By EU Vowers Togo volunteers Martina Pesce and Eleanora Nascimben, together with ERC staff
In late 2025, four European Solidarity Corps volunteers embarked on a transformative two-month mission in heart of West Africa, to support rural women in building sustainable livelihoods in the vibrant Togolese villages of Agome Eyoh and Danyi Apéyemé.
Their journey was not just about volunteering; it was a powerful initiative aimed at fostering resilience, independence, and economic growth among women through beekeeping, regenerative agriculture, water management and hygiene awareness, community-led waste management, and entrepreneurship training. Importantly, this initiative was also about mutual learning and growing together with the community through sharing life skills and cultural perspectives, with the multinational volunteers bringing a diversity of languages and academic backgrounds to the experience.
Local Tongolese women working in the field
A Mission Rooted in Solidarity and Sustainability
This ambitious project – involving Ecosystem Restoration Communities, Iroko DFS, and AJEVES Togo is co-funded by the European Union under the European Solidarity Corps Programme – part of a bigger collaboration called EU Vowers, which includes consortium partners VASE, KERIC and Paz y Speranza. The primary goal of EU Vowers is to encourage young Europeans to engage in humanitarian aid, with a particular focus on Togo, Ecuador, and Peru. The volunteers’ mission across all three locations is to introduce sustainable practices that can empower women to enhance their income and strengthen their communities.
In preparation for their deployment in Togo, the volunteers received training from Ecosystem Restoration Communities on regenerative agriculture, forest restoration, and business models, primarily using course materials developed in collaboration with Gaia Education. This training aimed to enhance their knowledge and understanding of ecosystem restoration and sustainable farming practices.
The volunteers are welcomed on arrival in Danyi Apéyemé, by an Ajeves Togo representative
Understanding the Community
Upon arrival, the volunteers immersed themselves in the local culture, connecting with the women who would benefit from the project. While most of the volunteers were not new to working in community settings, Danyi Apéyemé reminded them that every context requires active listening to the needs and aspirations of the locals. This connection laid the foundation for a collaborative approach and was crucial in tailoring the training and initiatives to the unique context of each village.
Danyi is a rural community where agriculture is central to daily life. Yet soil degradation and climate variability increasingly affect productivity and long-term stability. Meetings with women groups and farmers, visits to agricultural plots, and informal conversations highlighted how environmental challenges are strictly tied to social dynamics. Women play a fundamental role in farming activities, often carrying significant responsibility with limited economic recognition and autonomy.
Exploring the villages
Hands-On Field Training and Community Engagement
The project was not about introducing ready-made solutions. It was about creating space for adaptation. Composting techniques, beekeeping, crop diversification, and permaculture-inspired practices were discussed openly, questioned, and reshaped collectively. As one volunteer observed: “This participatory approach reinforced something I deeply value: sustainable change must be planned locally.”
The role of the volunteers was to assist with training, logistics and coordination of workshops and regenerative agriculture field activities, while also participating hands-on.
WASH resources being circulated in the local community
Women attending one of the workshops (and proudly receiving a certificate of participation)
Volunteers working in the fields with local women
One of their key initiatives was to establish a sustainable beekeeping program. This endeavor involved training women to manage beehives, which would not only provide a source of income through honey production but also play a vital role in restoring and protecting the native forests surrounding the villages. With the support of local partners, the volunteers guided the women through the intricacies of beekeeping, they emphasized the environmental benefits, reinforcing the idea that economic gain does not have to come at the expense of the ecosystem.
Local women carrying beehives into the forest
Working side by side in the field revealed how environmental regeneration is both technical and relational. Trust, consistency, and shared effort matter as much as agricultural methods.
The initiatives were not externally driven; they were community-led, with local agency AJEVES facilitating rather than directing. That distinction shaped the overall dynamic of the project.
The volunteers also focused on raising awareness about hygiene practices. Women gathered under simple structures to attend WASH workshops, listening carefully as topics like hygiene, clean water and health were discussed, and an eco-latrine was constructed in the village. These efforts were pivotal in improving the health of the community, especially for women and children who often bear the brunt of inadequate hygiene practices. Volunteers and locals exchanged insights and practices, cultivating an environment of mutual respect and collaboration.
Digging the latrine
A local woman washing up in a stream
A Journey of Growth, Resilience and Solidarity
Throughout their mission, the volunteers faced challenges typical of rural life, such as very basic sanitation and accommodation, as well as other adaptation hurdles. While often frustrating – and compounded by delayed and unclear communications – these experiences deepened their understanding of the complexities of development work. They learned that meaningful change often emerges from patience, and respect for local cultures and practices. The volunteers constantly exchanged reflections, challenged each other’s assumptions, and navigated cultural differences together, with this internal dialogue becoming part of the project itself, shaping how they approached our roles and responsibilities.
As one volunteer reflected, “This experience refined my understanding of community-led processes. Progress may come slowly, but it’s the local pace that ensures sustainability.” Such insights underscored the project’s focus on empowering women as both beneficiaries and leaders in their communities.
The intercultural dimension of the ESC programme became as transformative as the project activities themselves. Through the European Solidarity Corps framework, the volunteers were able to experience solidarity not as an abstract value, but as daily practice – a mix of presence, respect, and shared responsibility.
Leaving a Foundation for Lasting Change
As the volunteers’ two-month journey came to a close, the long-term environmental and economic benefits created for local women may not have yet been realised, but the seeds of change had been planted and the knowledge shared, relationships built, and skills developed would continue to grow long after the volunteers departed.
A gradual shift had also become visible: women were not only beneficiaries of the project; they were the pillars of it, positioning themselves as economic actors and community leaders. It also became clear to the volunteers that ecological resilience and gender empowerment were not parallel objectives; they were interconnected.
The four volunteers with some of the many local women they worked with during their deployment in Togo
Stay Tuned to Togo
The story of these volunteers is a testament to the transformative power of solidarity and community engagement. As this first group volunteers carry their experiences forward in their own lives, we invite you to follow the journey of a second group of volunteers headed to Togo in the coming months, and witness how small actions can lead to significant impacts on the lives of rural women and the environment. Together, we are fostering a brighter, more sustainable future – one hive, harvest and empowered woman at a time.
