Bwiam Market

• The Bwiam Market project took shape during the first Future Leaders Program in The Gambia, July 2006. A mixed team of Future Leaders went into dialogue with the market women and other important stakeholders (including the Village Development Committee). Together they saw the opportunity of boosting development of the village, through economically and socially empowering the market women and improving the market structure itself. The women started a collective savings scheme, enabling them to invest in the market infrastructure.
  By the beginning of 2007, the women had moved from under their big mango tree to a new
• location, where an entirely new market structure (first wooden, then brick) was erected with the help of countless youth and men in the village. Many more women ánd men came to sell at the market and numerous people from surrounding villages came to Bwiam to do their shopping.
  In the course of 2008, His Excellency President Jammeh of the Gambia noticed the activity going on and the potential for development of the Bwiam Market. He therefore decided to support the market project by investing an amount of approximately 10 million Dalasis (around €275.000). The investment was used to build a facility of around 10.000 m2 to accommodate
• more than 300 market sellers. It also has a mosque, parking lot, a restaurant and modern toilet facilities. It is meant to facilitate all market needs of the surrounding region (22 villages). This state of the art market is expected to officially re-open by autumn 2009.