Alliance One International, LLC (“Alliance One”) is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, Alliance One Industries India Pvt. Ltd. (“AOII” or the “Company”), is the recipient of a 2023 Golden Leaf Award for its sustainability initiative to promote economic viability and cultural change through the empowerment of women in tobacco-growing communities. The award was presented to the Company during the 2023 Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum in Seoul, South Korea.
“It is an honor to be recognized for our efforts to empower women in an area of the world where, historically, the education, career opportunities and overall well-being of women have not been prioritized by society,” said David Hird, Alliance One’s Regional Director of Asia. “This collaborative effort helps address this systemic issue and promotes the stability and viability of our contracted farmers, their families and the communities in which we operate, an important component to delivering a compliant, quality product to our customers.”
The Women Empowerment Project was initiated in 2021 in the tobacco-growing area of Vinukonda, India, where many farmers rely on farm-generated income to maintain their standard of living. Given the unpredictable nature of farming, the Company encourages its contracted farm families to have a secondary income source to reduce the risk of poverty.
In collaboration with the nongovernmental organization ASSIST as well as a customer of the Company, AOII provides female project participants with the training and resources to launch microbusinesses such as sheep rearing, grocery retail and tailoring. Participants also receive mentoring from other women who have successfully improved their economic viability from their own participation in the Women Empowerment Project.
Since its inception, 186 women have benefitted from the Women Empowerment Project, reporting on average an approximate 10% increase in their respective monthly household incomes.
AOII has welcomed 55 new project participants in 2023 with the goal of adding 55 more in the coming months.
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