Since 2010, the Near East Foundation (NEF) has established and supported cooperatives in Sudan, largely made up of women producing non-timber forest products like gum arabic, honey, and desert dates. These products are vital for local communities, offering resilience to climate fluctuations, pests, and extreme weather, providing a fallback during crises. NEF offers fiance through community-based credit (CBC) systems, leveraging local networks for microfinance solutions like revolving funds. NEF works with 13 cooperatives, serving – 3,000 members, 75% of whom are women. CBC funds maintain a repayment rate of over 85%. After the crisis in 2024, NEF expanded its support to thousands of producers and processors, building resilient market systems and improving food security.
Read about the lessons learned from the project here.
The final project review is available here.