Organization History

Women in Sustainable Agriculture, WSA was created in 2006. The initiative for institutionalizing WSA was motivated by the general apathy that central and local structures of governance were functioning; the low and chaotic progress made in the area of rural development and the particularly difficult situation of women groups in these areas.

WSA mission remains the same as to its creation and is outlined in efforts aimed at ”Improving the living conditions of women in the rural areas and empowering them to achieve a broader and more active participation in agricultural activity, in the society and more”.

Although, some important efforts have been made at national level to address this challenge by setting out goals and objectives on equal opportunities and a notable progress is been made in the political, legal and institutional framework, gaps are still existent and the disparities for women groups living in rural areas remain big.

In the course of our 10 year journey as organization, the group of women who created WSA has now expanded in a broader group of members and activists, and has widened the spectrum of expertise areas.

As it was represented by a narrow group of women specializing mainly in the area of agronomy, WSA work was limited in matters such as; capacity building and awareness-raising with main focus placed on agriculture production methods and technologies. WSA early work includes arrangement of no cost activities such as open lectures and demonstrations, trainings, meetings with small groups of women, which were intended to help us create better understanding of issues in rural areas and to enhance cohesion between WSA and affected communities/target groups. This approach has given WSA the opportunity to establish a close relationship with the most important and the real concerns of women groups, as well as to obtain a broader network of contacts with a WSA presence in almost every region of Albania (for more detailed information look WSA map).

As we speak, thanks to the long experience WSA has honed over years, the professional furtherance and variety in attained specialties, such as agriculture, economy, and environment, WSA has not only advanced the nature of its initiatives in matters dealing with women’s economic and social situation, entrepreneurship and economic empowerment, education and awareness in various matters (health, domestic violence, etc) but it has also expanded and enhanced the level of its cooperation with other actors from the public and private sector. In meantime, WSA has joined different networks advocating gender aspects of rural and urban development, such as ‘The Albanian Network for Rural Development”. It is worth to point out that WSA executive and implementation team is represented by professional women holding scientific degrees (Phd, Ass. Prof, Prof. mainly in the Agriculture field), as well as short and long term qualifications taken inside and outside Albania. WSA has been active with projects supported by foreign donor agencies and state institutions. It has participated in many national and international events addressing gender issues.