From 19 November to 6 December 2018, the ILO is holding a training of trainers (ToT) on Think.Coop, Start.Coop and My.Coop – Managing your agricultural cooperatives tools in Bangui, Central African Republic. The ToT workshop brings together 22 participants from national institutions such as the Chamber of Agriculture, the Central African Agricultural Development Agency, the National Agency for Livestock Development, the Central African Vocational Training and Employment Agency, the Federation of Groups of Central African Artisans, and the Youth Pioneer. The ToT is being organized in the framework of the ILO’s project “Peacebuilding and employment creation in Central African Republic”. The main objective of the project is to contribute to job creation for youth by addressing the root causes of economic, social and environmental vulnerability as a way for CAR to break out of the vicious cycles of conflict and disaster.

During the first week of the training, participants were familiarized with the values, principles, types, organizational structure and other basics of cooperatives. In addition to becoming familiar with Think.Coop and Start.Coop methodology and exercises, the participants also visited a fish farming cooperative established in early 2018 on the outskirts of Bangui. This practical visit allowed them to experience the operational and managerial practices and the challenges faced by cooperatives. Participants’ overall feedback on the training by the end of the first week was positive, they appreciated the participatory approach of the training, the tools and the field visit.

Participants to the training will have acquired the necessary skills and knowledge to replicate the training with youth beneficiaries of the ILO project next year.