It is well known that rural areas across Europe are characterized by limited employment, educational and training opportunities. Established rural companies often find it difficult to promote their products to the public, a situation that has a strong impact on the local economy. In addition, women living in rural areas face difficulties in becoming independent in their work and even if they do, they face obstacles in keeping it sustainable.

The RWSFF project aims to empower women in rural areas through the development of a variety of outcomes, tools and trainings that will contribute to achieving this goal.

One of them is the Community Access to Fresh Food (IO2) platform which aims to create a community that will be a point of reference and also a useful tool for women living in rural areas.

The platform gathers information about available individuals, organizations, and funding programs for possible collaboration with rural women, leading to training opportunities and opportunities to exchange information and improve the quality of their lives.

Specifically, the platform will include the following sections:

-Recruitment & Collaborations:

 By creating a personal profile, interested parties will be able to search and connect with potential partners to promote their work. They will also be able to connect with other women living in rural areas within the European Union to exchange experiences and ideas.

-Communication section

A special chatroom will contribute to facilitating the communication of the interested parties, where private and group chat will be available. In addition, through this section meetings, live or online can be organized.

– Online store:

Through this section, it is dedicated to promotion of the products traded by women, accompanied by a short description and photos.

-Guiding Tools

All the available tools for training and practicing will be gathered here, so that anyone interested in developing a business in a rural area can have access to the educational material and tools.

-Material for Teachers

Finally, this section will be aimed at adult educators who provide education to women in rural areas and will provide them with training material (Training of Trainers).

For all the above reasons, this innovative product will meet the existing need for empowerment and support of women in rural areas:

• offering equal training opportunities and access to lifelong learning,
• contributing to the improvement of professional development and the provision of better living conditions
• being a meeting and collaboration place for adult educators, NGOs and those interested in lifelong learning.
• exchanging good practices and developing ideas for possible activities, online or offline lifelong learning.
• supporting rural development in a more general context.

The platform is user friendly and will provide free access to all partner languages.

At the moment, its development is at an early stage, but soon it will be available.

In order to be informed about its development, you can visit the project’s website and follow the official Facebook page.