With almost half of its population living with less than USD 1 per day and a literacy rate of only 21.8%, Burkina Faso is one of the world's poorest and least developed countries. It ranks 134th of 137 according to the World Bank/United Nations Human Development Index.
The hub of AMURT’s agroecology project in Burkina Faso is the Bissiri model farm and training center located 60 kilometers from the capital, Ouagadougou. The farm demonstrates sustainable technologies such as agro-ecology, agroforestry, crop rotation, integrated pest management, composting, and live fencing.
Following the 2015 earthquake in Nepal AMURT has been providing skills and small enterprise training to 20 women’s groups in three communities in Sindupalchowk District. Most of the women participants are from low-income backgrounds. With AMURT’s support, the women have started enterprises ranging from liquid soap making, to tailoring, to vegetable gardening.
Since 1986, AMURT has maintained a presence in Burkina Faso, engaging in various activities in the fields of healthcare and agroecology. In recent years, AMURT has expanded its presence to several regions where programs focus on community building, improved water access, sanitation and ecological regeneration.
AMURT’s model of community-based collaborative healthcare in Nigeria has proven effective, with over 1965 successful births taking place in 2016 in the seven AMURT-supported health centers in three local government areas in Ebonyi state. In Offia Oji alone, 85% of the women are coming to the health center for delivery. This is remarkable given that previsouly the vast majority of women were giving birth at home or with a traditional birth attendant, a risky endeavor if faced with any birth-related complications.