The Gender, Climate Nexus in Rural Ethiopia 

In the high-altitude forests of the Southwestern Ethiopia, the impact of climate change is felt first in the kitchen and the hearth. For women in Ethiopia’s Southwest, spanning the Kaffa, Jimma, and Buno Bedele zones, forest degradation is not an abstract concept, it is the extra three hours spent searching for fuelwood or the drying up of a local spring. Despite their role as the primary managers of household resources, women in these regions have historically been marginalized from land ownership and financial decision, making.  

According to UN Women and the World Bank, female farmers in Ethiopia are, on average, 36% less productive than their male counterparts. This is not due to a lack of agricultural knowledge or industriousness; rather, it is the result of a vulnerability trap. Women have historically held only a fraction of formal land rights, have had minimal access to the formal credit needed to weather climate shocks, and are frequently excluded from the decision-making platforms where forest and other community resources are governed. When the forest is depleted, women lose their primary source of income, the non-timber forest products (NTFPs), and their ability to sustain their families is severely compromised. 

Recognizing that environmental sustainability is impossible without gender justice, the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Forested Landscape Program in Southwestern Ethiopia (CSMFL project) was designed with a radical commitment to women’s agency. Launched in December 2022, this four-year initiative, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and led by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), operates on the premise that a woman with economic power is the forest’s most effective guardian. Working alongside International Development Enterprises (iDE) and the Environment Coffee Forest Forum (ECFF), the project has centered its strategy on two transformative community-based institutions, the Village Economic and Social Association (VESA) and Participatory Forest Management (PFM).  

The Strategic Mandate: Equality as an Investment  

For the Embassy of Sweden, this focus is a direct extension of their commitment to women’s and girls’ empowerment and freedom, as well as their regional environmental strategies. Frehiwot Tsegaye, a gender expert for the project, explains: “A gender-blind conservation project is a failing project. In the Southwest, women are the primary stewards of the forest’s non-timber products. By placing their economic agency at the center of the CSMFL, we are ensuring that our common priority, inclusive and sustainable growth, is met at the grassroots level.

Okechukwu Daniel Ogbonnaya, GGGI Ethiopia Country Director, adds a strategic perspective, “One of GGGI’s core values is ‘Inclusiveness.’ Our project design ensures that climate finance, which is often trapped at the national level, reaches the hands of women in the Kaffa zone. When a woman in a VESA group saves money, she is building a buffer against climate shocks.” 

The Story of Tirfe and the VESA Revolution  

In the Gimbo Woreda, Amani Kebele Kefa Zone, the introduction of the VESA model has provided a platform for economic independence that was previously unthinkable. Unlike traditional micro-finance, which can often trap rural residents in cycles of debt, the VESA is a self-managed, community-owned ‘village bank’. It serves as an incubator for financial literacy and collective action. Members meet weekly to save small amounts of money, often as little as 20 to 50 Birr, creating a communal fund that belongs entirely to them.  

Tirfe Gebreyesus lives in the Gimbo Woreda. For years, her life was defined by what she lacked, lack of water, lack of capital, and lack of voice. “Our lives were destitute,” she says, her voice reflecting the weight of those years. “To provide food, we had to get into the forest and cut wood to sell. It was a cycle of poverty that we couldn’t break.” 

The CSMFL Project partnership disrupted this cycle by introducing portable solar-powered irrigation pumps. For the first time, Tirfe and her group were no longer waiting for the rainy season. These systems allow them to draw water directly from the local river and deliver it to expanded plots with the flip of a switch. To ensure this new capability is translated into wealth, the project provided improved, climate-smart seed varieties specifically chosen for their high market value and resilience. 

“The solar pump changed the very nature of our work,” Tirfe says. “We moved from being victims of the weather to being managers of our own land. With the time we saved from hauling water, we attended training on climate smart agriculture. We are now producing onions, garlic, and peppers year-round. We sell surplus and save money. We are even planning to plant a mill and also buy a car to transport our produce to the market.” This is the shift from subsistence to agribusiness, a key pillar of Ethiopia’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda. 

Azalech and the Leap to Leadership 

In the Gewata Woreda of Kefa Zone, Azalech Woldemariam, a mother of seven, tells a similar story of systemic change. “Women were bystanders,” she explains. “Through the CSMFL project, we became members of the Participatory Forest Management (PFM) groups. We weren’t just told to ‘protect the forest’; we were given training on improved beekeeping systems and modern beehives to make the forest work for us.” 

Azalech now leads her VESA group, managing a pool of savings that allows members to take loans for cattle or small businesses. This financial independence has a direct environmental impact. When a family has a thriving honey business or a healthy cow, the pressure to clear forest land for survival farming vanishes. The forest becomes a bank that must be protected to ensure the interest, the honey and the water, continue to flow. 

Strategic Leadership  

The success of women like Tirfe and Azalech is the result of a coordinated partnership that aligns international standards with local realities. Frehiwot Tsegaye, the project’s gender expert, notes that this work is a direct operationalization of Ethiopia’s National Gender Strategy and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

“We are not just including women; we are supporting a shift in power,” Frehiwot explains. “Sustainability requires that the most marginalized have a seat at the table.” This vision is shared by GGGI. Okechukwu Daniel Ogbonnaya, GGGI Ethiopia Country Representative, views the empowerment of women as a critical component of Ethiopia’s transition to a green economy. “By leading the CSMFL project, we are demonstrating that rural prosperity is achievable when you unlock the potential of 50% of the population.” 

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) remains a steadfast partner. During a field visit in May 2025, Johan Romare, Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden in Ethiopia, emphasized that Sida’s investment is rooted in the “Leave No One Behind” principle. “In the VESA groups we see the future of climate resilience, a future that is inclusive, equitable, and led by the community itself.”  

As the CSMFL project moves toward its final year, the impact is visible in the restored dignity of thousands of women. They have proven that when a woman is empowered with clean energy, financial literacy, and a voice in governance, she becomes the most effective architect of a green future. The forest is now both a biological treasure to be protected and a shared resource managed by a community that sees its women as equal partners. 

About the CSMFL Project:
Implemented in Oromia and Southwest Ethiopia, the project is funded by the Embassy of Sweden and led by GGGI Ethiopia in partnership with ECFF and iDE. It aligns with Sweden’s global development cooperation strategy on sustainable economic development (2022–26) and GGGI’s mission to promote green growth. To date, the project has benefited over 50,000 people, with women accounting for 40% of beneficiaries, while safeguarding Ethiopia’s biodiversity-rich forests for future generations. 

Read more about the project here: Conservation and Sustainable Management of Forested Landscapes (CSMFL) in Southwestern Ethiopia — Global Green Growth Institute