Achieving gender equality and empowering women is not only the right thing to do but is a
critical ingredient in the fight against extreme poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
Samoa Women’s Association of Growers (SWAG) will be hosting their first Online Marketing
Workshop on Saturday, October 15, to celebrate International Day of Rural Women. SWAG
wishes to thank the Government of Australia for the funding to host this first, of what will be a
series of workshops over the next two years, supported by the Tautua Programme.
IDRW is dedicated to the millions of women living in remote, rural places and celebrates the
achievements and contributions of these women towards rural development and agriculture.
In Samoa, 80% of the informal economy is supported by Women, while most women who are
employed in agriculture are not paid (88.1 percent) and/or are self-employed (88.3 percent)
and almost two-thirds of them work throughout the year (61.7 percent).
According to the latest UN Women report, the current disruption to the food and energy
markets has only intensified gender disparities, causing rates of food insecurity, malnutrition,
and energy poverty.
The ensuing cost-of-living crisis has acutely threatened women’s livelihoods, health, and well-
being. It has been propelled by the war’s disruptions of oil and gas supplies and staple food
commodities, alongside the skyrocketing food, fuel, and fertilizer prices.
“This International Day, under the theme "Rural women confront the global cost-of-living
crisis", SWAG hopes to support women to have access to Online Marketing, to increase
business opportunities, and to have a broader selection of clients in Samoa and overseas.”
states SWAG President Fuimaono Sarona Ponifasio
SWAG is excited to launch their new partnership with the Maua App. A SWAG banner on the
App will help direct online customers to SWAG vendors and Businesses, allowing for overseas
and national traffic to purchase their products online.
Digital Marketer and DEI Advocate Moumita Das Roy, an e-volunteer with VSA (Volunteer
Service Abroad), supporting #SWAG will speak on the effective use of Social Media platforms
for women entrepreneurs. Her session will cover ways to use social media to promote

themselves and their businesses online. SWAG’s successful partnership with VSA will directly
benefit the members, through this interactive knowledge session.
“I am thrilled to be able to encourage, enable, and empower these amazing women to show up
and own their spaces in social media. No better day to start than International Day for Rural
Women. More power to us” – Moumita Das Roy, Marketer & DEI Advocate, VSA e-volunteer.