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Global Labor Program

This initiative in Kenya is improving inclusion and labour rights in the supply and distribution chains of two large beverage companies.

A woman holding crutches inspects sorghum crops growing in the field behind her.

About the programme

The Global Labor Program – Inclusive Futures is supporting people with disabilities, particularly women, to work in the supply and distribution chains of Diageo’s East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL) and Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), and to have confidence in exercising their labour rights. Over five years, it aims to benefit 1,350 women retailers and 1,450 farmers with disabilities.

Under the programme, smallholder sorghum wheat farmers are supported to organise collectively into hubs, giving them access to better quality agricultural advice and farm inputs, as well as collective bargaining power to secure higher prices for their produce.

The programme also provides training and support to women retailers with disabilities, enabling them to grow their retail businesses and organise into groups. This gives them a platform to discuss common issues affecting them and negotiate better margins from product sales.

By focusing on those who are most marginalised, the programme aims to create wider benefits for everyone working across the supply and distribution chains of both companies.

Consortium partners: BBC Media Action, Central Organization of Trade Unions Kenya, Equal Rights Trust, Innovations for Poverty Action, Kenya Female Advisory Organization, LINC, Sightsavers, TechnoServe, Ulula and United Disabled Persons of Kenya. The programme is also supported by the Syngenta Foundation.

At a glance

  • Where: Kenya
  • When: 2021 - 2026
  • Donor: USAID
  • Lead partner: Sightsavers

Jane sits on the ground outside her home, sorting seeds from a pot.

Jane’s story

Jane sits on the ground outside her home, sorting seeds from a pot.

Jane owns a farm nestled in the rolling hills surrounding Lake Victoria. Being part of the Global Labor Program has helped her gain stability and greater financial independence. She is now part of East Africa Breweries Limited’s supply chain, and farms sorghum to be used in the company’s beer production.
Watch the video to hear her story

Research from the Global Labor Program

Baseline survey report

The baseline survey results for the programme's impact evaluation.

Gender equality and social inclusion analysis

How issues around gender and disability limit the participation of women with disabilities in value chains in Kenya.

Social network analysis: Homabay

Report exploring how farmers relate with other actors in the sorghum value chain in Homabay, Kenya.

Social network analysis: Migori

Report exploring how farmers relate with other actors in the sorghum value chain in Migori, Kenya.

Value chain analyses

Analyses of CCBA and EABLs' value chains in Kenya.

Legal Assessment

Review of the Kenyan Legislative and International Framework governing the Right to Equal Work and Employment.

Causal Loop Diagram from the Global Labor Program

Report into interactions and relationships within the value chains of two large beverage companies in Kenya.

Stories from the programme

Joan stands in front of a field of sorghum crops.

Labour Day 2023: promoting labour rights in Kenya

Every year on 1 May, the Central Organization of Trade Unions Kenya holds an event in Nairobi to raise awareness about labour issues and advocate for better laws to protect workers’ rights.
Lucas, a farmer with a disability and a network hub manager stands in front of his shop. The writing on the shop says: “Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture East Africa. Atwendi Farmers Solution and Aggregation Centre.”

Using social network analysis to improve the working conditions of sorghum farmers in Kenya

As a partner in the Global Labor Program in Kenya, LINC is exploring how farmers relate with others in the sorghum value chain.
Jane Akinyi is smiling at the camera and holding a basket of seeds.

International Day of Rural Women 2022: how we’re helping to transform the lives of women farmers

To celebrate International Rural Women's Day on 15 October, we are highlighting the stories of some of the women farmers we work with in rural western Kenya.
A woman farmer is photographed on her land holding farming tools and seeds.

Measuring the impact of our work with farmers in Kenya

A survey carried out at the start of the Global Labor Program will help us to measure whether our approach results in more men and women with disabilities being confident about exercising their labour rights.
A group of women taking part in a focus group discussion led by Ulula smile at the camera.

Using accessible technology to improve labour force inclusion in Kenya

Global tech company Ulula is creating a digital platform that will share labour rights information with workers in the supply chains of large-scale businesses in Kenya.
Maren Atieno, a sorghum farmer, attends to a cow on her farm

Gender equality and disability inclusion: what we've learned so far

Inclusive Futures partner KEFEADO looks at how issues around gender and disability limit the participation of women with disabilities in the value chains of two large beverage companies in Kenya.

Meet the people involved

A man wearing a shirt stands and smiles, looking at a piece of paper on a table. Sat at the table are three women who are smiling.

Simon Brown

Global technical lead for economic empowerment, Sightsavers
A head and shoulders photograph of a woman with braided hair, smiling at the camera, and wearing a dark grey T-shirt

Essy Olang: “We need to ensure that the voices of women with and without disabilities are heard”

Project officer, Kenya Female Advisory Organization (KEFEADO)
Close-up headshot of a woman smiling at the camera with brown hair.

Ellen Bates-Jefferys: “Women and people with disabilities are an integral part of the workforce, but they are usually undervalued”

Research manager, Innovations for Poverty Action

Lucy is wearing a checked shirt, a black hat and spectacles.

Lucy Odwar: “Women with disabilities face many challenges”

Director of social services in Homabay County government, Kenya
A photo of John smiling at the camera, wearing a baseball cap and a beige jacket, sitting in front of a laptop.

John Wambua: “I learnt from experience how society is skewed against people with disabilities”

Programme planning and communications, United Disabled Persons of Kenya (UDPK)
A head and shoulders photo of Easter Okech, wearing glasses with her hair in a ponytail.

Easter Achieng: “I’ve been working on women’s rights issues for half my life”

Executive director and programmes coordinator, Kenya Female Advisory Organization (KEFEADO)

What works to include people with disabilities?

Evidence and resources

Inclusive Futures are specialists and global leaders in disability and development from more than 20 global organisations.

Our partners