Tajikistan, 1 June 2012 – An official opening ceremony of consumer milk processing cooperative “Guncha” established in the frames of UN Women/IOM Regional Migration Programme in Central Asia (CARMP) funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and CESVI project “Improving the livelihoods of rural communities in Tajikistan through innovative agricultural production, processing and marketing techniques," supported by the European Commission took place in Gonchi district of Sughd Oblast.
The given initiative is a result of a joint initiative between UN Women and CESVI that unites 30 members of Self Help Groups (SHGs) created in the frames of CARMP in Gonchi district that aimed at improving living conditions of families of migrant workers. The given cooperative is the first milk processing unit in Gonchi district uniting members of SHGs.
“We could establish this cooperative because it was a joint initiative. Opening the cooperative on the International Children’s Day is also a good sign. I am confident that a lot of children will enjoy the milk, yogurt and ice-cream produced by this cooperative,” said Viloyat Mirzoeva, UN Women Portfolio Manager.
The establishment of the milk processing unit was proposed by SHG named “Tashabuskor”. About 165,000 Somoni (equivalent in USD 35,000) spent for the establishment of the cooperative that 30,000 Somoni (equivalent in USD 6,000) was provided by members of the 8 SHGs working in milk processing as share costs. The financial support was provided by CESVI and UN Women. NGO Association of Women and Society (AWS) (UN Women’s implementing partner) was closely involved into consultations with CESVI, UN Women and beneficiaries themselves and formulation of this initiative on creation of the cooperative by undertaking preparatory field visits, estimations, consultations with local authorities, etc. “Our dream of creating a consumer cooperative was realized. I hope that the number of products will increase soon and there will be new job opportunities for women in this cooperative,” noted Muyasara Bobokhonova, the Director of AWS. “I want to thank the Head of Gonchi district, UN Women and Cesvi for their efforts to establish this cooperative.”
Acquired for that purpose premise, which originally represented the only bare walls, is now a modern cooperative that meets all technological standards and fire safety requirements. The building where the cooperative is established is located at the territory of Gonchi settlement of Gonchi district. Based on a joint agreement and strengthening of women’s work in the cooperative, the renting fee will not be taken from the cooperative beneficiaries during 5 years until they stably run the started business. Cooperative “Guncha” collects more than 240 liters of milk per day for producing dairy products. The products include milk, yogurt, sour cream and ice-cream. “This cooperative was established for two main purposes: providing jobs for women and increasing income for milk producers. We believe that the creation of small-scale agricultural value chains is a key step towards the development of rural areas of Tajikistan,” pointed out Filippo De Danieli, Cesvi coordinator in the Sughd oblast.
The event was attended by the Head of Gonchi district and other representatives of local authority, representatives of UN Women, CESVI, International Organizations and AWS along with citizens of Gonchi district. Local mass media was also active participants of the given event and in their turn, they widely covered the ceremony on local TV, Radio and newspapers.
