Pursuing the vision of helping women realize the value of their decision-making power and their innate skills within their local formations, the AWCF (Asian Women in Cooperative Development Forum) and ICAROAP (International Cooperative Alliance Regional Office for Asia and Pacific) have developed and published a simplified trainer’s manual on how to increase women’s participation especially those in primary cooperatives or the grassroots level. “Less Words, More Action”, aside from participation, aims to raise awareness among women by making them known of the disadvantages they may or may not consciously experience in the cooperatives where they belong. The organizations believe that by equipping and giving possible women trainers, field workers, and community organizers a manual on how to empower women along the margins, they would be able to see a more dignified, outspoken, and involved females playing key roles within their cooperatives.

This manual covers several topics which include the definition and nature of a cooperative or cooperative identity, discussion on common issues or problems experienced by women leaders and members in a cooperative, and gender-sensitive action planning and evaluation. It provides a more illustrative, rather than textual, message for women to easily understand the subjects and for the trainers to be able to effectively visualize their points.