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Against many odds: the dilemmas of women's self-help groups in Mbeere, Kenya1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2011

Nyaga Mwaniki
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Extract

One of the major, and perhaps the most embarrassing, problems still facing African populations today is hunger. It is described by Lofchie and Commins (1982: 1) as ‘the most immediate, visible, and compelling symptom of a continent-wide agricultural breakdown in tropical Africa,’ thereby making ‘sub-Sahara Africa … the only region in the world where food production per capita has declined during the past two decades.’ This condition has been blamed on many factors, the most frequently mentioned being climate, environmental degradation, outmoded and inefficient traditional agricultural methods, customary land tenure systems which inhibit innovation by individual farmers, lack of incentives to farmers to increase food outputs, bad agricultural policies, high population growth rates and agrarian dualism. A growing body of literature focusing on women's contributions in the development process has revealed another very crucial, but often ignored, reason why hunger is still prevalent in Africa: the disregard of the role of women, who are the main food producers in Africa, in efforts to promote agricultural development (Baumann, 1928; Boserup, 1970; Bryson, 1981; Guyer, 1980; Robertson, 1983). A recent book by Odero-Ogwel (1983), which discusses the food problems in Africa, pays no attention to the fact that a major contributory factor to the food crisis in Africa is the disadvantaged position of women. This exemplifies the failure, even by African intellectuals, to realise the crucial role women can play in increasing food supplies if only certain constraints are removed. Claire Robertson (1983) warns that, unless women are fully included in the development process, the food problem in Africa will deteriorate even further.

Résumé

Une lutte de longue haleine: le dilemme des groupes de femmes d'assistance mutuelle dans la région de Mbeere, au Kenya

Dans cet article, il s'agit des femmes vivant dans la région de Mbeere, au Kenya, qui, confrontées à un environnement hostile, une pénurie de travail, des manques de nourriture réguliers, un long abandon de l'état, de faibles revenus et à la subordination, se sont organisées en groupes d'assistance mutuelle afin de mettre en commun leurs ressources et de partager les frais pour s'efforcer de faire face à ces problèmes.

L'article décrit les différentes activités effectuées par les membres du groupe afin de s'entraider et d'améliorer certains de leurs problèmes les plus urgents ainsi que de se procurer des capitaux qui serviront à financer des projets qui rapporteront de l'argent. Grâce à ces activités, dont la plupart consistent en travaux agricoles pour d'autres fermiers, les groupes sont devenus une importante source de main-d'oeuvre, particulièrement pour les activités à court terme nécessitant une main-d'oeuvre intensive, durant les périodes de pointe. La contribution de cette main d'oeuvre est mise en valeur dans l'ensemble de cet article comme étant un important facteur dans la tentative d'accroître les ressources alimentaires et d'augmenter les revenus.

L'article discute ègalement les contributions potentielles des projets proposés générateurs de revenus pour le développement rural ainsi que le statut économique des femmes. Cet article montre que ces projets ont à surmonter un grand nombre de problèmes sérieux qui peuvent les conduire à l'échec ou à produire un faible impact économique sur les membres du groupe. Si ces projets sont destinés à réussir, il faut une planification méticuleuse. Il faut également qu'ils soient totalement intégrés dans les plans de développement nationaux. Avant tout, de vastes réformes doivent être instituées pour abolir toutes les pratiques discriminatoires envers les femmes, qui représentent la cause principale au manque d'accès des femmes vers les formes importantes de ressources de développement et de richesse ainsi que vers leur dépendance économique.

Type
Kenyans on Kenya
Information
Africa , Volume 56 , Issue 2 , April 1986 , pp. 210 - 228
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1986

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