15 October marks the International Day for Rural Women, and CNVP Albania has put considerable effort into empowering rural women in the framework of its projects through the years. 

CNVP considers women's economic empowerment as an important key to address gender inequalities especially in remote rural areas which can be achieved by ensuring equal access and control for men and women over their natural resources. 

This year the theme for the International Day for Rural Women is: “Rural Women Cultivating Good Food for All” and CNVP Albania is supporting women in rural areas of 6 regions in Albania, Tirana, Elbasan, Shkoder, Korca, Diber, and Berat to cultivate the most market demanded MAPs in the framework of the Sida funded LED project. MAPs cultivation will bring more incomes and employment for rural women and about 170 women have been so far supported to plant, lavender, laurels, cyan, calendula, Primula veris, hypericum, helichrysum, thyme, savory and other MAPs in their land areas.

CNVP believes that for rural women and their families, an increase in incomes and employment opportunities through sustainable natural resource management and MAPs cultivation comes from three pillars that are being addressed by the LED project:

1. Authority and confidence, to have the legal right to have and /rent available land areas for MAPs cultivation, as well as to have the economic right to be able to harvest natural resources, i.e wildly grown MAPs and other NTFPs;
2. Ability, including knowledge, skills, and capacity building on, MAPs organic cultivation, proper and sustainable harvesting and post-harvesting techniques, marketing, Contract Farming, Communication, etc; 
3. Incentive, to be able to add value to MAPs products for a fair price that meets immediate household requirements and the need to invest in sustainable resource development.