Livelihoods Improvement Project for the Himalaya

1
Livelihoods ImprovementProject for the Himalaya
2
MEGHALAYA ( IFAD COVERAGE ) NERCORMP COVERED
OTHER STATES
3
IFAD GENDER ACTION PLAN 2003 -2006

• IFAD's goal is to empower poor rural women and
  men in developing countries to achieve higher
  incomes and improved food security.
• Based on the recognition of the role of both men
  and women in agriculture economy and rural
  development, IFAD commits to promote gender
  equality and empower women.
• Gender equality and womens empowerment are
  considered both as objectives and as instrument
  for poverty reduction

4
IFAD GENDER ACTION PLAN

• expand womens access to and control over
  fundamental assets
• strengthen womens agency
• improve well-being and ease workloads

5
OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSESSMENT

• To assess to which extent IFAD gender
  mainstreaming strategy impacted in IFADs
  supported projects in the mountain
• How it has improved the capacity to reach women
  and men,
• How it empowers women,
• How it achieves equitable benefit for women and
  men.

6
Methodology Used

• Assessing Project Documents, Project Objectives
  AR,Baseline.
• Interviews Field Visits
• Analysis of the interviews and comparative
  analysis with the IFADs Gender Mainstreaming
  strategy

7
Main Findings were

• Baseline
• Gender Strategy
• Access to Meaningful Resources
• Strengthening Women Agency
• Alleviate Women Workload
• Missing Links
• Emerging Issues

8
Access to Meaningful Resources

• Project funds controlled locally used for
  local priorities
• Impressive improvement in local infrastructure
  services
• Reduced dependence on money lenders increased
  access to bank private credit increased
  self-confidence solidarity among women
  ownership of substantial assets increased
  respect voice in community institutions
  investment in farm non-farm enterprises,
  childrens education
• Commercial plantations on jhum lands seem to be
  controlled by men with unclear impacts on poor
  womens future access to jhum lands

9
Strengthening Of Women Agency

• Women gained voice in community level planning
  decision making
• Womens SHGs ended isolation built solidarity
• Increasing recognition by men of the importance
  to involve women in decision making

10
Women Agency

• Majority of women in project villages members of
  SHGs as well as all village community
  organizations
• All SHGs members of SHG federations
• Women acquired account keeping managerial
  skills
• Individual women, SHGs their federations
  running several enterprises

11
SHGs IMPACT

• Increased respect for womens contribution to
  community well being
• Womens increased confidence levels in
  articulating their needs
• Changes in gender division of labour Mens
  domestic work burden has increased
• Womens collective action against violence
  against women and alcoholism

12
Alleviate Women Workload

• Reduction of womens drudgery by decreasing
  workload
• Access to clean and potable water
• Decrease water-borne diseases
• provided women privacy while improving overall
  health and sanitation in the villages

13
Water Pump, Rain Harvesting, Crèche Stone
Breaking Shed, Coffee Pulpier , Low Cost
Medicines, Low cost Toilets , Washing Place
Village Mule Community Health, Fuel efficient
Stove, Kitchen Garden Composting
14
MISSING LINKS

• Some specific issues mountain women are facing
  are addressed but welfare approach or
  empowerment one? Are we giving too much stress on
  savings and loan ? Inclusion of poor families .
• Although womens participation increased in
  community institutions, women are still greatly
  dependent on men in the household
• Additional creative interventions to tackle
  gender inequalities need to be experimented
• FOOD SECURITY Address more to be more
  focused /Cash Crop

15
EMERGING ISSUES

• CLIMATE CHANGE Did you observe any changes
  related to the weather in the last 15 year?
  Which ones?
• How those changes affect the mountain livelihood?
• How mountain people adapt to those changes?

16
MRDS
INSTITUTIONS
Reduce Workload
LIVELIHOOD SVCC
17
PROVIDING DRINKING WATER
18
SANITATION Convergence WithLine Depts.
19
(No Transcript)
20
GENDER STRATEGY OF MRDS

• Reducing women drudgery with improved
• technologies .
• Gender Sensitization to men.
• Ensuring good representation of women in
• PMU, DMUs, NGOs and CBOs.
• Intensive Training on Gender Perspective .
• Building Gender Concern into all aspects .

21
Loop in the Rest of the TEAM

• If we organize a gender workshop, we are more
  likely to attract only participants who are
  already aware of the problem and are in favour of
  solutions. We should include gender awareness and
  generating gender balance strategies as a
  specific topic in all our training sessions, and
  integrate it with other sectors, then we are more
  likely to include persons who should hear the
  message. We should start at the very beginning.

22
Gender Mainstreaming

• Establishing adequate accountability
  mechanism for monitoring of progress within the
  organization as well as
• programmatically.
• The identification of issues and problems
  within the organization should focus on gender
  differences and disparities wherever they
  exist.
• The Organization should ensure equity forms an
  essential
• element of all Project Planning ,implementation
  and
• monitoring with specific indicators to measure
  progress that
• has taken place . All reports and evaluations
  should include a
• specific focus on the Gender Component. Gender
  Analysis
• should form part of gender mainstreaming effort.

23
MRDS

• Focus on promoting women SHGs especially
• of poorer households, incentives to SHGs .
• Identification of issues representation in
  the
• BOD, Maternity Leave etc, and addressing
• them, Staff gender balance.
• Monitoring of women men in SHGs purpose
• of loan the trend etc.
• Follow up of Gender Mainstreaming Training.

24
Contd

• HuGs Team work together with existing
  AWWs/ASHAs for reaching out to all in the
• Community.
• Activity Analysis is be carried out together with
• the Sector Analysis being done in all Clusters.
• Confidence Build Going to meet Bank Officials,
• Decision to take loan on their own ,lobbying for
• Schemes , Fighting against Alcoholism ,
• Corruption in Government Officials ,Aware of
• entitlements.

25
Future Interventions

• Water still a problem for most women.
• Converge with NRHM, Agriculture ,PHE ,Social
• Welfare, NREGA other line Department.
• Women to be actually more active in VECs.
• Skill Development and Capacity building in for
• women.

26
GM PROCESS IS GRADUAL

• We are looking for a day when women are
• made to represent in all important positions
• now hold by only men .
• These women will lead the have a say in the
• development of their own state .
• Women Men share equal responsibility and
• a woman is not denied the opportunity just
• because the home is considered a place for
• her .

27
We are all in it TOGETHER .
28
THANK YOU !