Observations on Social Inclusion and Exclusion, Resource Management, Transformational Politics, Developmental Practices, Gender Relations and Tacit Knowledge

Despite frequent calls for transformative approaches for engaging in agrarian change and water governance, we observe little change in everyday development and research praxis. Empirical studies on transformative engagements with gender relations among smallscale or tenant farmers and water user groups are particularly rare. We explore transformative engagements through an approach based on critical pedagogy (Freire, 1996) and transformative practice (Leder, 2018). We examine opportunities to promote empathy and critical consciousness on gender norms, roles and relations in agriculture and resource management. We developed and piloted an innovative “Participatory Gender Training for Community Groups” as part of two internationally funded water security projects. The training consists of three activities and three discussions to reflect on gender roles in families, communities and agriculture, to discuss the gendered division of labour and changing gender relations over time and space, and to create empathy and resolve conflicts through a bargaining role play with switched genders. The approach was implemented in twelve villages across four districts in Nepal and India (Bihar, West Bengal). Our results show how the training methods can provide an open space to discuss local gender roles within households, agriculture and natural resource management. Discussing own gender norms promotes critical consciousness that gender norms are socially constructed and change with age, class, caste and material and structural constraints such as limited access to water and land. The activities stimulated enthusiasm and inspiration to reflect on possible change towards more equal labor division and empathy towards those with weaker bargaining power. Facilitators have the most important role in transformative engagements and need to be trained to reinterpret training principles in local contexts, and to apply facilitation skills to focus on transforming rather than reproducing gender norms. We argue that the gender training methods can initiate transformative practice with the gender-water-agriculture nexus by raising critical consciousness of farmers, community mobilisers, and project staff on possibilities of social change “in situ”.

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Gender Relationship Analysis in Coastal Resources Management in Fishermen's Households: Functional Structural Theory Perspective

International Journal of Qualitative Research ◽

10.47540/ijqr.v1i1.314 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 73-78

Author(s):

Syaifudin Suhri Kasim ◽

Sarmadan ◽

Masrul ◽

Ratna Supiyah ◽

Tanzil

Keyword(s):

Resource Management ◽

Gender Relations ◽

Power Relationship ◽

Coastal Resources ◽

Coastal Resource Management ◽

Gender Stratification ◽

Relationship Analysis ◽

Coastal Resource ◽

And Gender ◽

Almost All

The results showed that gender relations in the management of coastal resources in fishing households took place in the following activities: fishing; making fishing lines; netting; net embroidery; fish transportation; fish preservation; and sale of fish. Of the seven activities, the wife plays a role in almost all coastal resource management activities, except for fishing activities. In addition, the wife does all domestic roles while the husband only focuses on the public role and does not involve himself in the domestic role. In view of the structural-functional theory, the results of this study illustrate that gender relations in coastal resource management in fishing households indicate a power relationship and status differences between men and women. The involvement of the wife (woman) in almost all activities is a form of integration (integration) carried out by the wife (woman) to maintain the continuity of the household and maintain the balance of the family integrity system, although this role is not balanced but complementary. The results of this study also show that gender relations in the management of coastal resources in fishermen's households have ideologically “perpetuated” male domination and gender stratification in fishermen's family institutions and society in general.

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The Livelihood Improvement Process: An Inclusive and Pro-Poor Approach to Community Forestry – Experiences from Kabhrepalanchok and Sindhupalchok Districts of Nepal

Journal of Forest and Livelihood ◽

10.3126/jfl.v5i1.1980 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 46-52

Author(s):

Murari Joshi ◽

Lokendra Dhakal ◽

Gopi Paudel ◽

Raghu Shrestha ◽

Arun Paudel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Resource Management ◽

Natural Resource Management ◽

Natural Resource ◽

Social Inclusion ◽

Community Forestry ◽

Local Level ◽

Inclusive Development ◽

Community Based ◽

Livelihood Improvement ◽

Improvement Process

Reducing poverty through equitable and sustainable community-based natural resource management, particularly through programmes that accord attention to the issue of social inclusion, is the major objective of development projects related to natural resource management. At the local level, many innovations have been developed and are being put in place to enhance the pro-poor approaches, which specifically focus on the issues of livelihoods and inclusion. Livelihood Improvement Process (LIP) is one of the innovations arising to address this end. This paper presents the concept, process of implementation, and impacts of the LIP, as well as the opportunities and challenges it faces based on the experiences gained in Kabhrepalanchok and Sindhupalchok districts of Nepal. It concludes that the LIP can be an appropriate tool for reaching the poor, as it helps to sensitise and inform all actors about the need of pro-poor and inclusive development process. Key Words: community forestry, livelihood improvement process, social inclusion, governance doi: 10.3126/jfl.v5i1.1980 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 5(1) February, 2006 pp.46-52

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