Women in rural Senegal : some implications of proposed integrated food and nutrition interventions

NOTES ON WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT NO. 3 (Case Studies) WOMEN IN RURAL SENEGAL: SOME IMPLICATIONS OF PROPOSED INTEGRATED FOOD AND 'NUTRITION INTERVENTIONS This case study is one of a series prepared expressly for discussion by World Bank staff in workshops on women in development. It is in no sense an evaluation of the project, ard describes only those of its features which are relevant to the concerns of the workshop. Marilyn Carr, Consultant Office of the Advisor on Women in Development World Bank June, 1979 * .* - * - -:....:,.:,.,:....．」．．긔 CONTENTS 1. Introduction II. Project Implementation - Assessment of Problems: 2 Wells 3 Small-scale irrigation 5 Improved seeds and Diversification.of crops 7 Poultry and Livestock 8 Food production and storage 9 Food processing 10 Nutrition Education 12 Village health services 13 III. Project Implementation: Some Guidelines 14 Choice of technology 15 Economic appraisal of income generating activities 20 Appropriate training 22 Consideration of linkage and conflicts between activities 28 Consideration of division of responsibilities between men and women, disposal of income and decision making 30 IV. Some Suggestions for the Senegal Integrated Food & Nutrition Project. 31 Water development 31 Grinding mills 34 Vegetable gardening 35 Poultry livestock 36 Improved storaSe 36 Income generating activities 36 Recmmendations 40 SOME IMPLICATIONS OF PrOPOSED INTZGRATED FOOD AND NUTRTTION INTERVENTIONS In the rurkil areas of Senegal, women are overburdened and overworked. They are respor.sible for a large number of tasks including water and fuel collection; production, processing and preparation of the family's food; care of the house and child care. They also help their hnabands with the production of cash crops. These tasks take zp to 15 hours a day =, the busy agricultural seasons and at any time of the year the women work a much longer and harder day than the ien. They usually must perform this work without adequate access to modern tools, training or credit facilities: and their work rarely is given any monetary value. As a result, women often find ft impossible to improve the nutritional and health status of their children. Even if training in these respects _s ivailable, the women are just too busy to attend classes on a regular basis or to put the fruits of their learning into practice. At the same time, although the men could help by virtue of their control over cash income and credit facilities, they rarely see nutri- tion and health care as being their concern. The problem needs to be attacked in a variety of ways - recognizing the important linkages between food production, food storage, food processing, water, sanitation, nutrition and health. In particular much more emphasis has to be given to increasing the women's access to labour saving devices so that time is released for better child care and for engaging in income gen- erating activities1/ Nutrition and primary health education for vumen are, of course, importaat, but only in combination with projects which make it feasible for the women to implement what they are taught. A recent report of the United 1/ See World Bank Projects and Women, March 1979. -2- Nations Protein-Calorie Advisory Group pointd out that whle vomen remain overworked and since diets of maximum nutritional benefit are not always the most convenient to prepare, there is a tendency for the more easily prepared foods to predominate in the diet even when the womn has nutritional knowledge.L/ It also stresses that, 'mere education of mothers for better hygiene practices will not necessarily make any difference when the dis- tances to the water source may be the true limiting factor'. - it would also seem valuable to provide some sort of nutrition and primary health informa- tion to the men. They are more likely to support their wives attempts to improve the family's well-being if someone takes the trouble to explain to them exactly what this involves in terms of time, food, water and money. The proposed Integrated Food and Nutrition Project in Senegal attempts to improve nutrition and health standards in the rural areas by combining expanded training and facilities with measures to increase food availability, supply of %lean water, labour saving devices and income generating schemes for women. In theory, these proposals should have a highly beneficial im- pact. In practice, however, a number of factors could prevent the potential benefits from being realized. Section II of this paper examines the sort of problems which could arise during the implementation of the project. Section -411-makes some suggestions on how safeguards could be built into the project to increase the chances of success, these are sumr7ed in Section IV together witirsome general recommendations for achieving che objectives of the project. II. Project Implementation - Assessment of Problems This section takes each proposed measure in the project and poincs out 1/ Protein-Calorie Advisory Group of the United Nations System, Women in Food Production, Food Handling and Nutrition (U.N., New York, 1977) p. III. 35. 2/ Ibid, p. III. 53. -3- some likely pitfalls based on siml. :ojects elsewhere in Africa and or the prevailing socio-economic conditions in the two project areas. 1. Wells One of the most time consuming tasks performed by women is that of collecting and carrying vater.-/ One measure aimed at overcoming this prob- lem is the provisit , of wells closer to the village. It is assumed that this will help both by releasing women's t-me for more productive uses and better child care and by providing more water and cleaner water which are essential for better sanitation and health. This is not as simple as it seems. First, experience has shown that village water supply schemes are more likely to work successfully if the village community is involved in their construction (e.g. by means of self- help labcr) than if they are excluded. In areas where water is scarce, there is unlikely to be much trouble in securing the help of the community. However, one factor to bear in mind is that it is usually the men who do the digging and they are not as sensitive to water iosues as are the women. There have thus been cases of self-help labor teams refuiing t dig below the water line even where the supervisor/technician has advised this would be necessary to ensure a good water supply over a longer time period.2/ The result has been a large number of wells running dry cs the water table has dropped. I/ It is estimated that on the average, one sixth of all the energy expended by the women in the rural areas of Africa is used in carrying water. McDowell J. & Hazzard V. 'Village Technology and Women's Work in Africa'. Assignment Children No. 36 Oct.-Dec. 2/ For an ezample of this from Upper Volta see Rogers B., 'What do Women Want' Appropriate Technology, Feb. 1979. Similarly, even when men have been involved in securing a better water supply for the village, they varely feel responsible for its maintenance and 1/ repair. Pumping systems are specially vulnerable if they are not matntained properly - the problem being greater the more expensive and ccmplicated the 2/ system involved. It is the women who stand to lose the most if the water system breaks down, but they rarely have surpl-is cash to pay for maintenance and repair. Neither are they given access to training to enable them to main- tain the system themselves. As a consequence, in Senegal - as in most African 3/ countries - over half the village pumps are non-operational at any one time. Even assuming that the well does not run dry and the pumping mechanism does not break down - there are still factors to be taken into consideration. For example, even where tb water source is brought much closNr, lack of careful planning may reduce time savings for women. This could happen if there are no suitable facilities for functions such as bathing and laundry near to the new water supply thus recessitating continued journeys to the more distant traditional water source. Simil&rly, even if there is now rire watev available for better washing of dishes ar children - women may not have 1/ A recent evaluation study of rural water supplies in Lesotho found that 'drawing water is a women's task and men are under little pressure to carry out repairs.' Iu addition, it revealed 'hostile opposition of men to women. The women blamed the men for lack of repairs in that they refused to join work parties, while the men either said that the maintenance of the supply was a job for the women as they benefited most from more acessible water, or suggested that the vomen on the water committee were incompetent.' Feacham R.cc al. Water Health and Development (TriMed Books Ltd., London, 1978) p. 61 and p. 88. 2/ The evAluation study of rural water supplies in Lesotho clearly revealed that simple gravity fed systems and hand pumps presented fewer maintenance problems and were more reliable than deisel pumps and windmills. They were also -uch lower cost. 3/ UNICEF/WHO describes a village water sipply programme in which up to 80% of the hand pumps were reported out of order. Water supply and sanitation for all assignment children (45146, Spring 1979) p. 33. See also WHO Reference Centre for community Water Supply "Rural Water Supply Hand Pumps - Laboratory and Field Testing - Development of Selection Guidelines" prepared for working meeting on Hand Pump Selection and Testing. Harpender, Herts, UK, May 1979. -5- sufficient time to make use of this facility or to supervise their children in better hygiene. Any time saved in water collection may be devoted to doing more work on their husband's fields,1! Alternatively, the very pro- visions of more water may take up as much time in more journeys to a nearer source as did feaer journeys to a more distant source. Additionally, it cannot be taken for granted that water taken from an improved water supply (even a covered well) will result in improved health of children. Water which was clean at the point of collection can become contaminated during carriage and storage. In any case, disease can spread just as easily through contaminated food (due to dirty hands or flies) as through dirty drinking water. Also - busy mothers cannot constantly watch large numbers of children to make sure that they drink only 'safe'water. 2. Small-Scale Irrigation Small-scale irrigation schemes can be useful in respect of allowing vegetables and root crops to be grown in the dry season. It is intended that this could supplement the family diet; save money through growing condiments which would otherwise have to be bought; and/or supplement income through sale of produce. Sinco gardening of this type is normally thought of as women's work - it is normally assumed that women will be able to start this activity automatically once irrigation water, seeds and tools are provided. 1/ A recent study in Ethiopia revealed that over 50 percent of the men in villages where water development was baing planned expected that any time savings realized by their wives would be reallocated into helping them with their work. ECA/ATRCW, Improving Village Water Supplies in Ethiopia (ECA, Addis Ababa, 1978) Tabie 26. 2/ These arguments are put forward and statistically supported in a number of publications including Feacham R. et al. op.cit; White G,F., Bradley P.T. & While R.U., Drawers of Water: Domestic Water Use in East Africa (Univ. of Chicago Press, 1972); and Carruthers J, 'The Contribution of Rural Water Investment to Development', East African Journal of Rural Development. Vol. 3 (2) 1970. IFV There are a number of relevant factors which are not always taken into consideration. First, is there a ready organized women's group which will undertake the gardening? Second, is there a plot of land adjacent to the well which the women are allowed to use for the purpose of growing vegetables? Third, is the pumping system one which will take up a small amount or a large amount of the women's time - irrigation takes a great deal of water and pumping time might be difficult for women who are already busy. If too much time is involved - the men may take over the pumping, the gardening and the resultant income from sale of the produce.L/ Fourth, are there female exten- sion agents available to train and advise women on production, storage/ preservation and marketing of vegetables? If the vegetables are meant to provide a nutritional supplement to Aiet throughout the year - then training in preservation will be essential but provision for this and for the necessary equipment ( e.g. solar dryers) is not always made. Even if the vegetables are grown primarily for sale, some preservation may still e necessary if everything is ready for harvest at the same time and cannot be sold quickly at an economic price. Hundreds of women's groups throughout Africa have found that they malke a loss on vegeta"e production because of the high wastage rate of produce. Fifth, who will be respcnsible for maintaining and repairing the well, pump and irrigation channels? As mentioned with the case of pro- vision of wells, the men may feel this is no particular concern of theirs and the women usually have neither the income or training to look after the system themselves. If This has in fact been reported to happen in Sene2al. A conversation with Edna Loose of Purdue University revealed that mcu took over garden plots in cases where the existing pumping/irrigation system was too time consuming in relation to the women's already heavy work schedule. Men also took over in a ease where a solar pump had en installei. U '*1~N Ir- -7- 3. Improved Seeds and Diversification of Crops One common method of trying to increase food availability is to distri- bute higher yielding or quicker maturing varieties of seeds. If these are distributed through normal channels in Senegal, they may be used by the men on their own fields and act filter through to the women for use on theirs.v This means fhat any incre-sed yields will be limited to the man's fields and the surplus is more likely to be sold than added to the family's diet. The extra income, since it is in the hands of men, will tend to be spent on non- food commodities and add little to the well-being of the family as a whole.-/ Additionally, new varieties of seedn used ou men's fields may result in more work for their wivos. For instance, the new millet seeds being recommended are more vulnerable to bird atlack and will require more female time f.a bird scaring. They may also result in a higher demand for unpaid female labour in weeding and harvesting activities. This will leave less time .or the women to spend on growing food on their own fields with which to feed their families. I/ A recent study in Senegal revealed that, 'Any new seeds, fertilizer or pro- duction techniques are used first on the fie-lds of the household head; the trickling down of these inputg usually does not reach as far as the women who almost never banafit.' Loose E., 'Women in Rural Senegal' paper pre- pared for the Workshop on Sahelian Agriculture, Dept. of Agricultural Econo- mics, Purdue University, Feb. 1979. p.1. 2/ There is an increasing body of evidence to show that men are more likely to dispose of income on consumer goods such azi transistors, vrist watches and alcohol; whereas women are rare likely to dispose of extra income in nutritionally beneficial ways. The fact that men have almost total control over cash income in the Diourbel area of Senegal may explain, for example, why only one third of this is spent on food items despite the commonly held belief that children do not receive enough food. (Identification Report: Proposed Food and Nutrition Project, Sept. 1978: p. 18). Alternatively, in Upper Volta, a UNESCO project which enabled women to earn cash through growing soybeans on a communal basis resulted in them buying such things as medicine for the village dispensary. (Cloud, K. "Sex Roles in Food Production and Distribution Systems in the Sahel." p. 8). -8- Similarly, crop diversification schemes may result in more income for husbands and more work for their wives; or may not succeed at all b,cause women have no time to grow a variety of crops rather than one or two major crops. The women are alxo likely to be denied access to the training nec- cessary to successful diversified cropping. When changes of this nature are being introduced, there is obviously a need to monitor carefully any changes which take place in the timing and pattern of activities of individual members of the hot%schold. Only careful research of this type will reveal whether supposedly beneficial changes do in fact result in a net gain in fauily welfare. Such research has rarely been built into development projects, so there are, as yet, no guidelines which can be considered when p. -jing future projects. 4. Poultry and Livestock Raising of poultry ar4 small animals is one way proposed of ircreasing the protein available in the family diet and/or of increasing the family's income. The raising of such anirals is normally a woman's task, but they are rarely given access to trainin in animal husbandry. As a consequence, chickens stop laying eggs because of d.sruptions in wate-:ing and feedidg, and animals die because of lack of Aeo.uate care. No advice is given to women rerarding optimum number if chickens or animals to keep in order to make the 1/ enterprise an economic one. An additional problem in Senegal iA that, in recent years, women have had to sell animals at low prices in order to pur- 1/An ECA study revealed that only 20 percent of people receiving training in animal husbandry in Africa are women, even though women aze largely respcnsible for the care of poultry and small animals. Similarly, attention is rarely paid to the economics of these activities. In an exceptional case in Kenya, at the request of the Government Women's Bureau, an economic study was made of small-scale poultry keeping. This revealed that an enterprise would not be profitable unlers a minimum of 500 birds vere kept. Before this, the majority of woan trying (unsuccess- fully) to earn income thrc-gh poultry keeping had y fewer than 500 birds. chase seeds for their next year's crop of groundnuts and millet. Men have been able to secure seeds through the cooperative, but almost never give any to their vives for use on their fields.1 In addition, the keeping of poultr, and livestock can mean a lot of extra work in respect of collecting and carrying water. For example, every 100 chickens require 25 litres of clean water dail-. This can put a great deal of extra strain on overworked women - even if they do take it in turns. 5. Food Protection and Storage Groving more food is not the only way of incrdasing food availability - it can also be increased by reducing losses of food during storaSe. Building improved storage cribs to prevent on-farm storage losses can be simple and cheap but the losses continue. To some extent, this may be because most of the technologies tried out so far have been too expensive in comparison with the average household income.- This is especially important considering that it is normally the --aen (who have little access to cash) who have the main responsibility for sl;orage: and also that on-farm storage losses are rarely seen by the household as being a priority problem. In such circumstances, 1/ See Loose E. op cit p.15-16. 2/ For example, alternative storage methods being investigated in Senegal, although technically good, are too exrnsive in relation to household income. They also involve collective storage which would lead to disputes between men and women and between v men within the same household with respect 'o control and disposal of food stores. Bank working paper: - Socio-cultural Aspects of Food Consumption, May 1978: p. 24 3/ A recent World Bank study on storage of mai in Mexicu found that the researchers concept of loss did not coincide with that of the farmers. For instance, the latter did not think o all grain spoiled during storage as 'lost' since it could be fed to anima±-. In addition, farmers were found to be generally ignorant of the causes of damage and use of technology to combat it. These points were used to explain why farmers did nothing about changing their storage methods, even though food stocks were of crucial importance at ce:r,ain times of the year. (Eckrich G, Schumacher A & Ausoa R Mexico: The Post Harvest Faize System in Two Pid&r Micro-Regions - first draft Feb. 1978, p.14). -ma -10- little headway can be expe%ted unless greater attention is given to trainizg women how to ibmprove storage methods with mintu cost and effort. The same problem applies to drying of crops. Traditionally, crops are dried inadequately and under conditionn which lead to insect infestations and contamination. Improvements are mlikely to be acceptable ct the farm levzl unless they are low-cost azi require a minimtr of time and effort. There would seem to be a case for much greater concentration of effort on educating both women and men on the importance of better drying and storage of crops at the farm level, combined with development of improved technologies which are low cost, easy to construct and use and culturally acceptable. 6. Food Processing Processing of food takes up a very la.ge proportion of the rural 6oman's time. In an attempt to release them from this burden, the introdue- tion of mecaanical threshers, hullers and grinding mills is usually advocated. However, the introduction of such equipment has not been a total success. The machines have been fairly large-scale, exvensive and diesel or electrically - operated. To operate aconomically, -hey require a large clientele and v.st therefore be moved from place to place (thus not always being available in any one village); or, if stationary, necessitates long walks for many of the women who wish to use it. Hire rates are high to cover the costs of the equipment, fuel and operators and the majority of woman cannot ad.ord to use it as often - 11 - as- they would like (or at all) because of a lack of cash.1Y Sometimes the equipment has been acquired by women a 8SSOL.Ltions when they have been lucky enough to have access to good extension services which help them to organize themselves and acquire credit. For example, such schemes have been funded by UNICEF in Senegal, UNESCO in Upper Volta; and USAID in several African countries. Even then, however, there have been problems. The equipment breaks down after a while because no one hes been taught how to maintain it properly. There is then no one in the village who can repair the machine, and outside mechanics are costly. In many cases, spare parts are also difficult to find and equipment can stay unoperational for long periods o. time. In all cases, the eq.ipment in- volvel has been deisel operated. It is worth noting that the only successful 1! For example, a recent study in Senegal found that when a mill was available, only those women who received money from their husbands could afford to use it on a regular basis. Women who relied on their own cash resources to pay for milling used the service irregularly or not at all. In addition, even those women who received cash from their husbands for milling had to revert to har pounding on the days when the mill was not operating (uaually 2 days per wcek). Loose e. op cit p. 12 . An additional problem is that hire rates are rising to compensate for increases in the price of deisel oil. A study in Upper Volta found that grinding fees had risen by 25 percent to compensate for a 33 percent increase in the price of oil. Many mill operators lost so many customers that they started opening the mill only twice a week, on market days, rather than every day as they had done in the past. See Tinker I. 'New Technologies for Food Chain Activities: The Imperative of Equity for Women' AAAS p.31. - 12 - case of introducing corn mills to woments cooperatives in Africa involved hant operated equipment. The scheme started in The Cameroons in the 1960's and many hundred women's groups benefited.- These mills are still fully operational today.l/ Providing equipment which can solve a problem in theory is obviously not enough. Thought must also be given to the means and circumstances of tLt people who most need it and to how they can acquire the help they need in a way they can afford. 7. Nutrition Education O,VLous1- nutrition education has far more relevance when it is linked witha prodi -tive developments in agriculture and the food processing sectors and expansiin of the basic infrastructure for health and other coamunity services - as is proposed in the Seregal project. It should also, where possible, be linked with income-generating activities. However, due recogni- tion should be given to the fact that even though an increase in food avail- ability is planned so as to make nutrition education more feasible - some of the measures proposed may lead to an increase in yields without an increase in family food supplies (because of use of husband's income on non-food pro- ductR) so that the desired linkages break down. To overcome this sort of thing happening, it might be useful to think of nutrition education in two phases: a) Orientation prior to and along with productive developments and intxoduction of labour saving devices to explain importance of better nutition and how extra/better food grown on farm and 1/ See O'Kelly E Aid and Self Help (Chas. Knight & Co., Ltd, London, 1973) Chap XVI, The Corn Mill Societies. - 13 - time saved by new tools/equipment can he used in nutritionally beneficial ways. This should be aimed at both men (male extension agents) and women (female extens. _ agents) - it is important that the man's support be gained as early as possible so that benefits of the project are not diverted away from children and wompn; b) Applied nutrition training to be given to women once more/ better food is available; some of their time has been released by labour saving devices; and more water is available to aid with sanitation improvement. The questions of who should do this training and how and where they themselves should be trained are important issues. 8. Village Health Services Provisian of training in preventive health care is just as important as provision of facilities providing remedial measures. Better nutrition and better hygiene will both result in healthier children, but there will be little point in actively encouraging rural women along these lines until it becomes feasible for them to comply. There may, however, be a good case for generally informing both women and men at an early stage of the importance of good nutri- tion and improved hygiene in improving children's health. One point worth considering is that even when clinics are available, many mothers never take their children there unless they are seriously ill. One major reason for this is that the women cannot afford the cost of a clinic visit (however small) except in the most extreme circumstances. Another factor is lack of time to walk to and to wait for hours at a clinic. A survey of -14- mothers not attending health clinics in Tanzania revealed that in the majorizy of cases, their husbands either did not know about the clinic or had refused to pay the 20 cents which are charged at each clinic visit. In other cases, 1/ the problem was one of lack of time. Thus low attendance cannot be explained by the motheL's ignorance or unwillingness to adopt new practices. There are more fundamental problems involved. For instance, it would seem that women need access to their own income; that men should be informed more about health care so that they become more aware of existing facilities and take more reaponsibility for medical expenditures; that labour saving devices are needed to release women's time for attending to the children's health; that variations are needed in the mode of delivery of basic health services e.g. some might come to the mother, others might trade off before distance and 2/ frequency. III. Project Implementation - Some Guidelines Many of the interventions with which the Senegal Project will be involved are of types in which a high failure rate has been recorded. Wells have a history of drying up; pumps break down thrcugh overuse and lack of maintenance and remain out of order for long periods of time because of lack of funds to repair them; vegetable gardening schemes fall into disuse because water supplies dry up, because of a lack 3/ of markets or because costs exceed returns; poultry and livestock projects col- lapse because they are uneconomic or because disease kills off the stock; 1/ Protein-Calorie Advisory Group of the United Nations op.cit, p.83 2/ Services that come to the mother would be more useful than those which require her to go to them. This would not necessarily imply setting up new mobile health services with all the inherent problems involved in acquiring vechiles and keeping them in working order. The type of scheme which could be appropriate would be for health personnel to travel aloLd with a community development, agricultural or other extensi-a officer whenever he/she is visiting villages for other purposes. 3/For example, the Ministry of Agriculture in Lesotho estimates that of the 1,400 gardens set up - less than 100 are in full use, See Feacham R. op eit, 1. 184 - 15 - suggestions regarding reducing food losses through improved storage methods are ignored because losses are not recognized or because suggested-improvements require too much money; equipment such as grinding mills and hullers fall into disuse through lack of funds to repair them or become so expensive to run because of rising oil pzices that no one can afford to use them; female ex- tension agents become discouraged by low attendance rates at nutrition classes and by the apparent lack of relevance of what they teach in terms of women's time and income constraints; health clinics have low attendance rates because women have neither the time or money to take their children there u'less an emergency arises; extension agents dealing with improved hygiene anad sanitation and other preventive health measures fail to make headway because their sug- gestions make little sense in terms of availability of water, time and income. There are of course a few success stories available from Africa which brightens this generally gloomy picture, some of which are referred to at revelant points. First, however, it is useful to identify from past experiences what major problems have been. As will be seen, the successful projects have worked because they have taken account of some of these problems and carefully developed strategies to overcome them. Some of the major problem areas are dealt with now in more detail. A. Inappropriate Choice of Technology In many projects, it is often difficult to discern whether any criteria vere applied at all when choosing equipment and the haphazard approach taken in respect of choice of technology is the basic cause of much of the trouble subsequently experienced. One factor which is often overlooked is -he number of people who will be using the equipment in relation to its cAnacity. Another is the cost of the equipment in relation to the income of the people who are intended to use it. The question of operating, maintenance and repair costs - 2 -. -A in relation to income is also often overlooked - as are the implications of choice in terms of skills related to operation, maintenance and repair. Dif- ferent technologies have different implications for patterns of ownership and use for location of the equipment and related activities, but end-user preference in these respects are rarely taken into consi&' ration. Iz is probably generally true to say that the fundamental problem has been to attempt the introduce technologies which are larger, more complicated and more expensive than thise needed to maximize benefits in terms of the wants and needs and the time and income constraints of rural communities. The bigger and mare expensive t!e water pump or the grinding mill is - the greater will be the number of people expected to use it in order to make it an economic proposition. In the Afri:an rural setting, this will involve a degree of centralization which will necessitate women walking fairly long distances to utilize the equipment - thus reducing any time saving benefits otherwise involved. Would it not be more sensible to have several smaller pumps or mills which are located near to the user, rather than one large one? The smaller versions certainly exist - at prices which compare very favoura- bly with those of the larger machine. 1/ Many cf these described in publications of agencies such as ITDG, VITA, UNICE'. Specific references are given later in the text and in a technical anne- to the report. For example, a hand operated grinding mill produced in England with an output of 18 kilograms per hour cost 560 (Hunts Atlas No.3 Mill - see Tools for Agriculture page 127). A small power driven grinding mill, aluo made in Eagland, with an output of 230 kilograms per hour cost L300. (Bentali's 'Superb' Mill - see Tools for Agriculture page 128). A si-le calucativn reveals that five hand operated mills cost the same as one power operated mill. Although the output per hour of the po- wer driven machine is greater than that of the five hand operated ones, much of this would be surplus capacity in the normal rural setting unless a very large number of women were prepared to walk long distances to use the mill. When the time-saving involved for women in having the smaller mills and also the lower operating, maintenance and repair costs are con- sidered, they would probably prove to be preferable to a larger mill. A detailed social cost benefit analysis would reveal whether or not this is the Lase in practice. 4-* - 17 - There are other advantages with the smaller technologies. Maintenance is simpler and less costly and breakdowns less frequent. When breakdowns do occur - they are more easily attended to by local artisans and spare parts are more readily available or can even be fabricated by the village blacksmith. Smaller technologies are frequently hand or aninl operated and this have lower operating costs. Larger technologies inevitably use diesel oil - a factor which is far from desirable given the high and 1/ increasing price for this commodity. Small-technologies are alsc more controllable. If a pump or mill serving several villages breaks down, then many people are affected. If the pump or mill serves only one community, then the effects of a break- down are more limited in scope - there is also the possibility of temporarily 2/ using facilities in neighboring villages while repairs are being made. 1/ As was seen in the previous section (p. 11 footnote 1/), increases in the price of diesel oil in some African countries have been as high as 33 per cent, thus making the use of diesel operated equipment too expensive for most rural communities. 2/ Care should be taken in this case not to overload facilities. A common cause behind pumps and mills breaking down is overuse (combined with lack of extra maintenance) because inadequate attention was paid to exactly how many people would be constantly using the equipment. This can happen for example when a pump which is meant only for use in one village is also used by people from surrounding villages who have not yet received help in acquiring their own improved water supply. * .. - 18 - In the case of mills and other crop processing equipment - smaller technologies, because of their lower cost and ease of operation, land themselves more readily to cooperative ownership and operation b.t women's groups thus allowing the women to mill their grain whenever they like. Larger mills tend to open at the convenience of their owner and/or operator rather than at times which are most convenient for the customers. It is not surprising that the majority of women's groups in Africa mention being able to have their own mill as a high ;riority need - even when a commerically operated mill is located in the neighborhood. It should be noted, however, that experience from several countries, including Senegal, has shown that the small diesel operated mills given to women's groups have not been successful 1/ because of frequent breakdowns and higiz repair and running costs. Small hand-operated mills owned by women's groups have had a much more successful 2/ history and seem to lie the more sensible choice given_prevailing conditions in the rural areas and also given the increaaing price of diesel oil. Improved storage and drying of czzps is another area in which -hoice of technology is a crucial issue. In respect of reducing on-farm storage losses, large silos usiag cement or metal are too expensive to be largely replicable and quite apart from the cost problem, they lead to conflicts within and between families through necessitating communal storage ar-:anpements. Similarly, 1/ For example, of the small diesel mills distributed to women's groups in Upper Volta in the early 1970's, less than half were found to be still operational in 1976. Of the rest - most were producing a very poor quality of flour due to improper maintenance (cereal usually had to be ground twice instead of once to get tb required fineness thus raising cost because of extra diesel oil requirements) and had been repaired several times at a cost which could be ill-afforded by the women. Similarly, many of the small deisel mills distributed to women's associations in Senegal are no longer operating. The most common reason given by the wor:en for this situation is that no one knows how to repair their machine. 2/ For example, the several hundred hand operated mills introduced into the Eameroons in the 1960's are still working satisfactorily. At the request of Government, similar machines are now being introduced into selected villages in Upper Volta and The Gambia in the belief that these will prove more beneficial than the deisel operated mills prev4ously distributed. L F-M - 19 - small storage containers using expensive materials are beyond the means of most households. In avy case, much can be done to reduce losses by improving on traditional storage systems using locally available materials. Such im- provements cost virtually nothing and ca,. be easily made by household members. One particularly successful scheme aimed at improving storage methods in Tan- zania started off by identifying all the different traditional storage methods used in different parts of the country and then held workshops for government extension workers and women's leaders on how best to improve each traditional method. This was a practical exercise in which participants were actu 'ly taught how to construct improved cribs. They were also taught how to make simple fooa preservation equipment such as a solar dryer (from mud, bamboo an, polythene) and a simple fish smoker (from a used oil drum). The initial national workshop was followed by several more workshops at the regional level where furthqr refinements in the technologies were made iazording to local conditions, cultures and materials. Now - only 4 years after the first 50 people were trained - simple improvements in storage are being made in hundreds of villages throughout the country._ The secret of success in this case appeared to be based on finding out how people were used to storing and/or preserving crops and food already and giving them access to training which enabled them to improve on these methods with a minimum vZ cost and effort. It is an arproach 'ich has met with enthusiasm in many other countries and at least o:1 - Ghata - bas already conducted a r.a :ionwide survey of existing stori,ge methods. 17For an account of this workshop see Go%:c. of United Republic of Tanzania/ECA/ FA0/UNICEF, Workshop on Food Preservation and Storage, Kibaha, Tanzania, 1975 (New York, UNECA, 1975). 2/ Other countries have extended this approach to surveying all traditional tech- nologies with a view to identifying where improvements could be made. For example see Report of a Survey of Indigenous Technology in Sierra Leone (Ministry of Social Welfare and Rural Development/ECA) and Report of Survey of Traditional Technology in Ethiopia (Science and Technology Commission/ECA). - 20 - B. Lack of Economic Appraisal of Income-Generating Activities The introduction of income-generating activities for women in rural areas is of fundamental importance in respect of giving them cash to pay for labour saving devieD and for purchasing basic recessitics to improve the general well-being of their families. Emphasis has now moved away from production of handicraft items with all the inherent marketing problems towards vegetable gardening and rearing of poultry and small animals which aim at meeting local demani. Unfortunately, such ventures are rarely looked at in terms of economic viability before they are started. For iustance, there is rarely any thought given to working out the number of animals which should 4o kept to ac:rue maximum profits. Similarly, little thought is given to problems of securing animal feed or the implications of the rising costs of animal feed in relation to the market value of eggs or fattened livestock. The water requirements of animals are often overlooLed and rarely treated as a cost in terms of the number of hours spent by women in collecting and carrying the extra quantities of water. In- sufficient attention is paid to the marketing implications of vegetable garden- ing and much of the harveAt is wasted because it cannot be eaten or sold before it perishes. There are nany ways whici these problems coulc'. be alleviated ty more care- ful planning of prcjicts. For instance. the optimum size of stock could be I/ worked out given prevailing costs and conditions. Women could be taught how to make anial or poultry feed from locally available materials rather than 1/ As was seen earlier, this was done in the case of poultry keeping in Kenya. - 21 - having tu buy expenaive comerical feedstuefs. Simple butter churns could be made by the women themselves and used to turn any surplus milk into a more valuable product. Women's groups raising small animals could collect 2/ manure and sell to those involved in vegetable growing. Preservation techniques could be introduced together with vegetable gardening to reduce wastage. For exampla, women's groups growing vegetables in Kenya are now being taught ho to make their own simple solar dryer which can be used to preserve vegetables. They are also being trained how to store the dehydrated vegetables in air and water tight containers until they are needed. An ad- ditional aide would be a special knife developed in Ethiopia specially for 3/ cutting vegetables finely prior to dehydration. This could be made cheaply by a village blacksmith. It may be worth mentioning that if a serious attempt is being made to 1/ For example, in an experiment in Ghana where villagers %are taught how to make poultry feed from gari and other locally available products, it was found that: a) chickens consumed less of the self-compounded feed than the coirAericaI feed; b) chickens were healthier and lived longer on the self-compounded feed; and c) it cost less to raise a bird on the self-compounded feed per kilo weight gain. International Institut for Rural Reconstruction, 'An experiment in Integrated Rural Development: The Kampong Valley Social Laboratory ir Ghana. (IERR, New York. 1978). p. 155. 2/ The Ghana experiment revealed that yields of vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplant were higher when using poultry and rabbit manure than when using mineral fertilizers. International Institute for Rural Reconstruc- tion, Ibid. pp. 161-168. 3/ Details available from the Institute for Agricultural Research, Addis Ababa, Ethitopia. -22- start these small-scale' schemes for women's groups on a widespread basis, the administrative work involved in distributing and monitoring all the re- quired inputs is no small task. The Kenyan example is worth lookink at in this respect. Herei, the Governmeut Women's Bureau ipends a great deal of itJ time in respondiLg to requests from women's groups for inputs ranging from fertilizer to beehives and pregnant pigs. The funds coming in from donor agencies for these purposes are coordinated by the Bureau which also under- taCes the job of ensuring that the services of relevant technzial extension staff are put at the disposal of the women's groups. C. Lack of Appropriate Training Training is a crucial factor in most rural development programmes. Training is needed in respect of new produ(tion tr,chniques; use, maintenance and repair of equipment; care of livestock; management of economic projects; and marketing techniques. In this respcct, three maJor problem areas can be identified: 1. Training is provided 2t the wrong time; 2. Training is not provided for t1e right people; and 3. Training is not given at all. The most noticeable ceses of training being given at the wrong time re- late to skill upgrading and nutritionr and healzh training given to women be- fore they have either the time or the income to practice what they a.c being taught. It would seem essential that the inroduction of labour saving dqvices should come before or at least in combination with such training. Combining the introduction of labour saving devices with skill upgrading training and a credit programme wculd seem to be particularly useful since the women will in- evitably need some extra income to pay for the maintenance, repair and operation ______ ______ . w 4 k, ..f - 23 - of the labour saving device and to r%y back interest on any loans involved in its purchase. Applied nutrition and applied health training may have to wait until the 'time-saving/income earning process' hAs become self-generat- ing. This may well prove to be a more dynamic strategy than immediately diverting any time savings into improved nutrition and better child care which, although of utmost importance, result in nu direct economic return. Without extra income, the women may have difficulty in keeping the machine in working order and even if they suc:eed in doing this, and altIough a definite improvement will have been ma:t, a new stagnant position will bi reached and a further outside interventian will be needed before further benefits can be realized. If the application of improved nutr:.tion and healthpractices is-e- as too great a priority to wait until roma undatermined time-in-the future, there are one or two measures V'ich could be tried to speed up-the process. First, a package of labour-saving devices - rather than just one device - could be introduced aimultaneously thus offering the possibility of releasing women from a very substantial number of hours of unproductive work. Yc-z ex- .mple, the introduction of a package of technologies which releqse 4omen's time from collecting water and firewood and from pounding grain could result in a time saving of up to 5 or 6 hours a day. This should be sufficient to allow women to cngage in incoe-gtneratin3 activities as well as practicing at least soy-t improved nutrition and health care. The introduction of such a pakage would of course involve making a substantial amount of credit available to the women and arrangements would have to be made to allow them a cope with the repayment of the sizaable loan. A subscantial 4nput would also be required in terms of extension services to train women in tha use and maintenance of the 5- - 24 - rew technoiogies and to train them to manage their released time-to the best effect. Obviously, a great deal of care would have to be taken to ensure that such a package eoes -vt place too great a strain on either the extension services,or the women themselves. Second,-as far as possible, technelogies wbich serve a dual or multiple purpose could be introduced. For example, a grinding mill saves time in pounding and helps women to earn cash from its operation, but it also helps women to apply their nutrition training by making the compounding of nutritious foods a relatively simple and effortless matter. Similarly, the introduction of improved wat..er supplies can save time in collecting water and help some 1! women to earn cash from vegntable growing and poultry keeptng, but it can also help women to apply health and nutrition training by prcviding larger quantities of water for washing purrses and a readil- available sup- ply of nutritious food. Again, careful planning and a substantial extension input would be required if the maximum benefit is to be derived from each new technology. A different aspect of training being given at the wrong time is thet o. extension workers scheduling visits at times convenient to them rather than times convenient to r1ral women. Thi s, extension workers tend to operate duriu day light hours (when most women tend to be out in their fields) rather than in th- evening when women would have more time to attend 1/ Because of their high water tequirements, these activities often only become possible after the installation of water supplies close to the village. - 25- classes. There is also rarely any attempt made to concentrate training for women into the dry season when they have less agricultural work and 1/ more time for other activities. Thus, while it is desirable to spread general information.about all aspects of rural devilopment at any time in the process, careful considera- tion should be given as to when practical training should be introduced. General statistics collected by the Economic Commission for Africa give an indication of what is meant by training not being given to the right people. As the following table shows, very few women have the opportunity to learn about better agricultural methods, animal husbandry or cooperatives, even though they are fully engaged in food production, care of animals and all aspects of rural life. Areas of Access to Non-Fbrmal Edvcation by Sex: Africa Units of Participation* Men Women Agriculture 85 15 Animal Husbandry 80 20 Cooperatives 90 10 Arts and Crafts 50 50 Nutrition 10 90 Home Economics 0 100 *Units of participation are so defined that a 50:50 division between the sexes would imply equal access by both men and women. Source: ECA/FAO Women's Programme 'The Role of Women in Population Dynamics related to Food and Agriculture and Rural Development in Africa' ECA, Addis Ababa, 1974. 1/ For expansion of the timing argument when introducing training see Protein Calorie Advisory Group, op cit P. III. 91-92. Wj - 26 - Similarly, men are rarely exposed to information on nutrition, hygiene, child and health care or home economics a.d so rarely understand the con- cepts involved or support their wives' attempts to make improvements in these respects. Both men and women need exposure to all aspects of rural development. An interesting development in this respect is the new train- ing centre for intermediate level trainers in Cameroon which aims at en- suring the inclusion of a nutrition/health component 4n extension services 1/ for men and an agricultural/technology component in those for %men. At a more specific level is the failare to give women training in the operation maintenance of equipment such as pumps and grinding mills. Since -;men are normally the ones who use pumps and who stand to suffer the most if the pumps break down, it would seem practical and sensible to train them how to maintain these properly. A training course for rural 2/ women in pump maintenance has just been successfully completed in Bangladesh. Similarly, where women's groups are helped to acquire their own grinding mill, it would increase the chances of success if they were trained how to operate and maintain these. When the corn mills were first introduced into the Cameroons in the 1960's, the womans groups did not like them because they found operating them was harder work than hand pounding. Fortunately, the problem was caught at an early stage and it was discovered that the wheels were not being turned in the right way and that the corn was not dried sufficiently to allow a smooth and easier grinding operation. Training in these two aspects was a simple matter and the mills became an enormous success. I/ Programme of the Pan African Institute for Development (P.A.I.D.) which has established regional centres of Buea (West Africa), Douala (Central Africa) and Ouagadougou (West Africa/Sahel). 2/ Details available from UNICEF, Dacca Office. 27 - Without this training they would undoubtedly have been rejected. A grinding mill can be put out of action by something as simple as 1/ a child dropping a stone down the funnel of the machine. It would seem to be a simple matter to train women how to identify a problem such as this and to deal with it before expensive repairs become necessary. Components for training women in operation and maintenance are fortunately being in- cluded in more projects aimed at introducing grinding mills and other crop 2/ processing equipment. Finally, there are some aspects of development in which no training is given at all - to anybody. This usually relates to the area which could broadly be defined as 'do-iz-yourself' technology. The very poor households cannot usually afford to invest in any item of equipment even if it costs very little. They may, however, be able to improve their situation by using their own labour and materials which are available to them at no cost. This would apply for instance to improved storage cribs which can be constructed from wood, reeds, mud, cow dung and old tin cans. The element which is m!ss- ing is the philosphy of teaching rural people how to make such storage cribs for 1/ This in fact seems to be fairly common cause for mechnical failure in the rural areas. 2/ The method suggested is to train the monitrices and animatrices who in their turn train the women's groups and continue to offer advice and further guidance when necessary, as is being done in the Bank Financed Agricultural Project; Upper Volta: West Volta Agr. ultural Development Project, Annex 8, The Women's Health/Education component. - 28 - themselves until such a time as they can afford to purchase alternative 1/ technologies - if they so wish. D. Lack of Consideration of Linkage and Conflicts Between Activities Rural women in Senegal, as in other African countries, are involved in a great variety of acti-ities. They produce, process and prepare food; they care for poultry and -mall livestock; they collect ane carry water and firewood; they are responsible for keeping the home clean and hygenic. It is generally true to say that they are overworked rather than unem- ployed and yet they desperately need the time and opportunity to earn extra income to raise the standaid of living of their families. To attack the problem from only one direction would obviously be self- defeating. To recommend the introduction of labour saving devices is helpful if the women have no money to pay for them. To recommend the in- troduction of income generating activities is unhelpful when the women have no extra time to indulge in them. Almost every aspect of improved 2/ nutrition and hygiene has a time consuming element, which would require diversion of time from other activities such as food production which would have a nutritionally detrimental effect. One way of alleviating this type of 'conflict' effect is to introduce 1/ Given that one of the arguments put forward so far is that women are al- already overworked, there may be a case for involving school children or under-employed youths in work of this type. One exauple of this being done comes from Botswana where school children were involved in building underground rainwater catchment tanks which were used in the irragation of vegetable plots. See Intermediate Technology Development Groups, The Introduction of Rainwater Catchment Tanks and.Micro-Irrigation in Botswana. (IT Pubs, Lond-n, 1969). 2/ For example, boiling water would require more a on collecting wood cooking special food for infants requires L -. time; better sanitation requires more time in collecting water, etc. See World Bank Projects and Women, Chap. VII Some Internatio--.1 Concerns. - 29 - dual or multiple purpose activities. Yor example, grinding mill projects could be set up in such a way that they would simultaneously save time and allow some women to earn money through grinding for other people and also producing animal feed or nutritious blended weaning foods. The small-scale production of animal fecd and weaning foods would become specially significant when an effective demand is created by the intro- duction of poultry/livestock projects and promotive untrition improvement programmes. Other small-scale enterprises for women could be started with a view to meeting the effective demand initia,ted by drives toward better nutrition and hygiene. For instance, these could include making of slippers from old rubber tyres (to help with eliminating hook worm infestation) and mr`tng of clay pot water filters (to help with purifying 1/ drinking water). The advantage in thiv approach is that women are also are likely to follow advice regarding foo. wear for children and filter- ing of drinking water if the required items can be purchased locally at low cost. Income grunerating activities could also be built around production of labour saving items.. For example, women could be trained in the production of fuel bricks by wimple methods involving comressing groundnut shells together with a binding substance such as plant starch. This would save time in collection of firewood which could be put to more productive use - thus generating the cash to pay for the fuel bricks. Systematic planning of this type to allow foL an inter-action between activities and the development of different but mutually supporting activi- I7 A UNESCO prograrme in Upper Volta nIs already trained many women how to make water filters. -30- ties for different groups of women should haie substantial long-term benefits. E. Insufficient Consideration of Division of Responsibilities Between Men and Women, and Their Respective Control Over Disposal of Income and Participation in Decision Making Ond of the main reasons for introducing wells or grinding mills is to release women from burdensome work so that their time can be used in more pro- ductive ways. Generally, the assumption is that when labour saving -tvices are incroduced the women will then have more time to devote to vegetable gardening and other small business activities or to better child and health care. This may not necessarily happen however: the men could insist that any released time should be diverted into giving more assistance with their crops. The reason for some men giving their wives cash to pay for having their cereals commercially milled is probably connected to the view that women's time is worth more in assisting with cash crop production than it is in processing the family's 1/ food. Tn this respect it is also interesting to note that in a survey of households about to receive improved water ,..plies in Ethippia the majority of women said they expected that their relt.ased time would be diverted into income generating activities and better child and house care whereas the majority of men said that they expected their wives to reallocate theix time 2/ into helping them with their work. To ensure that women have more control over the reallocation of their time. it would be useful to have a general orientation campaign prior to the introduction of projects aimed at informing both the men and the women of the importance of women having more time to spend on income generating act4.vities aud child care. It might also be useful to think of ways in which any necessary male support could be acquired for women's activities. For instance, in one AID funded proje.t 1/ This argument is elaborated in the Senegal context in Loose E. op.cit. 2/ ECA/ATRCW, Improving Village Water Supplies in Ethiopia (Addis Ababa, 1978) in Senegal, the village chief appointed two men to be responsible for orgais,ing men's support for women's activities being promoted through the project. As a back-up fstrategy, an orientation campaign to explain the importance of women receiving a fairer share of the cash income received for crops they have helped to produce vould also be useful. This should also explain the importance of the men continuing to give any existing support to their wives in terms of cash for extra food, medicJnes and clothes even after the women's own income has been increased by new p)ojects. The general point being made is that a mechanism is needed to ensure that projects result in more time and income for the women rather than simply more income for the men who will not necessarily spend mucb of the surplus on better food and health care for'the family. This could be usefully backed up by orientation of the meu in respect of i=crzasing their sense of responsibility for nutrition and healti issues. IV. Some Suggestions for the Senegal Integrated Food and Nutrition Project In this final section, suggestions are made for priority areas for inter- ventions within the Senegal Project. In view of the sev!re time and inccme constraints faced by women, emphasis is placed on multi *nA dual purpose projects - all of which have great potential in terms of being nutritionally beneficial. Each suggested project element is looked at first in terms of how It can help. Suggestions are then made for measures which will be necessary to ensure that potential benefits are realized. A. Water Development Projects Projects which aim to provide improved water supplies closer to the village are of high potential value because: -32- 1. They are stated as a high priority need by both men and women; 2. They can save a significaat amount of time for the women in respect of collecting and carrying water; 3. They can play a significant role in improving nutrition by making more water easily available to help combat 'water-washed' diseases; 4. They can form the basis of income-generating activities for women such as vegetable gardening and the rearing of poultry and small animals. Besides being nutritionally beneficial in the indirect sense of increasing women's income, these activities also have a directly beneficial effect through increasing the supply of good quality food. Factors which must be taken into consideration to increase the _!.ances of success of such projects include 1. Participation of both men and women in the planning of all aspects of the project including location and design of the new water source, type of pumping mechanism and arrangements for use, maintenance and repair; 2. A technologtst to advise on the mort appropriate pump according to the particular requirements of each village. Tradeoffs will have to be made between cost and time implications. For example, diesel pumps cost more money than hand pumps and are also more expensive to run, maintain-and repair. They do, however, save more time than hand pumps if large quantities of water are required for irrigation 77!M* -33- and livestcck purposes. If, however, the skills necessary to keep the pump operatic.,al and the constant and increasing flow of cash to pucchase diesel fuel are not available in the village - the women would sooner or later be back to collecting water in the traditional vay. A high capacity hand pump or an animal powered pump would probably 1/ be the best solutioi. A water engineer with experi'ence in-the area of intermediate technology would be needed to &:!vise on the optimum solution. He/she could also advise on the possibility of augmenting 2/ water supplies through low cost methods of rainwater catchment. 3. A general orientation scheme prior to and during the installation of the water supply aimed at explaining all the nutrition and health as- pects of the project to both the men and the women. 4. Tralaing of the women in operation and maintenance of the water supply system and organization of some sort of community -:heme to save funds for necessary repairs. 1/ Details of low cost pumps are available in the ITDG Publication entitled 'Tools for Agriculture - A Buyer's Guide to Lou-Cost Agricultural Implement.' It should perhaps be noted that a study has shown that economic animal powered pumping relies on an external supply of freely available fodder i.e. that if under arid conditions it becomes iecessary to grow irrigated crops for animal feed, the animal will barely pump enough water to gtow crops to support itself, let alone to produce a surplus for human consumption. (D.J. Hilton, 'Some items to consider when attempting to promote use of low-cost wind turbines in less developed countries', paper prepared for consideration by ITDG's Wind Panel). This should obviously be taken into consideration when deciding whether or not to use animal powered pumps. 2/ Some work has already been done in the Diourbel area on small scale, low-cost rainwater catchment. See M. Carr, Report on a A Visit to Senegal (ECA, Nov. 1976). - 34 - 5. At the appropriate time - practical training for women to make use of time released from water collection. TI.aining could re- late to income generating activities, applied nutrition or improved sanitation and health. B. Grinding Mill Projects Projects aiming'to introduce grinding mills to womenvs associations-. have high potential value becausA: 1. Release from the bu-den of hand pounding is a very high priority need stated by women; 2. Mills can save a significant amount of time which woman can divert into more productive uses and better child eare; 3. Mills can be used to earn cash income when grinding is offered as a service to other women; 4. Mills can also form the basis of a small-scale industry based on blending and sale of animal feed or nutritious foods. An effective - demand could be expected to be generated for this following-the intro- duction of poultry projects and a campaign to promote improved nutrition, Factors which must be taken into consideration to increase the chances of success of such projects include: 1. A technologist to decide on the best type of millet or rice mill for the particular association. Considerations would include the desired capacity of the mill given the number of women in the association; whether or not services are to be sold to other women; the average quantity of cereal to be ground each day; the time schedule of women (obviously a higher output capacity is Deeded if all grain must be -35- processed during a 3 hour period rather than over an 8 hour period); etc. Given the disastrous experiences with dieael operated mills in rural Africa and given the rapidly in- creasing cost of oil, it i. likely that a hand-operated or 1/ animal,-powered grinding mill would be most advantageous. 2. Training for women on operation and maintenance of the grinding mills; also education on cooperative ownership so that repayment of loans and funds for repairs are ensured; simple accounting rad management training if mill in to form the basis of a small business; training on how to blend nutritious foods. 3. At the appropriate time - practical training for women to make good use of time released from pounding. Training could relate to income generating activities, applied nutrition or improved sanitation and health. C. Vegetable Gardening Projects Projects which aim to involve women in vegetable gardening are of high potential value because: 1. They increase the beneficial effect of improved village water supplies; 2. They represent a source of cash income for wo-in; 3. They directly improve nutrition by adding a source of variety to the family diet. Factors which should be taken into consideration to increase the chances of success of such projects include: 1/ A range of hand operated mills with capacity of about 18kg. per hour is available. These have been tried in the Cameroons and Upper Volta. Simple animal gears such as those made in PakiLtan and India ca be used to adapt these machines for use with animal power. Details of such equipment can be found in the ITDG publication entitled rTools for Agriculture - A Buyer's Guide to Low-Cost Agricultural Implements'. - 36 - 1. Measures outlined under the sLction on water suppliesiD make sure that the source of irrigation water does not disappear; 2. Measures to provide adequate tools, seeds, fertili7er and training to the wamen's groups; 3. Training for women on how to construct and use their own simple solar dryers so that excess vegetAbles can be preserved for use and/or sale throughout the year. Credit will be necessary to purchase back-up equipment such as good slicing knives and materials to construct air lb tight containers for dehydrated food. Training on all aspects of this preservation process will be needed. The-solar dryers could also be used to preserve mangoea which are generally allowed to rot in 1/ Senegal. 4. Training on marketing of fresh and dehydrated vegetables. D. Poultry and Livestock Projects Projects which aim at including women' groups in the rearing of poultry n and small animals are ol high potential Alue because: 1. They Increase the beteficial affect of improved village water supplies 2. They reprefert a source of cash incor-e for women; 3. They directly improve nutrition by addi.g a source of high quality/ high protein food to the family diet. 1/ There have been successful cases of Peace Corps volunteers introducing very simple methods of sun-drying (not solar drying) mangoes in Senegal. It was fcund that both women and children enjoyed chewing the dried strips of fruit as a anutritious snack food. -37- Factors which should be taken into consideration to increase the chances of success of such projects include: 1. Measures to ensure that the improved water supply does not fall into disuse; 2. Training for women in animal husbandry, production of animal feed, processing of animal products and marketing; I 3. Advice to wcmen on optimm scale of operations. E. Improved Storage Projects which aim at reduciig food loEjes through improved methods of on-farm storage have a high potential value since they represent a low cost and relatively simple way of increasing food availability. The suggested approach tz this is to first identify traditional methads of.storage in each region and then train female extension workers (and througti them rural women) how to Lmprove on these using locally available materials. 1/ The successful approach used in Tanzania might be worth replicating in Senegal. F. Income Generating Activities There are several income generating activities which could link in direct with attempts to improve nutrition and health. Such activities would be sensib ones to provide since a demand will be created for the goods being produced and nutrition and health messages are more likely to be acted upon if the requ..*d goods are available in the villages at a reasonab.'e price. 1 As described on page 19. - . *- - 38 - Some suggested activities falling into this categery are: 1. Simple clay-pot water filters Water filters ca be made very simply by women from cla, pcts which 1/ are filled with layers containing sand, peiLets and charcoal. It is important that women are taught how to use these properly in respect of changing or sterilisin; the layers every few months. Women would need released timat for extra child supervision to e-Lsure they only drank ftltere& watez. 2. Foot Coverings To help with the problem of hookworm, it would be useful if cheap foot- wear was avail'ble. Women could be taught how ._ make simple slippers 2/ from old rubber tyres. Women would need extra time available for extra aupervision of children to make sure they kept their slippers or their feet as much as possible. 1/ Women have aLLeady been taught how to make tlese in Upper Volta through a UNESCO funded scheme. 2i Old iubbet tyres are used for a variety of purpcses in Senegal including out-door seats. They could a'so be used to make slippers, ast is the pr&c- tic in some other West African countries. For instance, the report of a recent survey of traditional technologies-in Sierra Leone relates that 'The most common materials used in desiguing local shoes are the outer and inner tyre of discazded vehicles. With the use of a sharp knife, imprints of the shoes to be made are mTrked out on the stzetc%ed out piece of outer tyre. The piece is cut. Two strips of inner tyre about 2 .1/2" wide. with the length depending on the length size of the shoe to be designed, are cut out and each is attached to the length side of the instep by nail or melted In an over-lapping nanner to form an 'X' shape. In Gther cases, strips of desr, eheep or goat hide are us.id to serve the same purpose and also to give a decorative effect'. Mini- stry of Social Welfare and Rural Development/ECA, (p cit. p. 47. .v . -. s - 39 - 3. Briguetting of Groundnut shells Collection of firewood is a task which can take up almost as much of the women's time as water collection. One way to release ti-a from this activity would be to substitute readily aval..able waste, products for firewood. One possibility would be to teach women how to make compressed fuel bricks frnm groundnut shells. Simple hand-operated equipment could be developed for compressing the shells together with a binding agent such as 1/ vegetabl. starch. The starch can be easily obt-Lined from plants which have a low value in terms of alternate uses. 4. Groundnut oil processing Groundnut oil is commonly used in cooking and is expensive to bu commerizally. Women do make small .tities from their own groundnuts using very simple and inefficient pounding, '.eating and sieving techniques. If it became acceptable for women to retain a small quantity of groundnuts for processing inco oil both for income generating and nutritional purposes, assistance could be given to certain groups in the form of simple hand- operated oil prcases which would increase the efficiency of the process. 1/ Work has already been done on developing simple hand operated equipment for making fuel bricks from charcol and rice hasks (see Technical Annex). If groundnut shells are ground to a: appropriate consistency, similar equipment could easily be used ro make !!"se into fuel bricks. Further work has to be done on finding the optimum consiatency of the Phells and the most appropriate technique for achieving this consistency at the village level. - 40 - G. Tecommendations At the risk of repetition, the major issues of the paper are sum- marized here in the form of recommendations for components to be included in the Senegal project. First, labour saving devices for women should be given high prio- rity within the project. Without these, women will find it difficult to respond to messages about improved nutrition and health, since they will have insufficient time to implement the suggested measures or to earn .Li- come to cover any expenditure involved in their implementation. Second, expert advice should be sought in respect of chosing the type of equipment to be introduced through the project. Chances of realizing the objectives of the project will be increased if care is taken to introduce those technologies which are most appropriate in terms of the economic, social and cultural circumstances existing in the project area. A technologistleconomist with a good knowfledge of the whole range of technologies available and with experience in choice of technology would be best qualified to advise in this respect. Third, the economic aspect of components such as the introduction of new technologies and vgetable and livestock schemes should be worked out as carefully as possible before they are implemented. Where possible, costs should be kept at a minim-m by enabling measures such as solf operation and maintenance of equipment such as grinding mills; self-production of techno- logies such as improved storage cribs and solar dryers; and self-production of inputs suah as poultry and animal feea. Fourth, careful consideration should be given to the type of training which will be necessary for the project to succeed: also, who it should be given to, and when it should be given. Thought should also be given as to - 41 - who the trainers will be. It is obviously pointless to recommend the need for training which the existing extension network is unable to provide. For example, there is little point in recommending that women need training in new agricultural techniques if there are no female extension workers who can provide this training. Fifth, the project should be carefully planned so that the most is gained from the individual components. This could best be done by linking complementary components. For example, the introduction of a new water supply could be complemented by vegetable gardening and poultry rearing schemes which make use of the new water supply. The poultry scheme could also complement the vegetable growing scheme through the provision of manure. Finally, all components of the project should be carefuuly examined in terms of the feasibility of their being successful in the context of the current division of labour, decision making and responsibilities between men and women. For example, part of the anticipated nutritionally benefi- cial impact of a new water supply may depend on the diversion of women's time from water collection into better child care or the growing and preparation of more nutritious food. However, circumstances in the project area may be such that the woman are unable to do this because they are required to divert released time into helping their husbands with their work. Any extra income resulting from this work will belong to the husband who may decide to spend most or all of it on goods and services unrelated to the nutrition and health of the children. Similarly, measures such as the distribution of new seeds which are expected to improve nutrition by in- creasing yields, may have little or no effect because overworked women have - 42 - no time to cope with additional labour requirements in respect of bird scaring, weeding or harvesting. If they do spend extra time on these tasks, it will be at the expense of cime spent on other activities, such as child care, which are equally isiportant nutritionally. A socio-economist with experience in the impact of changes on women in rural areas would be best qualified to advise on possible problems in these respects and possible measures to be included in the project to overcome them. WOMEN IN RURAL SENEGAL: Bibliography PAGE PARA/LINE REFERENCE 2 0.5 Protein-Calorie Advisory Group of the United Nations System. Women in Food Production, Food Handling and Nutrition (U.N., New York, 1977) p. III. 35 2 0.7 Ibid, p. III. 53 3 1.2 McDovell, J., and Hazzard, V. 'Village Technology and Women's Work in Africa' Assisgnment Children No. 36 Oct. - Dec. 3 2.10 Rogers, B., 'What do Women Want' Appropriate Technology, Feb., 1979. 4 1.3 Feachem, R., et. al., Water "ealth and Development (Tri Med Books Ltd, London, 1978) p. 61, 88. 5 0.3 ECA/ATRCW Improving Village Water Supplies in Ethiopia (ECA, Addis Ababa, 1978) Table 26. 5 1.7 White, G.F., Bradley, P.T. and While, R.U., Drawers of Water: Domestic Water Use iu 7nit Africa (Univ. of Chicago Press, 1972) and Carruthers, J., 'The Contri- bution of Rural Water Investment to Development; East African Journal of Rural Development, Vol. 3, (2) 1970 7 1.4 loose, Edna 'Women in Rural Senegal' paper prepared for Workshop on Sahelian Agriculture, Department of Agricul- ture Economai, Purdue University, Feb., 1979. 7 1.8 Identification Report: Proposed Food and Nutrition Pro- ject, Sept. 1978. Cloud, K., "Sex Role in Food Production and Distribution Systems in the Sal.Al." 9 0.2 Loose, E., op cit. p. 15-16. 9 2.6 Bank Working Paper: Socio-cultural Aspects of Food Con- sumption, May 1975, p. 24. 9 2.9 Eckrich, J., Schumacher, A., and Auson, R., Mexico: The Post Harvest Maize Systema in Two Piders Micro-Rations first draft, Feb. 1978, p. 14. jp. PAGE PARA/LINE REFERENCE 11 0.1 Loose, E., op. cit., p. 12 Tinker, I. "New Technologies for Food Chain Activities: The Imperative of Equity for Women, AAAS, p. 31. 12 0.4 O'Kelly, E. Aid and Self Help. 14 0.4 Protein-Calorie Advisory Group of the United Nations System op. cit. p. 83. 14 1.6 Feachem, R. op. cit. p. 184. 19 0.3 Government of United Republic of Tanzania /ECA/FAO/UNICEF Workshop on Food Preservation and Storage. Kibaha, Tan- zania, 1975 (New York, UNECA, 1975). 23 - ECA/FAO Women's Programme 'The Role of Women in Population Dynamics Related te Food and Agriculture and Rural Develop- ment in Africa' E4A Addis Ababa, 1974. 27 1.11 Loose, E. Op cit. 27 1.16 ECA/ATRCW, Improving Village Water Supplies in Ethiopia (Addis Ababa, 1978). .I4