Community Kitchen – accelerating disaster recovery with a women-led care initiative
Recognizing such unrecognized challenges faced by women in these communities during and after the disaster, UN Women with financial support from the Government of Finland collaborated with the Human-Friendly Disaster Management Group and the Women Humanitarian and DRR Platform and launched a month-long Community Kitchen initiative as the opportunity to demonstrate a care model led by women. The kitchen served as communal spaces where women were engaged in paid care work to cook and serve free nutritious meals for the community allowing them to focus on rebuilding their homes without the worry of securing at least one meal daily for a month. Conducted from March 4 to April 3, 2024, in Jajarkot, and March 12 to April 11, 2024, in West Rukum, the community kitchens responded to the differential impact of disaster on women by addressing concerns of hunger, shelter, and income generation. The kitchens also demonstrated a model of community-led care initiative, for sustaining the lives of families and communities, at a critical time
