Gambian women revive cotton farming to create income and preserve culture

Women in The Gambia are growing, spinning, and weaving cotton to create finished products and preserve traditional cultural practices.

Isatou Ceesay founded Women Initiative Gambia (WIG) to restore cotton cultivation and processing skills in the Central River Region. The project trains women in the entire value chain, including planting, spinning, weaving, and marketing. Participants produce items such as wrappers, shirts, tablecloths, and book covers.

These products serve both as commercial goods sold to tourists and as essential materials for local naming ceremonies and funeral practices. The initiative has operated for three years, benefiting more than 50 women. At the Reforest Future centre in Njau, 40 women cultivate 1.5 acres of cotton. The project also helps participants build financial independence through savings boxes and a development fund.

Participants report that growing their own cotton has made the fibre cheaper and more accessible than buying it from external markets. The government of The Gambia identifies cotton as a priority sector in its Industrial and Diversification Policy 2025 to 2035. The policy plans to establish a Productivity and Innovation Centre in Farafenni to provide equipment and training to small enterprises.

It also intends to reserve 30% of resources in a planned Industrial Finance Facility for businesses owned by women and youth. Lamin Dibba of the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) says the project helps address a long decline in the domestic cotton sector. He notes that production dropped from roughly 3,000 tonnes in the mid-1990s to about 200 tonnes in 2007 due to high costs and poor returns.

NARI is currently researching suitable seed varieties to help farmers adapt to climate change and improve profitability.