ARDHI YETUAFRICA WATER WEEK

Gender lenses: Lessons from Same CARE Project

Prepared by:Mary M. Ndaro

Presentation map• How gender analysis informed the

designing of the project• Aspects of gender equitable Irrigation

interventions in this project• Projects impacts on women

empowerment

What we knowNapandaela a 63 years old woman living in Bangalala village in Same district speaking of water scramble among villagers she says; In the face of insufficient water to serve all farmers, upstream users and powerful individuals take as much water as they can and leave little for others. Napandaela, a former chairperson of the village’s irrigation committee, says that women such as herself are particularly disadvantaged in the resulting “scramble” for scarce water resources.

What we know cont• Women's livelihoods rely on natural resources• Highly dependent on water for agriculture and

domestic use. • Strong influence of cultural norms and unequal

distribution and use of rights, resources and power determines individuals’ livelihoods.

• Access and use of water resources is gendered

CARE Project: GA Gender analysis is central to all CARE programs and projectsParticipation in water committeesDivision of labour- (engaging men)Resource allocation- (livestock, water)Benefits

Cont.• CARE’s women empowerment framework• Agency: Her own aspirations and capabilities• Structure: The environment that condition her

choices• Relations: Power relations through which she

negotiates her path (norms

Gender-equitable Irrigation intervention

• Champion farmers:• Mandatory female committee

membership• VSLAs (Village savings and loan

Association)

Champion farmers• Selected champion farmers and

training them on different skills including women empowerment

• 60 champion farmers, 42 females (68%)

• Encouraging women to attend meetings and scheduling around women convenient times and venues

Mandatory 40%• Empowered women to participate in

the water user organizations (mandatory 40% women)

• Out of 1389 water management committee members 465 are female (35%). Our goal is to reach 50%

• Women are empowered to speak and make decisions in these meetings and committees

VSLAs• Training VSLAs on women economic

and social empowerment skills• Encouraging men to support women

in production and domestic chores• 450 VSLA members in Same ( 70%+

of VSLAs members are women)

Impacts on Women empowerment

• Change in household decision making. As women become less dependent and contribute more to household expenses such as paying school fees for children, their self-esteem rises and they become more of partners in decision making at family level

• Champion farmers working together to form labor-saving groups for practicing soil and water conservation practices (Use VSLAs models)

• Champion farmers working together to form labor-saving groups for practicing soil and water conservation practices (Use VSLAs models)

• Strengthened local water governance committee – through Water User Association and Village Irrigation Associations – Affirmative action that at least 40% must be women

Impacts cont.• Increased agriculture productivity has

encouraged women to be engaged in income generating activities resulting to economic empowerment

Mrs Rizael• “I used to plant crops just haphazardly, my

farm was rough and soil erosion was rampant. But with training from CARE International on double digging, mulching, spacing and “Fanya juu/Fanya chini” things has changed tremendously. I conserve soil and harvest more. Honestly there is no way you can change me from using techniques like double digging. I will indeed remember CARE forever for this”

Mrs. Rizael in her in flourishing millet farm on a Fanya juu terrace plot

THANK YOU