The newest group in town
Wednesday May 24th
Today I finally moved in with my host family. I will be staying with the group leader, or 'mother' of one of OIC's new project groups. This new group is undergoing some dramatic changes in their last days before forming this cooperative. They have undergone ten training sessions on everything from business management to how to price their products, and proper sanitation. I was lucky enough to attend the last meeting for these 32 women.
All of the pieces are almost in place for their cassava processing facility. They are just finishing up the groundwork for the new shed that will house the grinder, and the land around it is being flattened in preparation of the cement that will be poured soon. The walls consist of a basic sand, soil, grass and water mixture which is made to a fine paste and hand formed into the wall structure. Concrete will be poured over this structure at a later date, forming the solid walls around which the cassava grinder will be placed.
The meeting goes quickly after I take attendance. I take my time to reach each person's full name and try to match it to their face. They are patient with me, and Patrick flies through the session, ensuring the women understand how to price the cassava processing services that they will soon be offering.
Not only will the women buy cassava from farmers and sell the finished gari themselves, but they will also rent out the equipment to other groups to allow them to process the cassava they have produced to feed their families or sell in return. On the side, the starch is extracted from the water that is squeezed out of the cassava. This starch can go into anything from baked goods to clothing. The entire process and by-products will be looked at indepth at a later date.
The women disperse less than an hour after we meet. They have to prepare dinner so they cannot be kept long. They give me a quick welcoming cheer, and head off in every direction to their families to begin the long process of preparing TZ.
Today I finally moved in with my host family. I will be staying with the group leader, or 'mother' of one of OIC's new project groups. This new group is undergoing some dramatic changes in their last days before forming this cooperative. They have undergone ten training sessions on everything from business management to how to price their products, and proper sanitation. I was lucky enough to attend the last meeting for these 32 women.
All of the pieces are almost in place for their cassava processing facility. They are just finishing up the groundwork for the new shed that will house the grinder, and the land around it is being flattened in preparation of the cement that will be poured soon. The walls consist of a basic sand, soil, grass and water mixture which is made to a fine paste and hand formed into the wall structure. Concrete will be poured over this structure at a later date, forming the solid walls around which the cassava grinder will be placed.
The meeting goes quickly after I take attendance. I take my time to reach each person's full name and try to match it to their face. They are patient with me, and Patrick flies through the session, ensuring the women understand how to price the cassava processing services that they will soon be offering.
Not only will the women buy cassava from farmers and sell the finished gari themselves, but they will also rent out the equipment to other groups to allow them to process the cassava they have produced to feed their families or sell in return. On the side, the starch is extracted from the water that is squeezed out of the cassava. This starch can go into anything from baked goods to clothing. The entire process and by-products will be looked at indepth at a later date.
The women disperse less than an hour after we meet. They have to prepare dinner so they cannot be kept long. They give me a quick welcoming cheer, and head off in every direction to their families to begin the long process of preparing TZ.
posted by Kyle at 06:10
3 Comments:
Hey Kyle,
I'm wondering what your feelings are about the fact that Patrick, a male, gave the presentation to the women? More specifically, give us more insight on what you feel the relationships between are like between the men and women in Damango. Do the women ask questions? Are they participating in this project because they have been told to or because they want to?
Thanks.
Great questions.
First, here are some stats:
- of 40 OIC PFOs (polyvalent field officers), only 9 are female.
- OIC, particularly in ME projects, focuses on women, and womens groups.
These are dry stats to your questions, but I will report more indepth at a later date. I have not yet observed enough interactions with the PFO and the women's groups to judge the relationships they share and the power struggles they encounter.
As for the formation of the cooperative, I am also not sure how that came about. Good points that I will look into with my PFO. Expect a quick reply in the next few weeks, and an indepth report regarding gender sometime in July (you thought the writings were intense now, just you wait and see!)
Thanks for the kind of answers. I look forward to reading about what you find...you better not forget.
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