The Les Éclaireuses ecofeminist leadership programme brings together women leaders from across the Congo Basin to build confidence, connections and the skills to lead change. Ahead of the second workshop retreat with the current cohort of women leaders from the Republic of Congo, we’re sharing stories from participants about their experiences, alongside reflections from our team of facilitators.
Each one shows a different side of what happens when women are given the space, support and network to lead. We’re kicking off with Les Éclaireuses programme coordinator and lead facilitator, Mary Bakia. Over the coming weeks we’ll add new stories from participants and facilitators here. We hope you’ll follow along.
Mary Bakia: A Journey of Ecofeminist Leadership
For me, Les Éclaireuses has always been more than a leadership training programme. It’s a space where women can find their voice, understand their power, challenge the systems that limit their influence, and build the confidence to shape the decisions that affect their communities and environment.
I’ve led the programme at Well Grounded since 2022, drawing on more than a decade of work at the intersection of women’s leadership, gender justice, environmental governance and community development.
I don’t see myself simply as a trainer who passes on knowledge. My approach is deeply participatory. I try to create a space where women can reflect on their own experiences, question existing power structures, learn from one another and connect their personal realities to the wider struggle for environmental and social justice. That matters to me because leadership isn’t only about gaining knowledge. It’s also about recognising your own power and having the confidence to use it.
“Leadership isn’t only about gaining knowledge. It’s also about recognising your own power and having the confidence to use it.”
So many of our conversations focus on moving beyond simply being present. A woman may be invited to a consultation, sit in a community meeting or take part in a stakeholder discussion, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she has influence. The programme tries to close that gap by helping women understand where power lies, identify what stands in the way of their participation, develop strategies for engaging, and build the networks they need to influence decisions.
I also see the programme as a space for learning together. Every participant brings her own experiences, context and challenges, and these become resources for everyone else. Through dialogue, reflection, practical exercises and exchange between peers, we encourage women not only to strengthen their own leadership but also to think about how they can build stronger organisations and wider movements for change.
For me, the programme is about creating a space where women can recognise their own power, learn from each other and become more confident in influencing the decisions that affect their lives, their communities and their environment.
It has been wonderful to see that idea grow. With cohorts in Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and now an expansion into the Republic of Congo, we’re part of a growing community of women leaders working across the Congo Basin.
But the greatest value, for me, isn’t the number of women we’ve trained. It’s what happens when they return to their organisations and communities: when they speak with more confidence, question decisions, open up new spaces for other women, and start to see themselves not just as participants but as people with the power to drive change.
“The greatest value, for me [is] what happens when [women leaders] return to their organisations and communities: when they speak with more confidence, question decisions, open up new spaces for other women, and start to see themselves […] as people with the power to drive change.”
What we’re building is more than a programme. It’s a community of women leaders who learn from one another, support each other, and together reshape how environmental governance is understood and practised in our region.
That’s why, for me, ecofeminist leadership isn’t just a concept. It’s a practice, rooted in voice, power, solidarity and the conviction that women must be able to shape the decisions that affect their lives, their communities and their forests.