Capacity building for mining cooperatives in Haut-Katanga and Lualaba: professionalization, security and cooperative governance

On 12 and 13 June 2025, the Centre Arrupe pour la Recherche et la Formation (CARF) organised
a training session in Fungurume on hazards, risks and safety in
artisanal mining for managers of mining cooperatives
Fungurume, Kansonga, Lwisha and Lubumbashi, as part of the project « Cooperative support
and local communities for the establishment of a supply chain and
responsible marketing of cobalt in Upper Katanga and Lualaba »financed by
MISEREOR.
The training session aimed to raise awareness of hazards and risks associated with
on the legal, social and economic bases of the
and promote democratic and transparent governance within
Cooperative structures.

The training, moderated by Mr Adrien Lenge, Project Manager CARF, assisted by Mr Elie E.
Bokele, Senior Management Assistant CARF, was structured around three main modules:

1. Hazards, risks and safety in artisanal mining in DRC This module outlined the
   the main threats faced by operators or diggers
   and proposed
   concrete preventive measures, stressing the importance of accountability
   security.
2. Foundations of the specificity of a cooperative: It was here to recall the basic principles
   that define a cooperative: voluntary membership, democratic management, participation
   member economics, autonomy and independence, education and training,
   cooperation and commitment to the community.
3. Good governance practices of a cooperative: This module focused on the
   transparency, accountability and participation, essential for effective management. The
   Case studies have illustrated the positive effects of well-structured governance
   on the performance of cooperatives.
   Participants expressed great satisfaction with the relevance of the content addressed
   and stressed their willingness to implement the recommendations of the
   profiting from their communities of digmers.
   This initiative is part of a broader process of transformation of the
   artisanal mining, building on local capacity building. Through
   The CARF contributes to the emergence of a network of training centres that are targeted and rooted in the reality of the field.
   more secure, fair and professional sector.

Elie E. Bokele, Executive Assistant