Women of Vanuatu's Silae Vanua Market Vendors Association

The women in these portraits come from villages around Vanuatu's main island Efate and off-shore islands, Moso and Nguna. The women are depicted in what remains of their homes, gardens and water supplies which were first destroyed by category 5 Cyclone Pam in March 2015. They now face the impact of severe drought due to the El Nino weather system affecting the Pacific. The women provided their stories and were photographed as part of the UN Women Markets for Change project which aims to ensure marketplaces in rural and urban areas in Vanuatu, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands, are safe, inclusive and non-discriminatory, promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. The Silae Vanua Market Vendors Association grew out of the Markets for Change project and has nearly 3000 members in all stages of the farm-to-market supply chain. Despite losing their homes and gardens members of the Silae Vanua executive worked to become legally registered in mid 2015. 'Silae' means help in the local Efate dialect and for many rural women the organisation provides their only social contact outside their immediate family and village.