IWMIARM - 2016

A water-secure world w w w . i w m i . o r g

Participatory Gender Training for Farmer GroupsStephanie LederKathmandu/Nepal office

A water-secure world

Why?/ So what?

Problem 1:

• Gendered divisions of agricultural labor

• a triple work burden for women

• gendered norms on mobility, speaking up and being heard

hinder women to take up agricultural interventions and to contribute to (collective) farmer groups to their full potential.

How can farmers work effectively as groups and take up interventions, both men and women being aware of and acting upon those gendered restrictions?

A water-secure world

Problem 2:

Lack of participatory gender training approaches for farmers based on science:

• Learning theories (argumentation for critical thinking)

• Neurodidactic research (visualization, interaction)

• Brain-based principles (network thinking)

As well as…

• Participatory principles around farmers’ capabilities, value system, beliefs and existing agricultural practices

• Culturally grounded, yet gender transformative training approach

• Cost-effective to upscale within NGOs/GOs

A water-secure world

The participatory gender training was developed, piloted, implemented and comparatively evaluated across different projects for WLE (DSI4MTF, Gender circles, Anukulan)

• in 12 villages in the Far West of Nepal and the Terai; West Bengal and Bihar, India

• 24 trainings with approx. 65 community mobilizers/field staff of 15 NGO/GOs

• Approx. 200 farmers, to be upscaled targeting 125.000 households

How can we address gender norms, roles and relations affecting agricultural productivity?

A gender-sensitive approach to water management in the context of male emigration:

How? Let’s DISCUSS with the farmers!

A water-secure world

When can this manual be used?

1) When new projects are starting in villages and community groups are formed. The training can be used to sensitize field staff and farmers on gender relations in communities. 2) When there are gender-related tensions in a community, e.g. when men are out-migrating and women are “left behind”.3) When conducting participatory research to understand how gender effects community relations and agricultural practices in villages.

A water-secure world

1) to reflect on their own

gender perceptions and roles

in their households and

community

Principles of the training: Participants are encouraged…

2) to critically review gendered

agricultural and domestic

labor division

3) to develop argumentation skills to resolve conflicts and evoke empathy by switching roles

A water-secure world

The Outcome: A Gentle Gender TransformationGender sensitivity brings enthusiasm, empathy and creates space for DISCUSSION and AGENCY for BOTH men and women

• The training intends to increase farmer group interaction and empathy through discussions on collective support and the willingness to mitigate the gendered division of labor.

• The training promotes bargaining skills which equip farmers to confidently negotiate with their group members, landlords and others in cases of conflicts.

A water-secure world

Participatory principles and the gender-sensitive approach developed in this study can be adopted and used in IWMI research projects or by WLE project partners (NGOs, CBOs, GOs) which firstly aim at raising awareness on gender roles and gendered behaviour and how this influences the adoption of agricultural interventions and trainings.

What Next?

Next steps:• Translation into Nepali and other languages• Film to introduce the training modules• CGIAR/ WLE Webinar • Interactive interface for the WLE homepage • Continuous monitoring and evaluation of uptake

A water-secure world

Thank you!

Encouraging open discussions in gender-sensitive trainings is the key to sustainable agriculture

https://wle.cgiar.org/participatory-gender-training-community-groups

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