persistent challenges. Nawaya has conducted dozens of research projects on best agricultural practices and enterprise development with small-scale farming communities in Egypt and the Arab world. The results of these studies are available on her website in the form of articles or videos so that other farmers can draw inspiration from them and replicate them.
Working method :
- Identifying priorities with rural communities and bringing together relevant solutions that have already been tried and tested elsewhere so that communities don't have to spend resources reinventing the wheel.
- Connecting groups of people who can collectively strengthen themselves to develop common strategies, budgets and working structures.
- Working closely with these groups to adapt, innovate and solve problems as they test their models in the field.
Results
Nawaya has co-created a demonstration centre at the Fagnoon art school in Abusir to showcase reproducible models of environmentally-friendly rural development practices and appropriate low-cost technologies.
In 2014, a community kitchen ("Baladini") run by women farmers was set up to offer "artisanal, healthy and fair" food based on rural traditions.
Other examples of projects carried out by Nawaya :
- Marketing and youth leadership
- Mapping local foods
- Inclusive and collaborative practices
- Geographical Origin Labels
- Business best practice
- Urban gardens in Cairo
- Local commitment
- Farmer-to-farmer videos + training
- Baladini Rural Food Enterprise (see above)
- Training in rural nutrition
- Training in composting and beekeeping
- Farmer-to-farmer video training courses
Little extra
The Nawaya association has organised an unusual campaign: throwing seed balls. These balls are made from a mixture of clay, compost and seeds, and were sown all over Cairo with the aim of raising awareness of this method and encouraging food production in urban areas.
This initiative was written by Océane AGUSSAN, student at Bordeaux Sciences Agro in January 2023.
Last modification : 12 Jun 2023.
Nawaya
Nawaya Egypt is an initiative to promote sustainable agriculture and strengthen farming communities by providing training, resources and opportunities to create self-sufficient farming systems.