Women in rural Mali are benefiting from an initiative sponsored by UN Women and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that provides solar-powered mills, freezers and dryers cost-free to female entrepreneurs. Women are using the technology to extract, dry, grind and process fruit and local products such as mangoes, ginger, tamarind and hibiscus flowers. In Mali only 18 percent of the rural population has electricity, so the solar-powered equipment is a game changer. For Kadidia Diawara, mayor of a rural township, this project is beneficial not only to women but also to the entire community. Photo credit: UN Women/F. Kanakomo
