Igbatima, We are different.

What happens when a farming organisation and One Village Partners’ women’s empowerment program cross paths in rural Sierra Leone?

A lot, it turns out.

In November 2024, our team travelled to Tormabum, Southern Bo District, to join Farming Out of Poverty (FOOP) - our newest implementation partner, in launching the NOW program (Nurturing Opportunities for Women) across three of their partner communities.

FOOP is a regenerative agriculture organisation deeply embedded in this region. They’ve built trust through technical support—distributing seeds, tools, and inputs, but found that mobilising communities, especially women, required a different kind of seed: one that grows confidence, agency, and collective action.

So, earlier in the year, five FOOP team members joined a Training of Trainers session with us in Kenema. It was their first time engaging with community-led development in this way. What followed was more than knowledge-sharing. It was truly a mindset shift.

They returned from training with a new identity statement in their communities:
FOOP – Igbatima, “We are different.”
NOW – Mumoapke Nafah, “Let us benefit ourselves.”

It wasn’t just talk. They danced more. Held Monday morning debriefs. Showed up differently in the field. Staff like Memuna, who once hesitated to speak in public, led the vote of thanks at the NOW launch. “I saw Bernadette standing with confidence in front of the communities. I said to myself, I can also do it,” she told us.

Over five days, we co-facilitated NOW sessions together—sharing fieldwork, exchanging strategies, and watching the FOOP team step up. It’s rare to witness such fast uptake, and even rarer to feel such shared ownership so early.

Of course, real partnership is honest. Communication hiccups affected planning. The team is still learning the curriculum. Instead of retreating, we’re reinforcing. A WhatsApp support group is now active. A Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) collaboration is underway, and a framework to define roles and strengthen strategy is on the horizon for 2025.

The enthusiasm from community members was immediate. The need for the NOW program was clear, and with FOOP’s commitment to expand the program, and scale agricultural inputs like rice, cassava, and groundnuts to our NOW alumni groups - this feels like just the beginning.

At OneVillage Partners, we believe that local leadership isn’t a slogan, it’s the engine of sustainable change.

Join us as we continue this journey.

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Getting to Know Lossie: A conversation with our MCLD expert and Program Supervisor

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Household Unity Revived Through the NOW Learning