On 8 November 2022, the Association of Friends of Bhutan, Austria and Tarayana Foundation in Bhutan signed a cooperation agreement. The City of Vienna awarded our association a grant of 29,000 Euros to enable 35 women mountain farmers from the Lhuentse district to purchase small motorized ploughs with the help of microcredits. Tarayana will implement the project, the goal of which is to enable the women, who currently practice only subsistence agriculture, to expand their agricultural productivity, thereby generating income and improving the livelihood of their families. Read more
Rights and Chances for Women and Girls
Project visit: Tailoring Training for Residents of Rinchengang
As part of the project “Strengthening access to justice for victims of gender-based violence in Bhutan”, also a two-month tailoring course for women was financed (project partner RENEW; with funding from the Austrian Ministry of Social Affairs/JugendEineWelt). The training should promote their economic independence and enable them to generate an independent income. During a project visit of our association in November we could convince ourselves of the newly gained skills of the 19 female participants and the only male participant of the course from Rinchengang. With great commitment, the women are now already making kiras, tegos and wanjus, the traditional clothing of women in Bhutan, as well as other products and are already receiving orders for sewing work.
Read moreRENEW Strengthening legal access for victims of domestic violence in rural Bhutan
Sarpang, Tsirang, Dagana, Samtse and Chukha
Legal access for victims of domestic violence in rural communities of Bhutan
Domestic violence is widespread in Bhut
an. However, social stigmas silences domestic violence victims. Most girls and women are suffering in silence. Particularly, in rural areas women and girls face more difficulties to access justice. This project aims to strengthen legal access for victims of domestic violence in the following rural districts: Sarpang, Tsirang, Dagana, Samtse and Chukha. With funding from the Federal Ministry for Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection and together with the Austrian organization Jugend Eine Welt, our association supports the Bhutanese women’s rights organization RENEW. So that girls and women will feel save in rural areas of Bhutan. Read more
RENEW: Computer Lab and ICT Training for Women and Girls
RENEW with support from Friends of Bhutan Austria (FOBA) conducted a three day “Basic Financial Literacy and Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) Tutorial”, with 30 participants, 28 female and 2 male. The training took place from 12th to 14th November, 2020 at Gawaling Happy Home, Wangsisina, Thimphu. In addition, FOBA provided four computers for the computer lab for disadvantaged women and girls.
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