56 women from Nisporeni, Calarasi, Basarabeasca, Leova, Dubasari, Gagauzia and Transnistrian regions received from grants of up to US$4,400 each to launch economic activities resilient to climate change in their households. The beneficiaries were selected in the second round of a public call organized by the UNDP "Sustainable and resilient communities through empowering women” project, funded by Sweden.

In addition to financial support, women will also benefit from one-year of business mentoring and training for the application of sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices, the use of green energy and energy efficient technologies, etc. In this way, they will be able to successfully start or develop businesses in various fields, such as beekeeping, livestock and poultry farming, manure management, growing and processing medicinal plants, growing vegetables in greenhouses, as well as other economic activities generating income and resilient to climate and economic crises. 

During the grant certificates awarding event, held on 16 November 2022, Karin Borovic, Head of Development cooperation section at the Embassy of Sweden in Chisinau, said: “An enabling environment where women are financially, socially and educationally empowered contributes to the development of sustainable and resilient communities, the creation of new jobs, improved living conditions for residents, and ensuring inclusive economic growth for the entire region/district. The grants that are offered today are just one of the tools through which the project provides women with the opportunity to become agents of change in their communities, championing smart climate change adaptation practices which also provides them with additional income.”

With the help of the grant obtained, Aliona Zadir from Cioc-Maidan village, Comrat district, will expand her sheep farm and build spaces for manure processing and compost production. "This activity will provide us with an additional income, because a good portion of the compost will be sold to agricultural producers, and we will use the rest on our own agricultural lands. At the same time, this is a way for us to address the problem with the animal waste management,” says the entrepreneur.

“As we all are aware, in Moldova, rural women are four times more prone to absolute poverty, they are underrepresented in the public decision-making and are more vulnerable to climate change. On top of that, the socio-economic crisis induced by the COVID-19, the ongoing energy crisis and the war in Ukraine not only exacerbates poverty and gender inequality, but also generates additional environment related risks and vulnerabilities. Therefore, targeted actions are required now even more to enhance women’s access to alternative income generation activities, as well as to the knowledge and information on resilient management of natural and agricultural resources on which they depend.  This is even more relevant given that at the global level, women-led organizations receive just 1-3% of climate adaptation financing.,” said Silvia Pana-Carp, Programme Analyst at UNDP Moldova.

This spring, another 64 women with economic activity in their households received grants from Sweden in the framework of the UNDP "Sustainable and resilient communities through empowering women” project and started businesses in various fields. Several entrepreneurs presented their products at the exhibition organized in the context of the grant award ceremony to the winners of the second round of the grant competition.

The "Sustainable and resilient communities through empowering women” project contributes to the sustainable development and increased resilience to climate change of the localities in the districts of Nisporeni, Calarasi, Basarabeasca, Leova, Gagauzia region, the security zone and the Transnistrian region through the economic, social and educational empowerment of women. The project is implemented by UNDP between 2020 and 2023, with the financial assistance of Sweden.