Success Stories

Colombia’s displaced women plant the seeds for a blooming tomorrow.

In Colombia, the number of people internally displaced by decades of war and violence is estimated at more than three million, second only to Sudan. Of these, 49 percent are women – many of them heads of households – struggling to adjust to their new environments, but with no professional skills to help them build a safer, more secure life for themselves and their families.

Rosa was one of these women, until she participated in a training program that helps displaced people learn skills and then links them with jobs in country’s fast-growing flower industry. Run in partnership with Colombia’s national association of flower growers, Asocolflores, the U.S.-funded program trains displaced people in the art and science of floriculture, as well as business management. Throughout the 18-month training program, participants also receive a stipend, lodging and psychological support to help them recover from displacement.

The program also contributes to Colombia’s long-term economic growth by filling a key gap in expertise that inhibited the industry’s growth. Colombia now ranks second only to Holland in flower exports. And more important, the industry is renowned for its commitment to environmentally sustainable production and the welfare of workers and their families. Upon graduating from the program, most participants are offered jobs in private companies, receiving competitive salaries and benefits. Some have even returned home to start their own flower business on family land reclaimed from guerillas or militias.

Women make up an estimated 60 percent of the floriculture workforce in Colombia, and Rosa is now one of them. “The Asocolflores training program has totally changed my life for the better,” she says. “I am now confident that I have a future worth working for.”

You, too, can cultivate a better future for our One Shared World.