Community Learning and Strategic Change: Identifying Lessons for Effective Rural Development in Asia

Govind Kelkar

Presented at

What are the Innovation Challenges for Rural Development?

IMI Workshop, IFAD Rome 15- 17 November 2005

2

An Understanding of Innovation

Innovation as it relates community-based strategic change in gender relations and reduction in the feminization of poverty.

Unlike the conventional view of innovation as a process connected with science and technology, the examples of innovation at the grassroots level in rural Asia discussed in the preceding pages have pointed out the role of innovative projects in reduction of gender inequality and poverty.

The examples are drawn from IFAD and UNIFEM projects in indigenous and poverty affected rural areas in Asia.

3

An Understanding of Innovation

4

Key features of innovation initiatives

Community-based poor women’s institutions

Increased capacity to aspire

Multisectoral collaboration for poverty reduction through increasing collective agency of women

Collective learning and strategic change in gender relations

5

Why these project approaches are innovations?

These projects have radically departed from the conventional approach to poverty reduction and women’s empowerment; which have reinforced protective dependency of women.

These following project approaches are innovations in the sense that they have introduced a new approach to poverty reduction. Among the major objectives, enhancing women’s individual and collective agency through unmediated control or management of resources is underlined in the field practice of these projects.

6

Chenchu Women of Andhra Pradesh, India: Empowerment in the Market and

Household The main innovations in this UNIFEM/SERP/Kovel

project are:

Women, along with men, are trained in improved and sustainable methods of collection, post-collection processing to add value;

Women’s groups are organized to run procurement centers in villages; and

Women do the selling of NTFP at the procurement centers.

7

Chenchu Women of Andhra Pradesh, India: Empowerment in the Market and

Household

8

Chenchu Women of Andhra Pradesh, India: Empowerment in the Market and

Household Impact On Household Income and Women’s Control Over Income

Improvements in Well-Being and Self-Esteem“Earlier we did not even comb our hair. Now we comb our hair, we take pride in our appearance… We did not take care of how we tied our sarees. Now we do. We come neatly dressed for meetings,” said Gangamma of Sarlapalli village.

Sharing of Domestic Work

Reduction in Domestic Violence

Strengthening the capacity to aspire

9

Pond Aquaculture Groups in Bangladesh

Women Acquiring Managerial Control of Pond Aquaculture Groups

The pond belongs to my husband, the fish belong to me

10

Community Forests: Women’s Rights and Freedom

Change in Gender Relations

Increased Well-being“Through my training, I have started cultivating vegetables and weaving wool. I have developed a relationship with the vendor and conduct my own business. My income has gone a long way towards our children’s education, ” said Purna Maya, a member of a leasehold group (IFAD, 2001, 10).

11

Micro Finance and Women’s Empowerment in Rural Bangladesh

The Ethic of Savings and Repayment of Loans

From Mediated Access to Ownership of Assets Table 1: Assets acquired by SCG women members in ADIP

Type of Asset No. of cases Percent of women

Land 117 45%

Livestock 105 40%

Poultry 45 17%

Small trade/Business 75 29%

All Women 261

12

Micro Finance and Women’s Empowerment in Rural Bangladesh

Acquiring Access to Land

Table 2: Land Acquisition by Name

Number Percentage

In women’s own name 87 75

In joint names 4 3

In men’s name bought by women

26 22

Total number of land acquisition cases

117 100

13

Micro Finance and Women’s Empowerment in Rural Bangladesh

Of 261 women, 117 reported land acquisition through purchase or lease. In 87 instances, (including three of inheritance), land was in women’s names. 10 of these instances were those of two groups of women leasing land for vegetable production. In four instances, land was acquired in the joint names of husband and wife. While in 26 instances, the land was in the name of the men alone.

14

Micro Finance and Women’s Empowerment in Rural Bangladesh

Improvements in Well-being

Money as the Measure of Respect

Samman (Dignity): “If you have assets, everyone loves you,” says Kalpana, an articulate village woman. “If we have sampotti (property/assets), our samman (dignity / prestige) will be permanent. Samman is closely linked with sampotti,” Gul Akhtar, who has recently acquired 15 decimals of agricultural land. “When we have assets in our names, we will be respected and will have social and familial dignity. But this will not be easy. Our men do not easily agree to control of assets by women. Each one of us has to persuade the husband, when he is in a cool frame of mind,” Zahida, with the close support of other members of the SCG.

15

Micro Finance and Women’s Empowerment in Rural Bangladesh

Solidarity and Groups“We have developed group solidarity and identity as members of the Samiti, which we have used to prevent the taking of second wives by two men in this village. I am also raising this (membership of the Samiti) as a major point in negotiating the marriage of my daughter,” says Rashida

16

Micro Finance and Women’s Empowerment in Rural Bangladesh

Increased Work and

Leisure“He thinks now I have some money,” (Gazipur) What that might mean is that he now thinks she earns some money. This reaction of sharing some of the housework is something that might be expected with the rise in women’s opportunity cost of labour.

17

Conclusion: the Novelty of Innovation To be fully effective, innovations require:

a regular monitoring and evaluation of processes and impacts;

self-assessment based local capacity in the areas identified for replication or up scaling of innovations;

adequate inclusion of hard core poor women and men in the innovation processes and local institutions.