Cashew nut processing and processing companies have provided a solution to the issue of women's empowerment in the department of Toumodi, employing nearly 1500 day laborers. With a monthly income of between 60,0000 and 120,000 FCFA, the latter manage to contribute to the expenses of their families and to invest in other sectors of activity. Birth and growth of cashew processing companies The history of the creation of cashew nut processing companies begins in Toumodi in December 2005, when the town hall, led by Simone Tchinah, decided to set up a women's cooperative, specializing in cashew nut peeling. . This cooperative called “Ekloiyoâ€, which means “We can do it†in the local Baoulé language, is chaired by N'da Akissi and begins its activities on December 26, 2005, with 50 daily workers. Ekloiyo has forged a partnership with the Olam company, based in Dimbokro, through which Olam supplies it with cashew nuts. This cooperative is making its merry way, thanks to the hard work of the management team and the dedication of the day laborers. About ten years later, the cooperative built and moved to its own premises. It becomes SARL ITHIEL, which means “God is with us†and employs 250 women daily. The daily workers of the company ITHIEL, pioneer of the activity with the management team The success of this first structure attracted other companies which gradually settled in Toumodi. The AISA company, which set up in 2019, employs 200 day laborers. At the beginning of July 2022, the Prime Minister, Patrick Jérôme Achi inaugurated the factory of Dorado Ivory, a multinational specialized in the processing of cashew nuts. The largest among these companies, it employs 1,000 employees, including more than 700 women. The coordinator of the Relation main d'oeuvre (RMO) company in Toumodi, Didier Kouassi, said that his structure in charge of recruiting, training and managing workers, has recruited 650 women for the Dorado factory. Ivory. These different companies offer job opportunities for all women regardless of their social and professional conditions. There are notably illiterate people, graduates, dropouts, students, orphans and widows. The common denominator of all these women is the search for well-being through financial autonomy. Cashew brings empowerment to these women These cashew nut processing and processing companies have changed the daily lives of the women of Toumodi. For some women, this activity is a springboard, like a launching pad to a better tomorrow. According to ITHIEL's accounting assistant, Valentine Apéa Dibi, several of them are currently civil servants, including five teachers. “Thanks to the income generated by their work, they were able to pay the costs of the competitions, the preparation courses and pass them,†rejoices Ms. Dibi. This is the case of Larissa Gondo, whom we met at RMO headquarters, admitted to the nursing competition of the National Institute for the Training of Health Workers (INFAS), who came to say goodbye to her recruiters. With the savings made by other women, they opted for income-generating activities (IGA). “Today many have opened their hair salon, sewing workshop or business. They are financially independent,†maintains the assistant manager of ITHIEL, Helène Erskine. Women who still work there testify to the fallout from this activity, which has improved their living conditions. Workers recruited a few months ago by Rmo for the multinational Dorado Ivory “I embraced this activity because I needed money to support myself and I don't regret a single moment today. Through perseverance and sacrifice, I bought land, built my three-room house. I live in the house with my family,†reveals Angéline Kouamé Affoué, 39. As for Valérie Siehi, 45, this activity has enabled her to support herself and meet the needs of her family. “I was able to send my children to school and support my brothers, one of whom is a teacher today. My current project is to build myself a house,†she says. Awa Monsé, 59 years old and widowed, had to show resilience like most of these brave women, despite the prejudices and gossip associated with this activity. “When I started cashew work, several people tried to discourage me on the grounds that this activity makes you sick, it causes tuberculosis. My husband fiercely opposed going so far as to beat me. But, I refused to abdicate and I told him that if this activity should kill me, then I will go and die with “my sisters†over thereâ€, tells us lady Monsé. “I made him understand that my only objective was to support him with family expenses. That's what I did until his death five years ago. And after his death, I was able to continue to take care of my family. Thank God, his job as an electrician allowed him to build us a house and my income is used to send the children to school. One works at Agefop and I pay a tuition of 650,000 Francs for the other who is a student, â€she concludes. Advice for women and girls It is with eagerness that these women give advice to their “sistersâ€, still in search of financial autonomy. These women who have become independent, fulfilled and who have fulfilled themselves through the cashew business, have encouraged “their sisters†and the young girls not to give in to the easy way out, nor to the prejudices associated with their work. “I have been doing this activity for 18 years and have never been hospitalized,†confirms Valérie Siehi. Factory work “Today, a man cannot permanently change the life of a young girl. I brought several girls here who couldn't hold out, it's a real shame. The problem for young girls today is that they are looking for ease and they think they will find it with men,†laments Awa Monsé. Dame Kouamé points out that men also need their wives to help them. “It is good to live in our homes, because we manage to support our spouses,†says Ms. Boni, with a smile. The work of women in these factories contributes, among other things, to reducing the issue of unemployment, the vulnerability of households and the dropout of their children. “Anacarde saved us and our children,†they claim with a touch of pride and gratitude. Today in Toumodi, it is rare to find idle young girls. They are increasingly going to cashew nut processing structures. The waitresses in the maquis or even the girls of households have abandoned these activities to turn to peeling and shelling cashew nuts, because they are less humiliating, less stressful and much more profitable.