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Supporting Vulnerable Women and Children in Mali’s Kéniéba Gold District: The FEMA Project
September 26, 2023
The Kéniéba District of Mali is known locally and globally as one of the most important gold-producing areas in Africa. Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is a traditional livelihood and common activity for local residents. Yet the women and children who work on these mining sites are among the most vulnerable people in Mali, with limited access to health and education, and a high risk of abuse and exploitation.
In 2022, the Community Relations department at B2Gold’s Fekola Mine launched Femmes et Enfants des Communautés Minières Artisanales – which translates to Women and Children of the Artisanal Mining Communities – the FEMA Project.
“Central to the initiative is the acknowledgement that ASM is a source of livelihoods for these communities. At the same time, the project aims to address the root causes of ASM’s most harmful practices,” says Ousmane Ouattara, FEMA Project Manager. “We focus on women and girls, who represent at least 30 per cent of the sector, and children, who represent 20 per cent – in other words, the vulnerable majority of the ASM workforce. This is also the group which has the most to gain from reforming the sector.”
Safety, Community, and Cultural Change to Benefit Mali’s Small-Scale Miners
FEMA focuses on three key areas to improve the lives of women and girls working in small-scale mining in and around Kéniéba:
1. Improving working conditions and safety
Increasing income, reducing health risks and formalizing ASM activities – while increasing the presence of community organizations – provides female miners with more disposable income and reduces economic incentives for child labour. Steps toward these goals include:
- Improving access to economic alternatives, and vocational training at AFECK’s Tambaoura Vocational Training Centre in Kéniéba.
- Organizing women and girls into associations and savings groups
- Improving bargaining power, access to finance, training on safe and productive practices and access to equipment and technology
2. Empowering communities to find local solutions
With the goal of reversing school drop-out rates and facilitating cultural change, FEMA is:
- Building capacity for women to participate in community conversations locally, giving them a voice and easing marginalization
- Setting up community groups with local leadership to change and monitor child labour practices
- Providing pilot reschooling programs to reintegrate child labourers into the school system
3. Strengthening local capacity to regulate artisanal and small-scale mining
The recently updated Mali Mining Code includes provisions for ASM, notably decentralizing oversight of the sector to territorial authorities. In tandem with FEMA, B2Gold is seeking to capitalize on these provisions by increasing engagement and ensuring reforms promote inclusion and stability within the ASM sector:
- Working with local and national authorities, along with other actors such as local industrial mines and donors, to improve governance of the sector
- Supporting new oversight mechanisms and implementation of relevant structures to coordinate the sector constructively
- Conducting studies and round tables to raise awareness of issues with national stakeholders.
Cooperation on the Ground: Mali-Based Partners in Social and Economic Change
B2Gold began implementation of the FEMA Project in early 2023 with the assistance of three partner organizations:
- Cowater International is Canada’s leading community development consultant and has a longstanding presence in Africa, with more than 22 projects currently being implemented in Africa. Cowater implemented the successful AFECK Project, which promoted vocational training and entrepreneurship for Fekola impact communities and created the Tambaoura Vocational Training Centre in Kéniéba. As lead implementing partner, Cowater will be responsible for overall management of the FEMA Project.
- Right to Play is an international NGO based in Canada that oversees programming in Africa, Asia and the Middle East to protect, educate and empower children who face adverse conditions – through harnessing the power of play. Its programming in Mali uses play-based learning to mobilize and engage communities in creating a protective environment for children.
- IMPACT is an independent non-profit based in Canada. It works to transform the way natural resources are managed in areas where security and human rights are at risk. Areas of intervention include supply chain transparency, illicit trade and financing, regulatory and legal reform, environmental stewardship and gender equality.
The FEMA Project will have a tremendous impact in the Kéniéba region, and Mali as a whole, by strengthening the resilience of partner communities and vulnerable people – empowering and improving the lives of local women and children.
Learn more about B2Gold’s work with vulnerable communities in gold-producing regions around the world, in our most recent Responsible Mining Report.
