In a dimly lit room in Mambasa Territory, deep in the equatorial forest of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a group of women gathered. They braved the humidity and underlying insecurity to reflect on what they had learned over the past months. One by one, they rose to speak, their voices growing stronger, more confident and assured—as they recounted learning how they had equal rights in their homes, control over finances, and autonomy over their bodies.
These realizations resonated with the women in different ways. Some shared their understanding that it was unacceptable for a husband to hit his wife; others spoke about their right to decide how to spend their earnings, lead a mining team, and even own a mining pit.
For these women, whose lives and livelihoods are closely linked to artisanal gold mining, the time had come to act together and commit to advancing their rights—not only as women but as women miners. It was from this shared determination that the region’s first association of women miners, the Network for the Empowerment of Women in Mining Communities (known by the French acronym REAFECOM), was born in Ituri Province.
That day, the women vowed to challenge systemic inequality within their community and confront the barriers entrenched at the mine site and within the supply chain.
At the mines, women were relegated to lower-paying roles and systemically excluded from certain higher-paid tasks. They faced stigma, discrimination, and inequality in accessing certain equipment, mining pits or sites. Women weren’t allowed to sell their own gold or control their own incomes. Not a single woman held a leadership position at any of the mine sites nor in the only local mining cooperative.
As part of IMPACT’s work to support more equitable and transparent management of resources – including promoting responsible supply chains, understanding these systemic inequalities is pivotal as it’s within this context that our interventions are designed and implemented.
In the artisanal gold mining sector, where the economic development of surrounding communities is closely tied to mine sites, overly narrow technical or supply chain specific interventions meant to tackle challenges in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) risk being derailed where the prevailing inequalities, conflict and power imbalances that underly these challenges are left unaddressed.
By focusing on community-wide and community-built approaches—ones that promote inclusion, challenge gender discrimination, and are fit-for-purpose to the local context—IMPACT aims to promote progressive behaviour change and empower ASM communities to sustainably tackle the challenges they face. At the same time, supporting communities to capitalize on the opportunities that mineral production can create, prioritizing the full participation of women of all ages, in all forums.
Understanding the Broader Ecosystem
Artisanal mining is a critical lifeline for millions around the world, providing valuable income where other sectors have little economic opportunities.
Even though mining remains the driving economic force for most, the local economy of these communities extends beyond mineral extraction, forming a complex web of interconnected activities such as farming, trading, and small-scale business ventures.
For many miners, income earned in the mines serves as a crucial stepping stone to support other income-generating activities. From our experience in Mambasa territory, this includes acquiring land for a cocoa plantation, building houses with rental units, starting a business or restaurant, or renting a stall in the local market to sell goods.
Furaha, a member of REAFECOM exemplifies how miners diversify their income strategies. In addition to leading a women’s mining team, she runs a restaurant at the mine site, providing meals to miners and ensuring a stable source of income when mineral yields drop.
Some miners in similar communities tend to balance mining with small-scale horticulture or shift temporarily to agricultural activities like cocoa or rice harvesting. In parallel, traders play a central role in the local economy by circulating cash, extending credit, and ensuring access to basic goods and services—acting as the “community bank.” This dynamic underscores the need to address the broader economic landscape in ASM communities, as solutions focused solely on mining may overlook seasonal income variations and the interconnected roles of other supply chain actors.
The social dynamics within ASM communities add further complexity to designing effective interventions. Gender disparities are deeply rooted, with men typically taking on the more mobile and physically demanding roles in mining, while women tend to focus on processing minerals and maintaining the household. This gendered division of labour not only restricts women’s access to economic opportunities but also makes them particularly vulnerable to economic shocks and social marginalization.
Children and Indigenous populations can also face distinct challenges in ASM communities. Despite child labour being banned in most countries, children and teenagers often end up on mining sites due to the lack of socio-economic security for families, particularly single women with children. This limits their access to education and perpetuates cycles of exploitation and poverty. Additionally, unregulated gold mining causes significant environmental degradation, depriving local communities—especially Indigenous Pygmy peoples—of the means to protect their lands and ancestral rights. These populations are almost always excluded from decision-making processes and lack the resources to safeguard their rights and to protect their forests.
Empowering Women through Savings Groups
An example of how IMPACT applies a holistic approach to its interventions can be found in one of our flagship projects, Artisanal Mining Women’s Empowerment Credit & Savings (AFECCOR) in DRC, and has since been implemented in Burkina Faso and Mali.
AFECCOR introduces Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) to artisanal mining communities to create opportunities for accessing financing and increasing financial literacy skills. The lack of access to financing for miners is a common challenge and makes them more vulnerable to predatory lending behaviour from informal sources and economic insecurity – especially for women. Given the heightened barriers that women face to financing – as well as the high levels of gender inequality experienced by many women in ASM communities – efforts to increase access to financing need to adapt to these realities for interventions to succeed. As such, the AFECCOR model integrates a consciousness-raising, gender transformative approach that seeks to increase both women and men’s recognition and appreciation of the economic contribution of women to the household, contributing to community social cohesion.
What does this look like? For starters, this involves supporting both women and men through dialogue-based methods to recognize and appreciate the value of women, including their work in ASM and the financial contributions they make to the household. Women participating in the project are led through a series of dialogue sessions that allows them to identify their own barriers with respect to advancing their socio-economic position and improving their own security. Through this process, they are encouraged to find or amplify their voice, building a sense of confidence in recognizing and challenging sources of inequality and disenfranchisement.
Women participating in the project are supported to engage their spouses in discussions on issues such as household budgeting and control of finances. This approach not only helps to reduce the risk of gender-based violence that can sometimes arise as women seek economic empowerment, but it can start to shape how communities view women, gender, and gender equality, opening the door for acceptance of increasing women’s leadership and economic empowerment. Throughout the project, women are encouraged to take on leadership roles as community volunteers and VSLA governance committee members, where they are often seen as trustworthy and respected in managing finances. These roles empower women to build their leadership capacity, with benefits extending beyond the project. For instance, REAFECOM, emerged from women involved in VSLAs who recognized their common interests in self-organizing for the interests of women miners in their communities.
Women as Peacemakers
Early on, REAFECOM members identified the effects of localized conflict – often rooted in or exacerbated by gender inequality – as a particular threat to their own security. They identified first-hand how outdated practices or views left many women vulnerable and sought to find local solutions to resolving them. Thus, the Women of Peace project was born.
Through the project – which was co-designed with REAFECOM – members received training in conflict mediation and resolution, enabling them to lead community peace efforts. The focus was on local sources of conflict and tension, even between family members and spouses. With IMPACT’s support, they established 14 Peace Hubs at artisanal mining communities and sites, where women mediated disputes, fostered social cohesion, and addressed gender-based violence.
A highlight of the project was the community dialogues, which brought together diverse stakeholders, including the president judge from the Court of Peace and Children in Mambasa, state service officials, the Special Police for the Protection of Women and Children, and community leaders. For the first time, these groups collaborated with REAFECOM to extend justice, raise awareness, and address systemic issues within the communities.
The dialogues served as a platform for community reflection and empowerment, encouraging solutions to longstanding issues. Women shared their struggles with family finances, lack of land ownership, and unequal treatment under customary practices. The Peace Hubs played a huge role by validating these challenges through their mediation work, showing that peaceful conflict resolution is possible when women’s rights and non-violence are prioritized.
By integrating the work of the Peace Hubs, supporting survivors of violence, and advocating with authorities, the project demonstrated the potential for community-driven change. It helped establish the legitimacy of the Peace Hubs while ensuring that women’s voices and rights were at the centre of conflict resolution. This is crucial for ASM communities, where disputes over access to resources—especially land—can create tensions that escalate into conflict and disrupt livelihoods. These disputes often involve a range of local actors beyond miners, including traders, landowners, and service providers. Addressing conflict and advancing peace in these communities requires acknowledging the full range of relationships that underpin ASM economies and supporting inclusive approaches that reflect the interconnected roles within the supply chain.
Community Led Governance
IMPACT’s integrated strategies are designed to directly advance the establishment of responsible ASM supply chains. By addressing the socioeconomic needs and long-term resilience of ASM communities, these efforts lay the foundation for supply chains that are inclusive, transparent, and aligned with international responsible sourcing standards. Strengthening community cohesion, promoting gender equality, and prioritizing environmental stewardship are not merely development goals—they are essential building blocks for equitable resource management and fair benefit distribution.
For example, IMPACT’s experience implementing the Just Gold project reinforced that overlooking gender inequality risks undermining the success and sustainability of responsible sourcing efforts. By integrating a gender lens from the outset, the project created space for women to strengthen their position within the supply chain—enabling access to finance, supporting formalization, and building social cohesion. As women gained visibility and confidence, they also emerged as key advocates for the principles that underpin responsible sourcing, including transparency, good governance, and equity. Responsible sourcing requires more than traceable minerals—it demands inclusive, sustainable systems that uphold human rights and encourage community participation. In the project, women became the strongest champions of these principles, driving the project forward and expanding its legitimacy within the community.
Ultimately, long-term sustainability relies on community ownership and adaptive governance structures. By aligning local development with global supply chain practices, it is possible to create systems that are not only responsible and equitable but also resilient in the face of future challenges—ensuring that women miners like those in REAFECOM, and their communities have a stake in shaping sustainable solutions.
IMPACT works to transform natural resource management by integrating consciousness-raising strategies that empower miners—starting with those who are most disenfranchised, such as women and Indigenous peoples—and their communities to reflect on how their activities affect their economic stability and well-being. Through targeted awareness-building, these groups and their broader communities can become active agents in managing change, making them less dependent on external interventions and more capable of sustaining progress on their own.
Interested in learning more?
Supporting Artisanal Gold Miners to Become Environmentally Responsible
How Peace Hubs can Improve Women’s Security in Mining Communities
How Community Savings Groups Support Formalizing the Artisanal Mining Sector