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The Conversation

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Jan 3, 2022 • 27min

Women in the chocolate business

Kim Chakanetsa speaks to two women who are making chocolate production both more sustainable and equitable. Vicki Bain is a South African chocolatier from Johannesburg who blends Belgian chocolate with the finest local and fresh African ingredients. Five years ago, Vicki left her job in environmental consulting to learn the craft of artisan chocolate making in Brussels. Her company, Chocoloza, is staffed only by women and has environmental and social concerns at its core. Treena Tecson from the Philippines is a professional chocolate taster and tree-to-bar chocolate maker. In 2017, Treena used her social media account to document the art and science of chocolate making. What started as a hobby soon turned into a small business - True Chocolate PH - and now Treena is also involved in cacao farming and post-harvest processing.Produced by Emily Naylor and Alice Gioia(Image: (L) Vicki Bain. (R) Treena Tecson, courtesy of Treena Tecson.)
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Dec 27, 2021 • 27min

Musical child prodigies

Very few people in the world are blessed with exceptional musical talent that is apparent from an early age. What is childhood like in the spotlight, especially as a young woman? To find out, Kim Chakanetsa meets two musicians whose careers began when they were children. Tosin Jegede was a child singing sensation in Nigeria in the 1980s. She released her first solo album in 1985 when just five years old, and went on to release two more before her teenage years. From hiding from adoring fans, flying all over the country to perform and singing in front of Nelson Mandela, her childhood was anything but ordinary and she had to cope with publicity which went well beyond her music and its performance. Twenty-year-old Sujari Britt is a classical cellist from the United States. She began learning the instrument at the age of four, having already studied the violin and the piano. A year later, Sujari started performing in a professional capacity with her sibling trio. By the time she was eight, she had played at the White House for President Obama. Sujari has performed at renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden, and with reputable orchestras in Europe, Asia, Canada and the USA.Produced by Emily Naylor and Jane Thurlow(Image: (L) Tosin Jegede, credit Tosin Jegede. (R) Sujari Britt, credit Jamie Jung.)
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Dec 20, 2021 • 27min

Leading women in song

Singing is said to improve your mood, relieve stress, help you sleep better and produce pain-relieving endorphins - as well as improving posture and boost immunity and lung function! Kim Chakanetsa finds out more about the benefits of singing together, and the strange world of choir competitions.Adwoa Dickson is from Jamaica. She is Choir Director for The Amies Freedom Choir, in the UK, which supports women who've survived trafficking. Singing in the choir helps the women relax and regain confidence as they explore songs and musical styles from each others' cultures and languages.Finnish choir director, Marjukka Riihimäki established the women’s choir, Philomela in 1984 and has taken their distinctive sound around the world, working with a composer and choreographer to give them a unique stage presence. Philomela won the Female Chamber Choir competition at the World Choir Games in Riga in 2014. Since retiring as a music teacher Marjukka also works with people in sheltered housing who have dementia.Produced by Jane Thurlow(Image: (L) Marjukka Riihimäki, credit Maarit Kytöharju. (R) Adwoa Dickson, courtesy Adwoa Dickson.)
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Dec 13, 2021 • 28min

Women making city transport safe

It is not easy to be a woman on public transport. Across the world, you will hear reports of women being harassed, groped and even sexually assaulted. This has an enormous impact on women being able to take up employment and education opportunities, as well as accessing healthcare. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women who are trying to change this. Angie Palacios is a Gender and Transport Specialist at CAF – Development Bank of Latin America. Her work focuses on researching and supporting projects that can improve women and girls’ safety on public transport. She’s originally from Ecuador but she’s now based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Joanie Fredericks is an activist and entrepreneur from South Africa who recently set up Ladies Own Transport - an initiative providing safe transport options for women in Cape Flats, a crime hotspot in Cape Town. Joanie, a survivor of violence herself, had previously set up a women-only driving school. Thanks to her, nearly a 100 women have managed to get their drivers’ licences.Produced by Alice Gioia(Image: (L) Angie Palacios, credit Angie Palacios. (R) Joanie Fredericks, credit Joanie Fredericks.)
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Dec 6, 2021 • 28min

Unstoppable women of rugby

The first female known to have played rugby was Emily Valentine, an Irish schoolgirl, who played alongside her brothers in 1884. It took another 80 years for a women's team to be formed, and the first Women's Rugby Union World Cup was held in 1991. Kim Chakanetsa speaks to two women from Uganda and Spain about the game's increasing popularity and how it's changed them.Patricia Garcia is a profession rugby player who’s competed for Spain in World Cups, Olympics and Test series, as well as appearing in 198 games over multiple 7s tournaments for her country. She now plays in the UK for Exeter Chiefs. She's also passionate about using the sport as positive force and has set up her own charity, PGR NGO, to promote social education and values through rugby.Winnie Atyang plays rugby in Uganda and uses the sport to support and inspire young women. Winnie became a single mother to twins when she was just 17 years old, and had to drop out of school. She says the rugby community is hugely encouraging: helping her go back to school and then find work to support her family. She also believes playing the sport gives her focus, confidence and ambition.Produced by Jane Thurlow(Image: (L) Winnie Atyang, credit Denise Namale. (R) Patricia Garcia, credit FER (Spanish Rugby Union))
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Nov 29, 2021 • 27min

Women swimming in the wild

Nora Fakim talks to two women about the health benefits of swimming in the wild.Rachel Ashe is the founder of Mental Health Swims, a peer support community organising wild swimming or dipping events in the UK. Rachel first tried cold water swimming in 2019, shortly after being diagnosed with mental health conditions, and during the pandemic she went from organising a monthly gathering at her local beach in Wales to running a social enterprise with over 80 groups across the country. Ilse Theys Woodward is an open water swimmer, a nurse, a swimming instructor and a lifeguard. She’s based in Cape Town, South Africa and she has recently taken part in the Freedom Swim, one of the world’s toughest cold water sea swim races. She’s also a member of the Phoenix Open Water Swimming (POWS), a swimming club working with underprivileged youths in Cape Town. Produced by Alice Gioia(Image: (L) Ilse Theys Woodward, credit Ilse Theys Woodward. (R) Rachel Ashe, credit Laura Minns)
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Nov 22, 2021 • 27min

An assistance dog changed my life

Women from Brazil and the UK tell Nora Fakim how assistance dogs are improving both their mobility and wellbeing.Maria Villela lives and works in Brazil. She has glaucoma and was blind by the time she left university. As guide dogs are rare in Brazil, ten years ago Maria decided to email every international guide dog school she could to try and get an assistance animal. She was finally partnered with her dog Spirit through Guide Dogs of the Desert, USA. She says although she lived an independent life before getting her dog, Spirit has given her peace.Alice Moore-Simmons has brittle bones, a rare condition called Ehlers Danlos syndrome and Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) which causes her blood pressure to drop very suddenly. Alice was given her first assistance dog, Bella, through the charity Dogs for Good, when she was 15 years old. More recently she’s been partnered with Winter who’s trained to look out for signs of Alice passing out, makes sure she has her medication, helps her get dressed, fetches and picks things up. Alice says Winter helps calm her anxiety and gives her confidence.Produced by Jane Thurlow(Image: (L) Maria Villela and her dog Spirit, credit Maria Villela. (R) Alice Moore-Simmons and her dog Winter, courtesy Dogs For Good)
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Nov 15, 2021 • 27min

Maids to the rich and famous

Rich families around the world employ butlers and maids to look after their expensive properties. These houseworkers have access to every aspect of their employers’ lives: they get to know their habits and their deepest secrets. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two former maids who worked for wealthy families in the USA and the UK. Stephanie Land is the bestselling author of Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive, a poignant memoir highlighting the plight of overworked and underpaid domestic workers in the USA. Her story has recently been turned into the successful Netflix series, Maid. When she was 19, Sara Vestin Rahmani moved from Sweden to London to work as an au pair for a rich family. She thought she would only stay for a year, but she quickly became embedded in the family’s life, and was exposed to a lifestyle she never imagined was possible. She is now the director of Bespoke Bureau and the British Butler Academy, a high-end recruitment and training agency of domestic and elite service staff. Producer: Alice Gioia(Image: (L) Stephanie Land, credit Ashley Farr. (R) Sara Vestin Rahmani, credit Bespoke Bureau)
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Nov 8, 2021 • 27min

Women protecting wildlife from poachers

There are many thousands of people around the world trying to protect endangered species in their natural habitat – around one in ten of them are female but that number is growing. In Africa alone 18 different countries employ female park rangers. Kim Chakanetsa is joined by two women from South Africa and Zambia to talk about what they do. Tsakane Nxumalo is a junior ranger from The Black Mambas - an unarmed all-female ranger unit in South Africa working in the Greater Kruger National Park. Their job is to protect rhino herds from local bushmeat hunters and organised rhino-poaching syndicates. Since their foundation in 2013 they’ve removed thousands of snares and poison traps, dramatically reducing poaching activity and encouraging people to see the region as a resource for wildlife and nature tourism. Lisa Siamusantu is part of Kufadza, Zambia’s first all-female anti-poaching community scout unit working with Conservation Lower Zambezi. She’d had to drop out of university and was supporting her mother in their village in near the Lower Zambezi National Park when she saw a recruitment advert for this armed ranger unit. She says the training was the hardest thing she’s ever done, but now she says whatever she does in the future it will have to be with nature and wildlife ‘I don’t want to stop doing this job.’The teams are funded with money from government, non-government organisations and charity. They’ve both been recognised by World Female Ranger Day which is supporting women wildlife rangers around the world.Produced by Jane ThurlowIMAGE L: Tsakane Nxumalo, courtesy The Black Mambas R: Lisa Siamusantu, credit Matt Sommerville
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Nov 1, 2021 • 27min

Understanding the impact of climate change on women

It’s understood the climate crisis will disproportionately disrupt the lives of women around the globe. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two academics about the work they do and the impact of changing weather patterns on women. As the primary food growers and water collectors, women are hardest hit by floods and droughts. They’re also less financially equipped to flee when natural disaster strikes, and vulnerable to gender-based violence. Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe is a biogeochemist – a soil scientist – at the University of California, Merced. Her research is focused on understanding how disturbances in the environment affect the cycles of essential elements such as carbon and nitrogen through the soil system. While extreme weather events often result in the degradation of soil, she says effective land restoration could play an important role in sequestering CO2 and slowing climate change.Dr Katharine Vincent is a British geographer working in southern Africa. Her research has focused on vulnerability to climate change and the adaptations that can be made. She’s particularly interested in how these changes impact men and women differently, investigating institutional aspects of climate change, adaptation, food security and social protection. Produced by Jane ThurlowIMAGE L: Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, credit Teamrat A Ghezzehei R: Katharine Vincent, credit Klaus Wohlmann

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