This case study report formed part of CARE’s 2015 ... · This case study report formed part of CARE’s 2015 strategic evaluation into our ... programming to promote women’s ...

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ThiscasestudyreportformedpartofCARE’s2015strategicevaluationintoourWomen’sEconomicEmpowermentprogrammingintheMekong.TheevaluationwasjointlyfundedbyCAREandtheAustralianGovernmentthroughtheAustraliaNGOCooperationProgram.

Thisreportisoneofthreereportstoemergefromthisevaluation,theothertworeportsbeingtheEvaluationSynthesisreport1andtheVietnamCountryCasestudyreport2.

ThisreportwasauthoredbyGeorgiaTaylorofWiseDevelopmenthttp://wisedevelopment.com/

TheviewsinthisreportarethoseoftheauthoraloneanddonotnecessarilyrepresentthoseofCAREAustralia,itspartnersortheAustralianGovernment.

TheEvaluationTeamwouldliketothankJosieHuxtablefromCAREAustraliawhoplayedanessentialroleinthisevaluation–organisinglogistics,approvingtechnicalapproachandundertakinginterviews,collectingstoriesofchangeanddoingfocusgroupnotetaking.WewouldalsoliketothanktheresearcherteamfromEnterpriseandDevelopmentConsultants(EDC);theCARELaostaffinDakCheungwhoorganisedthelogisticsontopofalreadyverybusyworkloads;andinparticularChrisWardlewhogaveahugeamountofsupporttotheteam;andtheCARELaoteaminVientianewhosupportedbycontractingtheresearchersandtakingpartinthefinalevaluationpresentation.Andfinallywewouldliketothankthenumerousmenandwomeninthevillageswhotookpartinthefocusgroupsandinterviewsandweresoopenwiththeiropinionsandexperiences.

1https://www.care.org.au/what-we-do/lessons-impact/2https://www.care.org.au/what-we-do/lessons-impact/

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Women in Lao ethnic communities have limited income earning potential due to restrictive gendernorms,heavyworkloadsandlackofmobility.CAREInternational inLaoshasbeenworkingwithethniccommunitiesinthepoorestprovincesinnorthandsouthLao.

Thisex-postevaluationcovers5projects inadeskreviewofevaluationdocumentsanda fieldstudyoftheDakCheungFoodSecurityProject.Fourofthedeskreviewprojectsaimedtoimprovefoodsecurityandnutritionthroughalivelihoodsapproach.ThefifthprojectcombinedUXOclearancewithalivelihoodsapproach.Everyprojecthadsomeactivitytoempowerwomen,andtheapproachevolvedovertimefroma targeted to amainstreamedapproach,with themost recent twoprojects integrating gender equalitythroughouttheproject.

The evaluation found that a combined approach that increases women’s inclusion in income earningactivities while at the same time decreasing women’s workload and promoting social norm changearound gender roles has been successful in increasing women’s economic empowerment. Action toimprovewomen’s agricultural knowledgeand capability,was combinedwithapproachesbringwomentogethertoidentifyandaddressproblems.Thishasledtoanincreaseinwomen’sconfidence,abilitytonegotiateandproblemsolve.Womenandmensuccessfullyworkingtogethertoproducecoffeeandrice,tomarket theirproduceand tomakedecisions togetherhasbeenachieved through jointactivitiesandgendertraining.Changesinthecommunitieshaveresultedinrespectforwomen’scontributiontofamilyincome and inclusion in family and village decisionmaking. There also appears to be some impact onwomen’sandmen’sdesiretohavefewerchildrenandtoincreasetheageofmarriage.

To strengthen the impact of CARE Laos’ programming to promote women’s economic empowermentfutureprojectsdesignshouldbebasedonan in-depthgender contextanalysis.Projects should includemorecomprehensiveapproachestoprivatesectordevelopmentthatimprovewomen’saccesstomarketsandbuildupmarketingknowledgeandconnections.Theyshouldalsostrengthen technicalagriculturalsupportandtrainingwithamorelongtermapproachappropriateforwomen;enablewomen’saccesstofinancialservicesandstrengthenfinancialliteracyandbusinessmanagementskills;strengthenwomen’scollaborativeworkwithinandbetweenvillages;supportandstrengthengenderequalitychampions;andanalyse and monitor risks associated with alcohol abuse and violence against women. Programmesshould consider whether and how to address structure and enabling environment barriers to genderequality.

Monitoring and evaluation of future projects and programmes should be based on appropriatemixedmethods approaches – including appropriate measurement of income and expenditure and goodquantitativeandqualitativebaselineandendlinedata.

Summary

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CISS CAREsanitationprojectinDakCheung

DFSP DakCheungFoodSecurityProject

FGD FocusGroupDiscussion

ICRW InternationalCentreforResearchonWomen

KII KeyInformantInterview

LaoPDR LaoPeople’sDemocraticRepublic

MSME Micro,SmallandMediumEnterprise

NTFP Non-TimberForestProducts

PARUA PovertyAlleviationinRemoteUplandAreas

PFSCBP PhonsalyFoodSecurityandCapacityBuildingProject

PRDP PhonsalyRuralDevelopmentProject

PWED PovertyreductionandWomen’sEmpowermentinDakCheung

SFSP SekongFoodSecurityProject

SRHR Sexualandreproductivehealthandrights

UXO UnexplodedOrdinance

VSLA VillageSavingsandLoansAssociation

VVW VillageVeterinaryWorker

WEE Women’sEconomicEmpowerment

WINGS Women’sIncomeGenerationandNutritionGroup

Acronyms

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Acronyms.............................................................................................................................................4Contents...............................................................................................................................................5

1.Introduction.................................................................................................................................................................6

2.EvaluationMethodology..........................................................................................................................................82.1Literaturereview.............................................................................................................................82.2Fieldworkmethodology.................................................................................................................102.3Limitations.....................................................................................................................................13

3.DeskreviewFindings..............................................................................................................................................153.1SummaryoverviewoftheCARELaosprogramminginitiativesreviewedfortheWEEMevaluation.............................................................................................................................................................163.2GenderandPoweranalysesforprojectdesign.............................................................................213.3CharacterisingCARELaos’Women’sEconomicEmpowermentmodel.........................................22

3.3.1Commonalitiesinactivitiestopromotewomen’seconomicadvancement...........................223.3.2Commonalitiesinactivitiestopromotewomen’spowerandagency....................................233.3.3Commonalityineffortstochangestructureandsocialnormsaroundgenderequality........23

3.4Successfulapproaches-Assessmentofprojectimpacts...............................................................243.4.1Women’sEconomicadvancement.........................................................................................243.4.2Changesinpowerandagency................................................................................................273.4.3Changesinstructureandsocialnorms...................................................................................28

3.5Challengesandlimitations.............................................................................................................293.5.1Economicadvancementchallengesandgaps........................................................................293.5.2PowerandAgency..................................................................................................................303.5.3Structureandsocialnorms.....................................................................................................30

4.FindingsfromtheFieldwork:DFSP..................................................................................................................314.1ProjectBackground........................................................................................................................314.2Successfulapproaches...................................................................................................................34

4.2.1Economicadvancement..........................................................................................................364.2.2Powerandagency..................................................................................................................404.2.3Structureandsocialnorms.....................................................................................................45

4.3Challengesandgaps......................................................................................................................474.3.1Economicadvancementchallenges........................................................................................474.3.2PowerandAgency..................................................................................................................48

5.Learningabouttheapproachandgaps............................................................................................................52

6.Recommendations...................................................................................................................................................56

Annex1:Tools...............................................................................................................................................................59

Annex2:Sekongmapandprojectoverlaps.........................................................................................................71

Annex3:Fieldevaluationparticipantinformation..........................................................................................73

Annex4:StoryofChangeInterviews.....................................................................................................................82

Annex5:QuantificationofvotesinSpokesexercisesfromfocusgroups.................................................90

Annex6:Bibliography.................................................................................................................................................91

Contents

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1.Introduction

ThiscountrycasestudyforLaosispartofaregionalex-postevaluationofprojectsworkingwithwomeninthedifferentethnicgroupsoftheMekongregion.Theaimoftheoverallevaluationistoprovideevidenceofimpacttowardswomen’seconomicempowermentandtocontributetolearningonhowtodesignandimplementapproachesthatwillcontributetowomen’seconomicempowerment.ThiscountrycasestudyalsoprovidesrecommendationstoCAREInternationalinLaos(CARELaos)onastrategicapproachtowomen’seconomicempowermentacrosstheirprojects.TheevaluationinLaosconsistedofadeskreviewoffiveCARELaosprojectsandafieldstudyofoneoftheseprojects.

LaosContext–ChallengesforEthnicWomen’sEconomicEmpowerment

Incomeandpoverty

LaoPDRhasapopulationof6.8million,with80%livinginruralareas.andalthougheconomicgrowthandpovertyreductionhavebeenimpressivewitheconomicgrowthaveraging7.9%overthelast5yearsandpovertyratessteadilydecreasingfrom46%ofthepopulationintheearly1990’sto28%in2010,ruralpovertyremainsamajorchallenge.Laosranked139outof187countriesinthehumandevelopmentindexof2013.

ThemajorityofthepeopleinLaoswholiveinremoteruralareasbelongtodiverseethnicgroupsand,althoughcomplex,thereisastronglinkbetweenpovertyandethnicity.Thoughnon-Lao-Taigroupsaccountforonlyone-thirdofthenationalpopulation,theymakeupmorethanhalfofthepoor.Remoteethnicgroupsfacemanychallengesincluding:languagebarriers,geographicisolationandlimitedaccesstoserviceslikemarkets,educationandhealthcareandrisksfromunexplodedordinances(UXOs),aparticularprobleminSekongprovince,affecting25%ofvillagesnationally.

ThefiveCARELaosprojectsreviewedaspartofthisevaluationwereallimplementedinareasconsideredtoberemoteruralareasandwhereethnicminoritygroupsmakeupasignificantproportionofthepopulation.Threeofthefiveprojects(PFSCBP,PRDPandPARUAII)wereimplementedinPhongslayandSayboulinthenorth,whiletheothertwo(LANGOCAandDFSP)wereimplementedinSekongProvinceinthesouth.ThenorthernuplandareasofLaosarehometoarangeofremoteethniccommunitiesincludingthePrai,Khmu,Phounoy,differentAkha,TaiLueandHorwithdiversecultures,languagesandcustoms.ThesouthernprovinceofSekongishometoremoteethniccommunitiesofTaliengandKatu.

Structureandenablingenvironment:WhileLaosisperformingfairlywellintermsofgenderequalitycomparedtosomecountries,witharankingof118inthegenderinequalityindexand112inthegenderrelateddevelopmentindex3,ethnicwomenhaveamuchmoredifficulttimeintermsofequalityandrights.ThoughnationalLaoslegalandpolicyenvironmentisquitefavourabletotheprotectionofwomen’srights,customarylawandlackofaccesstoservicesoftenmeansthatethnicwomenlivinginremotecommunitiesdonotbenefitfromtheprotectionofthelawandgovernmentpolicies.Forexample,whiletheLaoinheritancelawisgenderneutralandgivesthesamerightstowomen,menandchildren,customarylawdiffersbyethnicgroupanddependsonresidencepatternsaftermarriage-matrilocal,Patrilocalorbi-local4.TheLaolawonWomen’sDevelopmentandProtection,passedon2004,aimstopromotemeasuresthatwillenhancewomen’sknowledgeandcapability,improvegenderequality,combattraffickinganddomesticviolence,andupholdwomen’sstatusinsociety.

Socialnormsaroundgenderroles-barrierstoeconomicopportunities:Women’sstatus5amongalloftheethniccommunitiesisdefinedbytheirreproductive,caringandhouseholdroles.Insome32013UNDPHumanDevelopmentReport4LaoPDRGenderProfile.GenderResourceInformationandDevelopmentCentre2005.5MuchoftheinformationinthissectionisfromtheGenderandPowerAnalysisforRemoteEthnicGroups(REG).CAREInternationalinLaos,2011.Therearealsosomepiecesfromprojectdocumentsasreferenced.

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communitieswomenareconfinedtothevillageandindependenttravelislimited.AlargemajorityofethnicwomenonlyspeaktheirlocallanguageandhavetroublewithunderstandingandspeakingLao.Thisfurtherisolatesthemandlimitstheirabilitytolinkwithmarketsandeconomicopportunities.Rigidsocialnormsaroundgenderroleshasmeantthatwomenhavebeenburdenedwithanexcessiveamountofworkincomparisontomen–someoftheworkbeingphysicallyverydemanding–whilstatthesametimebeingtheprimarycarersofchildrenandthesickandelderly.

PowerandAgency-decisionmakingandviolence:Menareusuallytheheadofthehouseholdanddecisionmakingisdominatedbymeninthehouseandinthecommunity(onlyonepercentofvillageheadsarewomendespite25%representationinNationalAssembly6).Householddisputesarethoughttobeprivateandviolenceagainstwomenandgirlsisfrequent(uptoathirdofallwomeninLaos),butnotaddressed.Inthenottoodistantpast,earlyandforcedmarriage(13yrs–14yrs)wasfrequentandgirlsoftendroppedoutofschool.

Powerandagency–capabilityforincomeearning:Womeninremoteethniccommunitieshavetendedtohavelowlevelsofconfidenceintheirowncapabilityandarenotsupportedwithinthecommunityorthroughnetworks.Therearehardlyanyservicesforwomentobuildcapacityforemploymentorenterpriseandnoaccesstofinance.BeforetheCAREprojectswerestartedinsomeareastherewerelimitedsourcesofincomeandmuchfoodwassourcedfromtheforestsandowncultivation,especiallyrice.Thereweredifferentlevelsoffoodinsecurityandpoornutritionintheprovinces,wherethereareoftenfoodshortagestowardstheendofthedryseasoninmanyvillages.

Wellbeing:InSekongprovincefoodinsecurityhasledtochronicmalnutritionwithanestimatedprevalenceofmoderateandseverestuntingof67.3%,withseverestuntingprevalenceof31.3%7.Poorcookingmethodsandfoodhygienealsoposeaproblemforchildren’shealthandnutrition8.Healthcareserviceswererareandaccesstocontraceptionisstillchallengingintheremotecommunities,whereroadsareimpassablefor3–5monthsintheyear.

Infrastructureanddevelopmentchanges:Rapiddevelopmentininfrastructureandaccesstoserviceshasimprovedethnicvillagesopportunitiesandwomen’scontactwiththeoutsideworld.Howevertherehavealsobeenincreasedrisksfromthisdevelopment.ForexampleinSekongtheincreasingproliferationofminingbyforeigncompanieshasledtore-locationofentirevillageswithoutadequateconsultation.Inothercaseslandforgoldminingisboughtfromvillagersandsometimescausesaninequitableinfluxofcashthatcanbedamagingifnotinvestedindevelopmentofthewholevillage.

6UNWomenLaoFactsheet7DakCheungFoodSecurityProject.Participatorydiagnosticoncurrentnutritionalunderstandingsandtraditionalpracticesassociatedwithfood,infantweaningandfeedingandassociatedhealthissues.CAREAugust2011.JillMoloneyMIPH,Midwife,BN8DakCheungFoodSecurityProject.Participatorydiagnosticoncurrentnutritionalunderstandingsandtraditionalpracticesassociatedwithfood,infantweaningandfeedingandassociatedhealthissues.CAREAugust2011.JillMoloneyMIPH,Midwife,BN

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2.EvaluationMethodology

2.1 Literature review Aspartoftheoverallregionalex-postevaluationadeskreviewofprojectevaluationsinfourcountrieswasundertaken(Laos,Vietnam,CambodiaandMyanmar).Projectdocumentationwasassessedforthefollowing:

• Qualityofgendercontextanalysisandtheuseofthisinformationinprojectdesignandoverallapproach.

• Qualityofdatacollectionandreportingavailablefromeachproject–inparticulartheevaluationmethodologyandreports.

• Women’seconomicempowermentresultsachievedbytheproject

Caption:Mrs.Sone,23,hastwochildrenandistheheadofhervillage'ssavingsgroup.Forthelasttwoyears,Soneandherhusbandhavebeenrunningashopsellinggeneralgoodsandfixingmotorbikes.Theyhave5,000cardamombushesreadyforharvestnextyear.“Astheheadofthesavingsgroup,Iamreallygladmemberscanwithdrawmoneyforemergenciesorforinvestment.Inthefuture,I’dliketoseeamarketinourvillage.IwanttoseetheotherproducersofcardamomincreasetheirproductionofcropsbecauseIwanttoseetheentirevillageandgetbetter.”Photo:©JoshEstey/CARE

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Aframeworkforrecordingresultsandprogresstowardswomen’seconomicempowermentwasusedtorecordfindingsfromtheevaluations.Thiswasbasedonahybriddefinitionofwomen’seconomicempowerment,usingtheICRWdefinition9andtheCAREWomen’sEmpowermentframeworkdomains.

Thisresultedin

Table1:Women’sEconomicEmpowermentAnalysisFrameworkforWEEEM

EconomicAdvancement

Economicactivity Increaseinsourcesofincomeandincomeearningactivity

Income Increaseinincome,whoearnsandcontrolstheincome(includingactivityanddecisionmakingaroundsales)

Assetownership Land,livestock,equipment

Whetherownedbyhusband,wife,familyorboth

Accesstofinancialservices credit,savings,insurance,VSLA

Employmentopportunities workingforothers,MSMEs,formal/informal

Householdwellbeing changesinchildren’seducation,nutrition,health

PowerandAgency

Agency(Powerwithin)

Knowledgeandskills Understandingofbusiness,sales,marketing,orevenbasicarithmeticforrecordingincomeandexpenses.KnowledgeofandabilitytouseLaolanguage

Confidenceandselfesteem Abilitytospeakout,beassertiveandtomakedecisions.Beliefinownabilitiesandvalue.

Aspirations Abilitytoseebeyondthecurrentsituationandaspiretoincreaseeconomicactivityortogeneratedifferenttypesofactivity.

Abilitytotakeadvantageofopportunities

Senseofpowerandself-determinationandauthoritytoseeopportunitiesandactonthem

Relations(Powerto,powerwithandpowerover)

Decisionmaking Economicdecisionmakingaroundassets,incomeandexpenditure;lifeandhouseholddecisions(including,forexample,useoffamilyplanning).

Controloffinancial,physicalorknowledgebasedassets

Decisionmakingpoweroverassetsevenifnotowned.

Abilitytoorganisewithothers

toenhanceeconomicactivitiesandrights

Householdrelations includingviolenceagainstwomen

Structures,resourcesandsocialnorms

Villagesocialnorms socialnorms,attitudesandbehaviourinrelationtowomen’seconomicactivitiesandinclusionofwomenindecisionmakingatvillagelevel

9UnderstandingandMeasuringWomen’sEconomicEmpowerment.Definition,FrameworkandIndicators.AnneMarieGolla,AnjuMalhotra,PriyaNanda,RekhaMehra.ICRW2011

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(includingandlisteningtotheirvoices)

Institutionalsocialnorms Includinggovernmentinstitutionsandorganisations

Accesstoresources agriculturalinputs,water,power,trainingandeducationresources

Marketsandvaluechains Inclusionofwomeninnewroles(e.g.salesandmarketing),socialnormsandinformation,leadership

Changesinthephysicalenvironment

includingtimesavinginfrastructureandequipment,andphysicalchangesandresourcestoimprovesecurity(e.g.UXOclearance)

Lawsandpolicies Changesinrelevantlawsandregulationstoimprovewomen’srights–particularlyinrelationtoownershipofassets,businessandaccesstofinance.

ThefiveprojectsreviewedfortheLaoscountrycasestudywere:

• DakCheungFoodSecurityProject(DFSP)

• PhonsalyFoodSecurityandCapacityBuildingProject(PFSCBP)

• LANGOCA–ReducingUXOriskandimprovinglivelihoodsforethniccommunicatesinSekongProvince.

• PovertyAlleviationinRemoteUplandAreas–PARUAII

• PhonsalyRuralDevelopmentProject–PRDP

2.2 Fieldwork methodology TheLaosfieldworkfocusedontheDFSPprojectinDakCheungdistrict,SekongprovinceinsouthernLaos.Datacollectionforthefieldstudyinvolvedacombinationoffocusgroupdiscussions(FGDs),keyinformantinterviews(KIIs)andcollectionofstoriesofchange(SOCs).Thefieldworkwasdesignedtobecomplementarytothedeskreviewandtocontributetoanoverallanalysisofchangethathastakenplacebygivingmorein-depthdetailofthechangesthathavetakenplaceforethnicminoritywomeninvolvedintheprojects.ThedeskreviewframeworkinformedthedevelopmentofthefollowingLaosfieldworkresearchquestions:

(i).Havewomen’sincomeearningandeconomicopportunitiesimprovedsincetheprojectbeganandhowhasthisimpactedonwomen’sandtheirfamily’seconomicsecurityandfoodsecurity?

• Howhaswomen’sincomeearningandeconomicopportunitiesimprovedsecurityimproved??Levelofassetorincomeincreases(canwequantify)?Betterfoodbeingeatenandproteinmorefrequently.Childrengoingtoschool.

• Whathascontributedtowomen’sincreaseinincomeandeconomicopportunities?(e.g.landownership,networksandcooperatives,skillsandknowledgeetc)

• Hasthisprojectcontributedtowomen’seconomicandfoodsecurity?How?

(ii).Howhastheprojectimpactedonwomen’spowerandagency?(coveringagency,structureandrelations)

• Howhavewomen’scapacity,self-esteem,knowledgeandskillschangedasaresultoftheproject?

• Howhavewomen’srelativepowerandvoicewithinthecommunityandthefamilychangedasaresultoftheproject?

• Whathasenabledthesechanges–e.g.networks,linkswithorganisations,income,men’sattitudechange,moretime,etc?

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• Howhavecommunityandinstitutionalsocialnormsandattitudeschangedasaresultoftheprojectorotheractivities?

• Whatisthemostimportantchangethathasimpactedonwomen’sempowerment?

(iii)Whatarethesocial,economicandenvironmentalbarrierstoprogressinwomen’seconomicempowerment?

• Whataspectsofbeingawomanlimitthemfromearninganincome?

• Isthereanythingthatworriesorscareswomen?(Couldincludeviolencefrompartnerorotherfamilymember,UXO,hunger,safetyofmychildren).

• Dowomenneedtheirhusband’spermissiontoownanenterpriseortogotoworkortosellproductsinthemarketinDakCheung?

• Istimealimitationinearninganincome?

• Arewomensupportedbyfamilymembers,husbandsorotherpeopleinthevillage?

(iv)Howhaveinstitutions,committees,organisationsandcoffeeprocessinggroupschangedtoincludewomenandenablewomen’seconomicempowerment?

• Dowomenholdleadershippositionsinvillagecommittees/coffeegroups?

• Aretheirvoicesheardandacteduponinthecommitteemeetings?

• Aregovernmentinstitutionsandpoliciessupportiveofwomen’sinclusionandparticipationinincomeearningactivities?Howdotheysupportwomen?

DatacollectionfortheDFSPprojectwascarriedoutinfourofthe20villagesinDakCheungwheretheprojectwasimplemented.Theselectionofvillagesfordatacollectionduringtheexpostevaluationtookintoaccountthefollowingcriteria:

• Mixofsizeofvillage

• Coveringbothethnicgroupsoverall

• Coveringarangeofprojectmixesbyvillage

• Atleastoneremotevillage(i.e.withdifficultaccess)

• Geographicalspread

ThesefourvillageswerefoundtohavebeencoveredbyactivitiesunderthreeCARELaosprojects.Figure1andTable2belowhighlightwhichaspectsofwhichprojectswereimplementedinthevillagesandthetimescale.

Figure1:DakCheungDistrictinSekongProvince.CAREprojectvillages

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Table2:CAREprojectactivitiesbyfieldworkvillage

Nameofvillage Tanglou Dakden Tangyerng Sangmai

Totalpopulation 246 489 447 205

YearCAREengaged 2010 2010 2007 2007

Ethnicgroup Talieng

Katu

Talieng Talieng Talieng

DFSP X X X X

LANGOCA(end2012) X X

PWED(until2017) X X X X

CISS(end2011) X

WINGSunderDFSP X X X

newWINGSPWED(2013/4) X

Coffeeprocessinggroup X

irrigationcommittee (small) X

coffeeplanting(HH) X X X

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Withineachvillage,fourfocusgroupswereconducted–twowithwomenonlyandtwowithmenonly,eachrepresentingamixofincomeandpovertylevels.Thevillagesweresosmallthatallparticipantshadbeenincontactwithprojectactivitiesofsomesort.NearlyallofthewomenwereWomenincomeandnutritiongroups(WINGS)10members.MenandwomenparticipantsfortheFGDsandKIIswerechosenbythevillageheadandtheWINGScoordinatoronetothreedaysbeforetheevaluationteamarrivedinthevillage.

Aparticipatorytoolcalled“Spokes”wasusedforthefocusgroups.Thisinvolvedtheidentificationofkeychangeareasthatwerethenanalysedbythegroupusingagraphicrepresentationtodemonstratetheextentofchangeandtheimportanceofeachchange.FocusgroupandinterviewtoolsweretestedinDakVang.(SeeAnnex1forfullexplanationofthetool).

Withineachfocusgrouponeortwoparticipantswereidentifiedforanin-depthinterviewtorecordtheirstoryofchange.KIIswereundertakenatthevillagelevelwith:aLaowomen’sunionrepresentative;villageleader,irrigationgroupleader;coffeegroupleader,WINGSleaderandfacilitator;governmentrepresentativesandwherepossibleateacherorhealthworker.ToolsforthefocusgroupdiscussionsandtheinterviewsareavailableinAnnexX.

2.3 Limitations InLaostheresearchprocessandlogisticsworkedwell.Howeverthefollowingdrawbacksandchallengestoqualityresearchwereidentified:

(i)Translation:thediversityoflanguagesspokenintheresearchareasmeantthatmultiplelayersoftranslationwererequired.DespitethepresenceofafacilitatorwithLaolanguageandanethnicinterpreter(Talieng)therewasinevitablyalossofinformationanddetaileachtimetranslationtookplace.Twoofthevillagesspokeathirdlanguagewhichwasnotknownbytheethnicinterpreter.InthisinstanceaFGDparticipanttranslatedtoTaliengforotherparticipants.ThiswasmainlyanissueforthewomenasmenweremorelikelytospeakLao.

(ii)Language:theword“empowerment”ordiscussionsaboutpowerwerenotpermittedbygovernmentinLaos.Sointerpretersusedtheterm“women’sstrengthening”ratherthan“women’sempowerment”.Thismaynothavehadasignificantimpact,butwillhavechangedslightlytheresearchteam’sunderstanding.However,bothFGDfacilitatorsunderstoodandspokeEnglishwellenoughtobeabletotakethisonboard.

(iii)Notetaking:Thoughthefocusgroupfacilitationwasverygood,thenotetakinglackeddetail.ThiswassupplementedbytheteamleaderandtheCARErepresentativesittinginonsomeofthefocusgroups.Howeverthiswasnotpossibleforallofthem–particularlythemen’sfocusgroups.AsoundrecordingandtranscriptoftheFGDswouldhaveovercomethischallenge.HoweverthiswouldhavecostmoremoneyandcouldhaveinhibitedtheFGDparticipants.

(iv)Culture:men’sFGDsweremorechallengingastherewasdifficultyengagingmeninadiscussionabouttheirwivesandthechangesinwomen’srolesinthevillage.Therewasatendencyforpeerinfluencewithinthegroups,whichmeantthatoutlierswouldnotspeakup.Individualinterviewswithasmallselectionofmenprovidedmoredetail.

(v)Thespokesmethodologyworkedverywellandwasenjoyedbytheevaluationteamandtheparticipants.Itwaseasytounderstandandprovidedinterestingresults,someofwhichcouldbequantified.

10Women’sIncomeandNutritionGroups(WINGS)arethewomengroupssetupbytheDFSPproject.Theywereavehicleforbringingwomentogethertobuildskillsandconfidenceandalsoforthewomentoparticipateinprojectdecisionmaking.TheWINGSusedparticipatorytechniquestoidentifyandaddressworkburdenissuesandtoorganiselearningonnutritionandcooking.

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(vi)Deskreviewchallenges:thequalityofLaosprojectevaluationreportswaspoor.Therewasalackofquantitativedatathatcouldbedrawnontoprovideevidenceofhowwelltheprojectshadperformedoverall.Therewasalsoalackofinformationaboutmethodologyandtools,whichmadeitverydifficulttoassessthequalityofinformationinthereports.

(vii)Attribution:attributionoffindingstoDFSPalone,isnotpossibleasthereareseveralsimilarCARELaosprojectsthatareeithercurrentlybeingimplementedorarenowclosed.(SeeAnnexXforamapoftheseprojects).DFSPbuildsonthelearningfromLANGOCAandsomevillageshavebenefittedfromotherprojectssuchasCISS.Recentorcurrentprojects,suchasSFSPandPWEDhavesimilaractivitiestoDFSPandarecontinuingthesamework.Thusthefieldworkhasidentifiedfindingsfromcurrentandpastprojectsthathavethesameapproach.ItisevaluatingtheCARELaosapproachtowomen’seconomicempowermentratherthantheprojectitself.

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3. Desk review Findings

Caption:CAREteamfromAustraliavisitedPhiaVillagepopulatedbytheKhamupeople.Photo:©JoshEstey/CARE

Between2007and2014CARELaosimplementedfiveprojectsthataimedtoaddressnutrition,livelihoodsandsecurityissues,togethercostingover9millionAustraliandollars(totalAUD9,226,571).ThissectionprovidesasummaryofthefindingsfromthedeskreviewofthefiveCAREprojectsinLaoPDR.Whilenoneofthechosenreviewprojectshadaprimarylevelobjectivefocussedonwomen’seconomicempowerment(WEE),themajorityofprojectapproachesincludedsomeaspectoftargetingwomen,orwiderempowermentaimscombinedwithlivelihoodsapproaches.ThedeskreviewfocusedoncollatingandanalysingevidenceofprogressandimpactagainsttheWEEframeworkatTable1.

Figure2:LaoPDRMapwithprojectlocations

PARUAII

PFSCBP&PRDP

DFSP&LANGOCA

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3.1 Summary overview of the CARE Laos programming initiatives reviewed for the WEEM evaluation(Table2)

PFSCBP-Phonsalyfoodsecurityandcapacitybuildingproject

Purpose:TosustainablyincreasefoodsecurityamongpoorethnicgroupsinremoteuplandareasintwodistrictsinPhongsalyProvince

Targetgroup:7,400participantsin1,050households,manyfemaleheaded,in31remotevillages

Geographicalcoverage:31villagesinSamphanandKhuadistricts,PhongsalyprovinceintheNortheastoftheLaos

Timeframe:Oct2005-Oct2009

Budget:USD980,000

Specificobjectives:

• Accesstofoodisincreasedthroughimprovedcapacityofhouseholdstogenerateincomebytakingadvantageofmarketopportunities

• Improvedhealth,inparticularamongchildren,andreducedworkloadonwomen,and

• Capacitybuildingofcommunitiesandlocalgovernmentbodies.

ImplementationandWEEapproach:Threeprongedapproachtoaddressingpoornutrition:incomegeneration,foodgrowingandhealthawarenessandtraining.IncomegenerationfocusesmostlyonlivestockandNTFP.Foodgrowingisonlythroughhomegardens.Womentargetedapproachesinthisprojectfocusonaddressingwomen’stimeconstraints,nutritionandtheiraccesstohealthservices,whichrelatestowellbeinganddecisionmakinginreproductivehealth(agency).ProjectsupporttoincreaseknowledgeandcapabilityaroundagricultureandlivestockproductionaswellasNTFPcollection(honey)hasresultedinincreasedeconomicadvancement.Howeverthereisnoindicationofhowwomenwereincludedandwhattheimpactonwomenhasbeen.Onlynutritionandhealthactivitiesspecificallymentionwomen.

Keyactivities:

*Livestock,cattlebanks,vetservices,marketingandtrade

*NTFPproductionandmarketing

*Incomegeneration,tailoringandhandicrafts

*Waterandsanitation

*Nutritionknowledgeandpracticeincludingvegetablegardens

*Healthawareness–SRHRandHIV

LANGOCA-ReducingUXORiskandImprovingLivelihoodsofEthnicCommunities

Purpose:ReducevulnerabilityofethniccommunitiesinSekongprovincethroughintegrationofUXOandpovertyreductionstrategies

Targetgroup:TaliengandArak,withlessernumbersofNgkriangandother

Specificobjectives:

• ReducephysicalrisksandlivelihoodconstraintsassociatedwithUXOcontamination

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ethnicgroups

Geographicalcoverage:SekongProvince:20communitiesinLamarmandDakcheungdistrictswithanestimatedtotalpopulationof6,500persons

Timeframe:21May2007–30June2012,extendedtoJune2014

Partners:FondationSuisseDeDeminage(FSD),theWorldFoodProgram.Govtpartners:ProvincialandDistrictLabourandSocialWelfareOffice(PoLSW),theDistrictAgricultureandForestryOffices(DAFO)andtheLaoWomen’sUnion(LWU).

Budget:USD2,600,921

• Improveruralbasedlivelihoodsamongstethnicminoritycommunitieswithadirectmeasurableimpactonthewellbeingofwomenandgirls

• Buildvillageanddistrictcapacitiestoidentifyandaddresslivelihoodopportunitiesandrisks

• Effectiveandefficientprojectcoordinationandmanagement

ImplementationandWEEapproach:Aprojectthatworksonlivelihoods,healthandUXOclearance,whilstbuildingskillsandcapacityincommunitiesandamonggovernmentworkers.LANGOCAhastakenafairlyintegratedWEEapproach,whichmeansthatitismainstreamedthroughouttheprojectactivities:buildingupwomen’sknowledgeandskillsthroughintegrationintoagricultureandlivestockproductionactivities–andtherebyincreasingtheirincomeearningpotential.Atthesametimewomen’svoicesareinvolvedindecisionmakingthroughawomen'sforum,whichwasintendedtomakesurethatwomen'sideasandaimsforlivelihoodsprojectsandclearanceareasaretakenintoaccount.Barrierstoagencyandrelationsarealsoaddressedthroughtimesavingtechnology,SRHRawarenessandliteracyandnumeracytraining.

Keyactivities:

*UXOclearancebycommunityprioritisation,UXOawarenesstraining,firstaidforvillagehealthvolunteers,financeforvictims

*Technologytoreducewomen’sworkload

*Improvedvehicleaccesstovillages

*Tradermarket

*Women’sLao,numeracyandnutritionskills

*SRHRandHIVawareness

PARUAII-Povertyalleviationinremoteuplandareas

Purpose:Tosustainablyincreaselivelihoodsecurityamongpoorethnicgroupsinremoteuplandareas

Targetgroup:11villages-Praiethnicgroup

Geographicalcoverage:AllvillagesofthetwoKumBanPattana(VillageDevelopmentGroups)inSamet/Sayasanazone.

Timeframe:March2008-May2012

Partners:WFP,localgovt

Specificobjectives:

• IncreaselocalgovernmentandprivatesectorcapacitiestomanageanddeliverlivelihoodservicesintargetKumBanPattana,SayaboulyDistrict.

• IncreasefoodsecurityofpoorandmiddleincomehouseholdsintargetvillagesclassifiedaspoorbyGoL

• Improve‘qualityoflife’intargetvillages

• IncreasePraiwomen’sandmen’sabilitytoparticipatemeaningfullyinhouseholdandcommunitydevelopmentprocesses

Implementationapproach:Multi-sectorprojectwiththeaimtomainstreamgenderthroughout.Addressingarangeofhealth,practical,incomeandnutritionbarriers.StrongemphasisonbuildingcapacityofthePraipeople-bothmenandwomen.Well

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Budget:USD1,612,000 plannedapproachtoinclusionofwomenandbasedongoodanalysisofcontextinPraiculture.PARUAPhaseIIwasexpectedtohaveapositiveimpactongenderrelationsamongstthePraiandpowerrelationsbetweenthePraiandoutsiders.ThePARUAIIapproachincludestargetedandintegratedapproachestoWEE.Approachestoincreaseaccesstoproductiveassetsandincomeearningopportunitiesweretargetedathouseholds,butincludedwomenandtherebyworkedtowardswomen’seconomicadvancement.Women’spowerandagencywereenhancedthroughimprovedknowledge,workloadinitiatives,decisionmakingpowerinwomen’sandcommunitygroupsandaccesstohealthandeducationservices.Someofthesewillalsohaveaimedtohaveanimpactonrelationsandsocialnormsduetotheinteractionwithlocalgovernmentdecisionmakingandaccountability.ParticulareffortstoincludePraiwomenasprojectstaffwereprioritised.

Keyactivities:

*VillagedevelopmentgroupsforincomegenerationMSMEs

*Accesstofoodandproductiveassetswithafocusonthepoorest25%

*Incomesfromtea,livestock,NTFP

*Bettertransport,healthservicesandpromotion

*Watersupply

*Praimenandwomenparticipation

DFSP-DakCheungFoodSecurityProject

Purpose:ToIncreasefoodsecurityparticularlyofthepoorest,throughexpandinganddiversifyingincomeandfoodsourcesreducingvulnerabilitytonaturalandmarketbasedshocks

Targetgroup:Allhouseholdsin20villages–mostlyTaliengandKatu

Geographicalcoverage:SekongProvince,DakCheungdistrict

Timeframe:April2010toDecember2013

Partners:Government,LaoWomen’sUnion

Budget:USD1,700,000

Specificobjectives:

• Increasedproductivityofhouseholdstaplefoods,fatsandproteinproductionsystems.

• Expandedincomegeneratingassets(livestock,coffee)ofthepoor,generatingsignificantadditionalincomes.

• Improvedwomen’sfoodutilizationskillsandreducedwomen’slabourburden.

• StrengthenedvillageandDistricttechnicalskillsandcapacitiesassociatedwithprojectpromotedfoodandincomeproductionsystems.

Implementationapproach:Anintegratedapproachtoimprovingnutritionthroughincreasingsourcesoffoodandincomeandknowledgeofcookingandnutritiouseating,withwomenincludedinmostactivities.DFSPhasafairlyintegratedandholisticapproachtoWEE.Women’seconomicadvancementwastargetedbyintroducingnewincomeearningopportunities(gardening,livestock,NTFP)andincreasingaccesstotime-savingassets.Powerandagencywereaddressedthroughinclusion

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ofwomenintechnicalcapacitybuilding(agriculture,water,andlivestock),includingstudyvisits,andnutritionandcookingtraining.Relationsanddecisionmakingpowerinparticularwereaddressedthroughthewomen’sgroups(WINGS)andinclusioninvillagedecisionmaking.

Keyactivities:

*Incomegenerationandbetternutritionthroughcoffeeandlivestock,fishfarms,vegetablegardensandfruittrees.

*Women’snutritionandcookingtraining

*Irrigationandricefarming

*Coffeeproductionandprocessing

*WINGSgroupandwomen’sworkloadreduction

*Trainingandstudyvisits

*Roadmaintenance

PRDP-PhongsalyRuralDevelopmentproject

Purpose:Toincreasefoodandnutritionalsecurityofthepoorestathouseholdandcommunitylevelsthroughfacilitatingthedevelopmentoffoodandnutritionalstrategiesandmeaningfulengagementinwiderdecision-makingprocessesatlocallevelsaffectingtheirfuturefoodsecurity.

Targetgroup:

Geographicalcoverage:28targetedvillages(10newvillagesinSamphanDistrict,10newvillagesinMaiDistrict,and8existingvillagesinKhuaDistrict,)

Timeframe:1stJanuary2012–30thJune2013

Partners:ProvincialAgricultureandForestryOffice,ProvincialPublicHealthOffice,ProvincialPlanning,InvestmentandCoooperationOffice,andProvincialLaoWomen’sUnion

Budget:USD388,882

Specificobjectives:

• Increasedcommunity,women’s&farmergroups,andlocalNPAsocialcapitalandparticipationinplanning,demandcreationandmodeldevelopmentforimprovedfoodsecurity,nutritionandhealthoutcomesin3districtsinPhongsalyprovince.

• Improvedlocalfarmingsystemswhichresponddirectlytowomen'sprioritieswithmainemphasison(i)improvednutritionalandfoodsecurity,(2)incomegenerationofproductswithhighmarketpotential,and(3)climatechangeadaptation

• StrengthenedNPA&CAREcooperationincentral-levelpolicyengagement,andinclusionofCAREevidence-basedmodelsandlessonslearnedintokeyGoLruraldevelopmentpoliciesandprogramsandtheirimplementation

Implementationapproach:Integratedprogrammewithagriculture,nutrition,farmergroups,healthvolunteers,women'sgroupsandwidespreadcapacitydevelopmentandpolicydialogue.Theagricultureinputsarevariedwitharangeofdifferentcropsofferedtothevillages.Targetedandintegratedapproachtoinclusionofwomenthroughwomen'sgroupsandintegrationthroughoutactivities.PRDPishasanimportantemphasisonstructureandrelations,whileatthesametimebuildingwomen’sincomeearningopportunitiesandaccesstoservices.Villagelevelsocialcapitalandinclusioninpublicandplanningdecisionmakingaimstoimprovewomen’sinclusionindecisionmakingandtheiraccesstoservices.Economicadvancementactivitiesnotonfocusonagricultureandfoodproduction(cashcrops,NTFP,livestockandgardens),butalsoincludefinancialliteracy

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andmarketengagementandmarketinformationsystems.Agencyandrelationsarechangedthroughfarmerandwomen’sgroups.

Keyactivities:

*Women’sandfarmergroups

*Hygieneandwater

*Participationinplanning

*Traininginfinancialliteracy,marketengagement

*Animalbanks,veterinaryfund

*FarmingtrialsandNTFP,gardeningandhighvaluecrops

*Marketinformationsystems

*Studyvisitsforfarmersandwomen’sgroups

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3.2 Gender and Power analyses for project design Thereisvariablequalityofgenderandpoweranalysisthathasbeenusedforprojectdesign.Inthecaseswheretherehasbeenamorein-depthgenderanalysisatprojectdesignphase,usuallyusingCARE’swomen’sempowermentframework,thishasresultedinamoreappropriateapproachtoaddressingconstraintsandbarriersexperiencedbywomenandanintegratedapproachtosupportingwomen’seconomicempowerment.Theprojectswithlessgenderanalysistendtohaveamoretargetedandonedimensionalapproachtowomen’seconomicempowerment–inthattheypotentiallyonlyaddresseconomicadvancement(e.g.incomeearning)orlimitedaspectsofpowerandagency(e.g.nutritionandcookingknowledgeandskills).Thiskindofapproachdoesnottakeintoaccountthemultiplelevelsofactivitythatneedtotakeplaceinordertopromotethechangesthatwillcontributetowomen’seconomicempowerment.Noneoftheprojectdesigndocumentshaveanin-depthgenderandpoweranalysisthatincludesananalysisofwomen’seconomicsituation,activitiesandopportunitiesalongsideanalysisofwomen’sagencyandbarriersrelatedtostructure,socialnormsandlackofaccesstoresources.

InPSFCBPandLANGOCA(whichstartedin2005and2007respectively)thereisnogenderanalysisatallinthecontextsectionofprojectdesigndocument.Howeverbothofthemhaveoneortwooutputsthattargetwomen:

• PSFCBPunderObjective2hasoneoutputthatmentionswomen“Betternutritionknowledgeandpracticebyestablishinghomegardensandtrainingofwomeninvillagesonnutrition,foodpreparationandpreservation”

• LANGOCAhastwooutputs:Output2.2:“Women’sworkloadreducedandimprovedproductioncapacity.ExpectedAchievements:(i)Technologiesforreducingwomen’sworkloadintroducedinaminimumof20villages.(ii)Minimumof3improvedproductiontechnologiestrialedandadoptedbyvillagewomenacross20villages”andOutput3.2:“Increasedlifeskillsofwomenin20targetedcommunities.ExpectedAchievements:(i)Minimumof1,000womenandgirlshaveimprovedLao,numeracyandnutritionskillsandknowledge.(ii)Minimumof1,000women/girlsandminimum1000menhaveimprovedunderstandingofreproductivehealthandHIV/AIDs.(iii)DistrictHealthservicesandvillagehealthvolunteersarereportingincreaseinwomenandgirlsrequestingreproductivehealthservices”

Bothprojectshaveanapproachtoaddresswomen’stimepovertyandincreasewomen’scapacityandskillsthroughtraining.Howeverthereisnotanoverallapproachtowomen’sinclusioninactivities,noranuancedapproachtosupportingwomen’sparticipationindecisionmakingathouseholdandvillagelevel.PSFCBPhasactivitiestoimprovewomen’sknowledgeofsexualandreproductivehealthandotherhealthareas,alongsidetrainingofhealthworkers.Howevertheredoesnotappeartobealinkbetweenthehealthrelatedbarrierstowomen’sparticipationindecisionmakingandincomeearning.Consequentlythewomenfocusedactivitiesappeartobestand-aloneapproaches(seesectionxxformoredetail).

ThisisincontrasttothecontextanalysisandapproachundertakeninPARUAII,DFSPandPRDP,allofwhichwerestartedlater(2008,2010,2012respectively)andsobenefittedfromanevolutioninCARE’sapproachtowomen’sempowermentworkingatmultiplelevels.Allthreeoftheprojectswerebasedonamorein-depthgenderanalysis.Howeverthisanalysisstilllackedinformationaboutwomen’seconomicactivitiesandopportunities,marketsandvaluechainsrelevanttowomen,anddetaileddescriptionoftheeconomicrolesofmenandwomen.ForexamplehePARUAIIdesigndocumentexaminesaspectsofstructureandrelationsindescribinghowthetargetedPraiethnicgroupismatrilineal,andthatjointdecisionmakingtakesplaceinthehousehold,thoughtherearestrongrestrictionstowomentravellingoutsideofthevillageunlessaccompaniedbytheirhusband.Italsoacknowledgeswomen’sheavyworkload,andhowthishasdeterioratedduetovillagere-location,villagesizepoliciesandlackofaccesstoland.ThePRDPdesigndocumentgoesfurtherbydiscussinghowwomensufferfromalackofsocialcapitalandexclusionfromgovernmentdecisionmakingandplanningprocesses;andhowgenderrelationslimitwomen’srolesandaccesstoresources.Neitheroftheseprovideafullanalysisofwomen’seconomicandincomeearningsituationandtheeconomicrolesofmenandwomeninthevillages.

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InterestinglyDFSPhasapproachestoinclusionofwomenthroughouttheprojectdesigndocumenteventhoughthecontextanalysisinrelationtogenderisnotcomplete.Therearesmallamountsofcontextualinformationpepperedthroughoutthedescriptionoftheproposedoutputandactivitiessuchas“WithinpatriarchalTaliengsocietymenplaytraditionalrolesindealingwith‘outsiders’,howeveritiswomenwhoundertakekeytasksassociatedwithmajortechnicalinterventionssupportedbyDFSP(e.g.coffeecultivationanduplandcropping).”ThistypeofinformationprovidesanimportantrationaleforthecreationanduseoftheWINGS(women’s)groupstoenhancewomen’svoiceandinclusionthroughouttheprojectactivities.

Itisclearthatanin-depthgenderanalysisisessentialinordertofullyunderstandthebarriersthatwomenfacewhentryingtoearnanincomeandimprovetheirfinancialandfoodsecurity.ItwouldbeadvisabletousegenderanalysisthatencompassesbothCARE’swomen’sempowermentframeworkandthewomen’seconomicempowermentframeworkshowninTable1,section2.1.Inparticularitisimportanttocovertheaspectsofwomen’seconomicadvancement:accesstoproductiveassets,incomeearningpotential,accesstofinancialservicesandemploymentopportunities.Thiswillgiveimportantinformationthatcanbeusedtobuildappropriateapproachesandatheoryofchangethatcanaddressallareasthatcontributetowomen’seconomicempowerment.

3.3 Characterising CARE Laos’ Women’s Economic Empowerment model ThereareclearcommonalitiesofapproachacrossallfiveoftheCARELaosprojects.Theapproachesaimedtocontributeto:

Women’seconomicadvancementthrough:

• Initiativestoincreasewomen’sagricultural,livestockandNTFPproductioncapability

• Changesinsocialnormsaround“women’seconomicactivities”–suchasearninganincomeandsellingproduce

• Explicittargetingandinclusionofwomen,especiallywomenfromethnicminorities,inincomeearningactivitiesandcontroloverassets

Women’spowerandagencythrough:

• Groupformationtobuildwomen’scapabilityandconfidenceandtoengageineconomicactivitiesandtoaddresswomen’sworkloadthroughuseoftimesavingandloadbearingequipment

• Strengtheningwomen’sknowledgeandskills

• Inclusionofwomenindecisionmakingatprojectandvillagelevel

3.3.1 Commonalities in activities to promote women’s economic advancement Initiativestoincreasewomen’sagricultural,livestockandNTFPproductioncapabilitywereincludedinalloftheprojects.Themainapproachesfocusedon:

• Enhancingtheproductionandsalesofgardenvegetablesbyintroducingnewvarieties,improvinggardeningtechniquesandencouragingsaleofsurplus.Thiswasusedinalloftheprojects–thoughPARUAIIhadmoreofafocusoncashcrops,sogardeningwasforhouseholdteaproductionmostly.

• Improvingdiversityandmanagementoflivestockproduction–includingfishponds,smalllivestockwithvillagebasedvaccinationservices.

• Introductionofcashcrops,somedomesticationofNTFPandsalesofNTFPforcash.Thisusuallyfocusedonrice,coffee,teaandothersmallercashcrops.Womenwereoftenintroducedtotheseactivitiesforthefirsttime.

Inallfiveprojectsthefoodproductionandcashcropactivitieswerecombinedwithcookingandnutritiontraininginordertoimprovefoodsecurityandhealthyeatingpractice.Thecookingwasalmostexclusivelyawoman’srealmandprojectsdidnotdomuchtochallengethegenderrolesinthisarea.

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Howeverasmallnumberofmenweretrainedtocook.Overallprojectevaluationswerepositiveabouttheimpactoftheseactivitiesonnutritionoutcomesandfoodsecuritybecauseoftheincreaseincomesandaccesstoawidervarietyoffoodsourcesandtypes.Howeveritislikelythattheseoutcomeswereonlypossiblebecauseoftheotherinitiativesthatwerecombinedwiththese.

Inparticularthechangesinsocialnormsaround“women’seconomicactivities”appearedtohavebeenanimportantcontributiontotheincreaseinfamilyincome.Projectswereabletoincludewomeninincomeearningactivitiesthathadpreviouslyonlyinvolvedmen.PRDPandDFSPwereparticularlycommittedtothisapproachandincludedwomeninalloftheincomeearningandmarketingactivities.PRDPhadanactiveapproachtomarketanalysisandmarketinformationsystems.

Women’saccesstoandcontroloverassetswerepromotedthroughwomen’sgroupsandassociations–andthiswasparticularlyapparentinDFSP,PARUAIIinLaos.Womenwerereportedtohavecontroloftimesavingassetssuchascartsandricemills,thoughoftenthesewerealsoconsideredcommunityorfamilyownedassets.

3.3.2 Commonalities in activities to promote women’s power and agency Groupformationwasusedtoincludewomeninincomeearningactivity,tobuildknowledgeandcapabilitythroughtrainingandstudyvisitsandalso,forwomenonlygroupssuchasWINGSinDFSP,tobuildwomen’sconfidenceandcapabilitytoparticipateindecisionmaking.ForexampleDFSPsetupcoffeegroupsinsomevillagestosupportnurseries,plantation,processingandmarketingofcoffee–whichwasanewcashcropformanyoftheethniccommunities.TheDFSPgroupsalwaysincludedoneortwowomen.DFSP,LANGOCA,PARUAIIandPRDPalsoformedwomen’sgroupsandaddressedworkburdenbarriersbyusingparticipatoryprocessesinthegroupstoidentifyareasofheavyworkburdenandtoprioritiseactiontoaddressthem(e.g.withthehandcardsandricemills).

Strengtheningwomen’sknowledgeandskillswasakeystrategyofalmostallprojectsandappearedtobeanessentialpartofchangesseeninwomen’sparticipationinincomeearningandconfidencebuilding.Trainingandcapacitystrengtheningwasdonethroughdirecttrainingandstudyvisitswhichincludedwomen,asinDFSP,LANGOCAandPRDP;andthroughcascading,asinDFSPinPRDP.Trainingandcapacitystrengtheningtopicsincluded:

• FinancialliteracytrainingbyPRDP

• Technicalagricultureandprocessingskills–whichincludedwomeninDFSP(e.g.coffeeprocessing),LANGOCA,PRDP

• VeterinaryskillsbyPRDPandPFSCBP–butsomeofthesedidnotincludewomen.

• Language,literacyandnumeracytraining–LANGOCA

• Wellbeingtraining-Sexualandreproductivehealthandrights(SRHR),HIVawareness,hygiene,nutrition,cooking.PFSCBPprovidednutritionandSRHRtraining.DFSPinprovidedtrainingonhygiene,nutritionandcookingthroughthewomen’sgroups.LANGOCAprovidednutritionandSRHRandHIVawarenesstraining.

• Lifeskillsandgendertraining.GendertrainingwasalsoprovidedintheregionwhereDFSPwasimplemented,butitislikelythatthiswasundertakenbySFSP,afollowprojectstraightafterDFSP.Itwaspickedupinthefieldwork.

3.3.3 Commonality in efforts to change structure and social norms around gender equality Nearlyalloftheprojectsincludedwomenindecisionmakingatprojectandvillagelevel.Thiswasfacilitatedbywomen’sparticipationinwomenonlygroupsandsmallerproductivegroups,wheretheycouldpracticeparticipationandbuilduptheirconfidenceinasafeenvironmentandbeinvolvedinprojectlevelprioritisation.Itwasalsofacilitatedbyvillageheadsencouragingwomentocometovillage

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meetingsandenablingtheirparticipation.PARUAIIhadatargetedapproachtobuildingmenandwomen’sabilitytoparticipateinlocalpolicyandplanningprocesses,whiletheotherprojectsmostlyfocusedonwomen’sparticipationatvillagelevel.

Inclusionofgovernmentofficialsinapproachesandtrainings(forexampleDFSP).Nationalandlocalgovernmenthadtobeinvolvedinallprojectevaluationsandwerealsoinvolvedinsomeprojectactivities.Mostprojectsaimedtobuildgovernmentcapacitytotakeresponsibilityforsomeactivities,buttherewereoftenlimitedfundswithingovernmenttotakethison.DFSPincludedgovernmentofficialsingendertrainingandcommunitybasedapproaches.

3.4 Successful approaches - Assessment of project impacts Allfiveprojectsrevieweddemonstratedsomelevelofimpactonwomen’seconomicempowerment.Successfulapproachesforachievingwomen’seconomicempowermentcombinedtheinclusionofwomenineconomicactivitiesanddecisionmaking,women’sempowermentandbuildingofsocialcapitalthroughwomen’sgroups,thedecreaseofwomen’sexcessiveworkloadandincreaseinwomen’sknowledgeandcapabilitiesthroughstudyvisitsandtraining.Notallprojectswereabletocovereachoftheseareas,butallhadsomeelementscombinedwithotheraspectsofsupporttowomen,includingimprovingaccesstosexualandreproductivehealthknowledgeandservices(PSFCBP)

3.4.1 Women’s Economic advancement Women’seconomicactivityandincreaseinincome

Alloftheprojectevaluationsdemonstrateanincreaseinhouseholdincome.Someincreasesarequantified–seeTable3below.Howevertherewerenofiguresavailableforincreasesinwomen’sincome.

ThisisprobablybecausefamiliesinethnicvillagesconsiderallmoneyandassetsasjointlyownedandCAREfocussedonimprovinghouseholdincomeandfoodsecurityratherthanjustwomen’sincome.

Table3:Reportedchangesinincomeandwellbeingbyproject

DFSP • Averagehouseholdincomeforapoorhouseholdwentfrom2,020US$peryearatbaselineto2,240US$peryearatevaluation.

• Foodandincomeactivitieshadenabledsignificantdevelopmentoffoodsecurityandincreasesinhouseholdincome.

PSFCBP • 51.2%oftheHHcashincomeiscomingfromlivestock.

• From166households,cashincomefromsalesofNTFPamountedtoanaverage26,8%of

Box1:PRDPinformationonwomen’sincreasedincome

Incomegenerationinterventionsforwomenincludingcardamom,galangal,aquaculture,pigbankandgoatbank.Itwasreportedthatwomenarenotonlyinvolvedinthementionedinterventions,buttheyalsotakeresponsibilityinsellingthecommoditiesatthemarket(farmgate),mainlygalangal,cardamomandfish.Mostoftheproducedcommoditiesarenormallysoldatthevillage.Womensavemoneyandmaintainexpenditureinalmostallhouseholdsofthetargetvillages.

“MyfamilyhasbetterincomeandIcannowfeedmychildrenbetterandsendthemtoschool”WomanwithsixchildreninKongatvillage

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thecashequivalentofthericedeficiencyinriceself-insufficienthouseholds

LANGOCA • RemovalofUXOshasimpactedonaccesstoproductivelandbyfreeingup114inhectaresSekongprovince–whichisnowbeingusedforfarming

• 91%percentofthegroupsand82%ofindividualssaidtheprojecthadapositivechangeorhadimprovedtheirqualityoflife.Mostpeoplereportedincreasedincome

• 110FGDparticipants(couples)insevenvillagesreportlighterworkloadsandmoreincome

PARUAII • 68%ofhouseholdsreportthattheirfoodsecuritysituationhasimprovedduringphaseIIofPARUA.

• Averagehouseholdmonetaryincomeincreasedby27%to$589whilethecumulativenationalinflationratewas23%overthesameperiod.

• Increaseinincomeisevenmoreimportantforpoorfamiliessincetheirmeanvalueofincomehasincreasedby69.2%fromUSD124toUSD211andthemedianvalueby60.2%fromUSD64toUSD102.

PRDP • ThenutritionsituationintheprojectvillageshasbeensignificantlyimprovedasaresultfromtheincreaseofincomeandfoodproductionatHHlevel.

• Fish,goat,pig,vegetables,cardamom,andgalangalcontributedmosttoincomegeneration–andtheseareallwomen’sactivities.

• Goatbankincreasedcommunityincomeandreducedriskforthepoorestandmostvulnerable.

• WomensavemoneyandmaintainexpenditureinalmostHHsofthetargetvillages.

• 14HHsinPhongsalyreportedthathavemoreincomefromsellingoftwocashcrops.

Themajorityofprojectevaluationsprovideinformationregardingnewactivitiesthathavelikelycontributedtotheincreaseinincome(seeFigure3below).BecausethisshowsprogressinthedifferentareasinFigure3,wecaninferthattheincreasesinhouseholdincomearelikelytohavebeenpartiallycausedbychangesinwomen’seconomicparticipationandadvancement.ThisisparticularlyevidentinDFSP,PARUAIIandPRDP(seesection4forfurtherinformation).

Womenhavealsocontributedtothereportedimprovementsinfoodsecuritythroughthefishpondsandvegetablegardens(inPRDPandDFSP)andthediversifiedcropproduction(inPFSCBPandPRDP).

Box2:LANGOCAachievements–notsexdisaggregated

(+)therehasbeenachangeinattitudestowardscommercialactivity,salesandmakingaprofit(whichbeforetherewasnointerestin.)

(+)RemovalofUXOshasimpactedonaccesstoproductiveland–whichisnowbeingusedforfarmingcoffee,gardensetc.

(+)91%percentofthegroupsand82%ofindividualssaidtheprojecthadapositivechangeorhadimprovedtheirqualityoflife.Mostpeoplereportedincreasedincome

(+)Allvillagesarenowplantingcoffeewhichprovideanalternativeincome

(+)Fishandducksalsoprovidinganincome

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Assetcontrolandownership

Therewasnoreportedincreaseinassetsspecificallyownedbywomen,thoughhouseholdsincreasedlivestockownershipthroughanimaldonation,livestockbanks,vaccinationandanimalhusbandryinitiatives(DFSPandPSFCBP),withmixedresults.Atleastonevaccinationinitiativewasnotperceivedtobesuccessfulasanimalsweredying.HoweverthegoatandcattlebanksinPSFCBPthatarecommunityownedwereasuccessfulwayofensuringthatthemostvulnerablegroupsbenefitfromassetsandtherebyprotectfromincreasingincomeinequalityinthevillages.

Womenalsobenefittedfromtimesavingandworkloadassets–whichwerecontrolledbythemthroughwomen’sgroups,butweregenerallyfamilyorvillageowned.

HouseholdwellbeingAlloftheprojectevaluationsreportedanincreaseinhouseholdwellbeing–particularinrelationtofoodsecurityandbetterhealth.PRDP,PFSCBP,DFSPandPARUAIIallreportedanimprovementinnutritionandfoodsecurityincludingimprovementsinchildren’sweight,healthanddevelopment.AmajorityofLANGOCAparticipantsreportedabetterqualityoflife.Improvementswereattributedtobetterfoodsecurityandincreasesinincome,butalsotobetterknowledgearoundnutritionandhealth.Timesaving:Acrossalloftheprojectstheapproachestoaddressingwomen’sheavyworkloadsandtimepovertyappearedtobethemosteffectiveandhaveamultiplieraffectacrossotherareas.Allfiveprojectsprovidedassetstosavetimeandworkload,includinghandcartsforcarryingwoodandwater,ricemillsforprocessingriceforcookingandwatersystemstoincreaseeasieraccesstodrinkingwater.Thisworknotonlyresultedimprovedhealthandwellbeingofwomen,butalsocontributedtoachangeinnormsaroundroles(seeBox2).WomeninDFSPreportedbeingabletohavemoresleep,toattendmeetingsandtobeinvolvedinmoreincomeearningactivities.

Figure3:Women’scontributiontoincreasesinhouseholdincome

Box3:DFSPworkloadreductioninitiativechangessocialnorms

Collectionandtransportoffirewoodhastraditionallybeenawoman’sjob.Evenwhenhavingtocarryababyorwhencomingbackfromalongdayinthefields,womenwererequiredtofindandcarrythewood.DFSPintroducedhandcartsforthetransportofwoodandotheritemsinordertoreducewomen’sworkloadandsavetime.Duringtheevaluationwomenreportedthatnotonlyaretheyabletoreducethetimespentcollectingwood(previouslytheycollectedwoodeverydaynowonecartlastsforaweek–seeSOCs)butthatwiththeintroductionofanewpieceofequipment,nottraditionallyseenasamanorawoman’s,(suchasthebasket),menarenowsharingthetask.

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3.4.2 Changes in power and agency Knowledgeandskills:Allofthereviewedprojectsincludedsometraining,studyvisitsorpeerlearning.Thetrainingwassuccessfulatincreasingknowledgeandskillsin:

• nutritionandcooking

• improvedanddiversifiedfoodproductionandknowledgeofmarkets

• groupformationandmanagementoftasks

Dependingontheprojecttherewerevaryinglevelsofinvolvementofwomenintheseactivities.DFSP,PARUAIIandPRDPallpurposefullyincludedwomenintraining.HoweverthePARUAIIevaluationnotedthatthevillageheadtendedtochoosemenforthetraining,somewomen’sparticipationwasnotashighasanticipated.Inallprojectstherewerecasesofwomenbeingmoreinvolvedintrainingthatreinforcedtheirtraditionalroles–suchascookingandnutrition.However,inothers,suchastheDFSPcoffeestudyvisits,womenwereintroducedtonewrolesandwereexpectedtocascadelearningthroughoutthevillage.Inthesevisitssmallgroupsofmenandwomen(usuallythreemenandtwowomen)fromeachvillagewenttoPaksong,awell-developedcoffeeproductionarea,tolearnaboutcoffeenurseryproduction,plantationsandmarketing.PFSCBPandLANGOCAdocumentsdidnotalwaysclarifywhetherwomenormenwereengagedinsomeoftheactivities,howevertheLANGOCAprojecthadaspecificobjectivetoimprovewomen’sproductioncapacity,soitislikelythattheresultsreportedintheevaluationcoveredbothmenandwomen.

Projectevaluationsdonotmeasurethedirectimpactonwomen’sknowledgeandskills,butdoreportimprovementsinfoodproduction,whichforwomenisusuallyrelatedtothegardeningandsmalllivestockactivities.

Confidenceandself-esteem:TheDFSPevaluationistheonlyreportthatspecificallyexaminestheissueofwomen’sconfidenceandself-esteem:“theparticipationofwomenintraininghasbeenakeyfactorintheirincreasingconfidencelevelsandabilitytoexerciseagencyintheirrelationshipswithinthehouseholdandthevillage”.Whereasitmightbeexpectedthatgroupanddecisionmakinginvolvementwouldhaveincreasedwomen’sself-esteeminotherprojects,ithasbeenoverlookedasasignificantoutcomearea.

Womendoingsomeoftheeconomic

ac[vi[esthatmennormally

do

Women'sincreasedinclusionin

newproduc[onac[vi[es

Womennowselling

productsdirectly

Changesinsocialnormsandgenderrolesinincomeearning

Women'sincreasein[meavailabiityso

thattheycandomorework

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Decisionmakingandorganisingwithothers:Women’sinvolvementindecision-makinghasbeenanimportantprocessandresultofseveraloftheprojects.DFSP,LANGOCAandPRDPhaveincludedwomeninkeyprojectimplementationgroups,suchaswatermanagementcommittees,orcoffeeproductioncommittees.Whereasitisdocumentedthatwomendidnotattendorparticipateinmeetingsbeforetheprojects,theynowspeakoutinmeetingsandhaveahigherlevelofparticipation–whichisanimportantresult.WomenhavealsoparticipatedinvillageleveldecisionmakinginPFSCBPthroughtheprocessofdevelopingparticipatoryactionplans–howeverthequalityandscaleofwomen’sinvolvementisnotdocumented.

Thewomen’sgroups,WINGS,inDFSP,broughtwomentogetherandusedaguidedparticipatorydecisionmakingprocessestosupportwomeninmakingdecisiontogethertochangetheirlives.Thisprocesshasenhancedwomen’sconfidenceandabilitytomakedecisionsandhasimprovedwomen’sabilitytoworktogethertopromotechange.“TheestablishmentoftheWINGsgroupsasawomen-onlyspacetoexaminekeyproblemsandissuesthattheyfacehasenabledastrongsenseofsolidaritytodevelop”.(ThereismoredetailontheeffectivenessoftheWINGSinsection4).

Householdrelationswerenotexploredintheevaluationdocuments,butwasdiscussedatlengthinthefieldworkandthisisreportedinsection4.

3.4.3 Changes in structure and social norms Changesinsocialnormsaroundgenderequalityandwomen’srolesinthecommunityhavenotbeenwelldocumentedintheevaluationreports.TheLANGOCAevaluationreportedthatpeoplewereabletothinkmoreaboutmarketsandearninganincomeandalsotocontroltheirfertility,butthisdatawasnotdisaggregatedbysex.Theevaluationreportsaysthat“Peoplearestartingtothinkaboutbusiness,especiallycoffeebutalsolivestock.Thereisabetterunderstandingthatifvillagesproduceproductsbuyerswillcometothecommunities.Thisisdemonstratedbypeoplenowsearchingoutcoffeeplantingmaterialsandexpandingcoffeegardensratherthanwaitingforprojectsupport.”LANGOCAalsoappearedtohaveanimpactonmen’sefforttoworkontraditionally“women’sactivities”,suchasvegetablegardening.

Keychangestothestructurewerethephysicalchanges,suchaswateraccessandhandcarts,thatresultedinwomenhavingmoretime(thishasbeendiscussedabove).Howeveritcanbesurmisedthatthesechangeswillhavepavedthewayformoresystemicsocialnormchangeandthisisdiscussedinthefieldworksection.OtherchangesinsocialnormsthatwerereportedwerearoundhealthandsanitationbehaviourinPFSCBP.

Box5:DFSPchangingattitudesaboutwomen’scapability

Therepositioningofwomenas“clever”isanimportantandsignificantsteptowardempowermentofwomen’svoices,plansandideas.Whenthesecleverideashasseentoleadtosignificantincreasesinthestandardoflivingforthehousehold,thenew,moreequalgenderrelationshipbecomeswellestablished,andwomenareabletovoicetheirideasandopinionsindecisionmakingprocessesandhavetheirideasvaluedandrespected.

Box4:PRDPincludeswomeninimplementationdecisionmaking

Attheprojectvillagelevel,womenhavebeeninvolvedintheplanning,implementinganddecisionmakingprocessofdevelopmentactivitiesinthevillage,andinparticularatthehouseholdlevel.Ethnicwomenhavebeenencouragedtoparticipateinthediscussionandtrainingworkshopsheldinthevillages.

Theinvolvementisnotjustatactivityimplementationlevel,buttheyalsoinvolveinthedecisionlevelincludingmanagementcommitteeforinstanceinthecommitteeforPigBank,Goat,CropProductionGroups

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Howevermostofthereportingaroundsocialnormsandstructureintheprojectevaluationreportsinvolvedbarrierstoprogress(seenextsection).

3.5 Challenges and limitations Challengeswerenotwellexploredinevaluationdocumentation.ForexamplethePRDPreportprovidednoinformationonchallengesatall.PARUAIIonlyhadafinalevaluationontheveterinaryinitiative,soinformationhadtobeextractedfromthemid-termreviewonly.Sothissectionfocusesmainlyongapsinapproach,withsomeinformationonthephysicalandsocialnormchallengesthatprojectsfaced.

Asnoneoftheprojectshadaprimaryobjectiveofincreasingwomen’seconomicempowerment,itisnotsurprisingthattherearequiteanumberofgapsintheapproach.Howeverwithoutconsultingthewomeninthecommunitiesitdifficulttohaveacomprehensiveassessmentofthegapsacrossalloftheseprojects.Section4willprovideafullerpictureofthechallengesandgapsthatwereexperiencedintheDFSP.

3.5.1 Economic advancement challenges and gaps Whilehouseholdeconomicactivityandincomeincreaseswerereportedacrossalloftheprojectstherewasverylittlereportedonwomenspecifically.Thecontextofmanyofthesevillagesissuchthatitwouldbeunrealisticforwomentohaveindependentincomeearningactivity.Mostactivitiesaresharedbetweenhusbandandwifeandthechildren.Howeveritisimportanttorecordwomen’sroleandpowerwithintheseincomeearningactivitiesandtospecificallyaddressthepowerthattheyhavewithinincomeearningactivities.

Noneoftheprojectsincreasedaccesstofinancialservices,thoughtwooftheprojects(LANGOCAandPARUAII)includedarevolvingfund,withmixedresults.Therewasnoanalysisofaccesstoorneedforfinancialservicesinanyoftheprojectdocumentation,whichindicatesafairlylimitedapproachtoeconomicdevelopment.Tobefair,fouroftheprojectswereaimingtoaddressunder-nutritionandfoodinsecuritythroughlivelihoodapproaches,andonehadaprimarypurposeofclearingUXOswhileintegratingwithalivelihoodsapproach,soitisnotsurprising.Howeverlessonscanbedrawnfromthislimitedapproach(seethefieldstudyformoredetailsontheneedforfinancialservices).Hardlyanyoftheprojectswereprovidingwidespreadbusinessdevelopmentservicesortraining(e.g.traininginbookkeeping,financialliteracyormarketingknowledgeandskills).PRDPprovidedtraininginfinancialliteracy.SomecoffeebusinesstrainingwillhavebeendoneinLANGOCAandDFSP,butitisnotwelldescribedandtheredoesnotappeartobeanyreportingofincreaseinwomen’sknowledgeandcapability.Thiscanactasabarriertofurtherincreasingproductionandsales.

OnlyPRDPwassupportingaccesstoprivatesectormarkets,marketengagementandbulkselling,eventhoughtherewereseveralproductiongroupsinvolvedintheprojects.Neitherweretheremanyexamplesofcooperativesworkingasbusinesses.TheprivatesectorapproachoftheveterinaryservicesinPARUAII

Box6:PFSCBPchangeshealthandsanitationbehaviour

Reportofchangedbehaviourinrelationtouseoflatrines,boilingwateranduseofmosquitonets.Frombaseline53,2%ofhouseholdswereboilingdrinkingwater,and63,1%weresleepingundermosquitonet-therewasachangeto:93,1%areboilingdrinkingwater,87,5%sleepundermosquitonetsand83,1%(ofhouseholdsinvillages,wherelatrinesareavailable)uselatrinesregularly.

Box7:PARUAIIgeneratesbusinessactivity–butnotforwomen.

Aftertrainingvillageveterinaryworkers(VVWs)amicro-enterprisenetworkof26VVWsstartedtobuyanimalvaccinesandveterinaryproductsfromPAFOinSayaboulyorfromotherVVWsinthearea.Theanimalvaccinationalonehasimprovedtheincomeofthe26activeVVWsby2,696$duringthepastyear(vaccinationcampaignsonlyrequireafewdaysofworkperyear).Womengenerallydidnotparticipateinthisactivityandvaccinatorstendedtotargetlargelivestock,whichweremostlycaredforbymen.

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appearedtobeeffectiveasanincomeearningventurethatalsoimpactedonlivestockprofitability.Howeveritdidnotappeartobenefitwomen.

Ingeneralitcanbeconcludedthatwomen’sincomeearningactivityandownershipofassetswasnotnecessarilysupportedunlessitwasspecificallywrittenintotheprojectapproachandsupportedwithsocialnormchangeandcapabilitybuilding(asinDFSP).Asadefaultwomenareoftenleftoutofopportunities.

3.5.2 Power and Agency Knowledge:Languageskillsactedasamajorbarriertowomen’sinclusioninactivitiesandwasspecificallymentionedinthePARUAIIdocumentation.PraiwomenwereunabletoparticipateinmanyoftheprojectactivitiesdueaninabilitytospeakLao(onethirdofPraiwomencannotread,writeorspeakLao)andthisalsohamperedworkongenderequality.OnlyLANGOCAprojectswasprovidingLaolanguagetrainingorpracticespecificallyforwomen.

Inprojectswherecookingandnutritiontrainingwasprovided,womenwerenotalwaysabletoapplytheknowledge.ForexamplewomeninthePFSCBPprojectsaidtheydidnothaveaccesstotheingredients.TheDFSPevaluationalsostatedthatthewomenwerenotapplyingthecookingandnutritiontrainingthattheyhadreceived.Clearly,though,thelearningfromthisisthatittakesmorethanjustonetrainingtoensureasustainablenormandpracticechangearoundcookingandnutrition.

3.5.3 Structure and social norms Inequalityintermsoftimeavailabilityandroleshasimpededwomen’sparticipationinsomeoftheprojectactivities,forexampleinPARUAIIwomenwererarelyabletoattendtrainingthattookplaceoutsideofthevillageandwereoftennotchosenbythevillagehead.Howevertherewasoneexampleofmencomingbackfroma10daytrainingonmushroomproductionwouldpassontheknowledgetotheirwives,whothentookoverthemushroomproductionconcern,whichwasnormallylocatednexttothehouse.Thisindicatesapotentialshiftinfocusofhowtrainingisprovided–andinfuturethemodelofmenpassingonknowledgecouldbemoreformalised.

TheLANGOCAevaluationreportnotedthatsomemendonotlikewomen’sincreasedparticipationinpubliclifeandthattherecouldberisks.“Therecouldberepercussionsashusbandscountertheintentionsofgendertraining.Menhavealsobeenreluctanttolettheirwivesleavethevillagetoparticipateinprojectactivities.”Thiskindofriskandtheattitudesofmendonotappeartobeaddressedinanyoftheprojectssufficiently.

Onlysmallnumberofprojectswerelinkingwithhealthandspecificallyfamilyplanningservices,eventhoughhighfertilityandpoorhealthcanlimitwomen’seconomicactivity

Approachestoaddressviolenceagainstwomenandgirlswerenotincludedinanyoftheprojects.InLaosathirdofwomenhaveexperiencedviolenceanditislikelythattheethnicwomenareisolatedfromsupport.Violenceimpactsonwomen’sabilitytoparticipateineconomic,socialandpoliticalactivities.

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4. Findings from the Field work: DFSP

4.1 Project Background DFSPisanutritionprojectwithanobjective“toIncreasefoodsecurityparticularlyofthepoorest,throughexpandinganddiversifyingincomeandfoodsourcesreducingvulnerabilitytonaturalandmarketbasedshocks”.Itwasimplementedin20villagesinthehillyandremotepartofSekongProvinceinSouthernLaos.Theprojectusedanintegratedapproachtoaddressingpoornutritionthatencompassed:

• Improvingincomeearningopportunitiesformenandwomenbyintroducingcashcropsandsupportingagricultureandirrigation,whileatthesametimeencouragingsaleofcropsandsurplusfoodproduce

• Increasingsourcesandvarietyoffoodthroughlivestockraising,gardening,NTFP,fruittreesandfishfarming

• Improvingaccesstomarketsthroughroadmaintenance

• Involvementofwomeninincomeearningandproductionthroughtraining,women’sgroupsandaddressingworkburden.

• Introductionofhealthiereatingthroughnutritionandcookingtrainingthroughwomen’sgroups

DFSPwasimplementedinthesameregionasLANGOCAandtherewasanoverlapin9villages.SoitcanbeassumedthatLANGOCAwasalsoresponsibleforsomeofthechangesseeninthevillagesasthiswasimplementedinthesameareabeforeDFSP.Inadditiontherearethreeotherrelevantprojects:PWED(ongoing),CISS(finished)andPFSP(nowfinished),whichwillhaveandcontinuetohaveanimpactontheprojectarea.(SeeTable2forasummaryofprojectactivitiesinthestudyarea,andAnnex2forapictureofprojectsintheregion).PWEDandPFSPhavesimilarandrelevantactivitiesandsocouldbeconsideredasacontinuationofDFSPinmanyrespects.CISSwasasanitationprojectandwasonlyactiveinTangyerng,buthadanimpactonthestudyfindings.ThissectionwillrefertofindingsofresultsfromDFSP,butwiththeunderstandingthatthiscannotonlybeattributedtoDFSPandthatwideractionhasalsocontributed.

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Caption:MrsSaeng32,inPhonesaatVillage,KhuaDistrict,PhongsalyProvince,Laos.MrsSaengismarriedandhasa13yearolddaughternamedDeuan.Sheisamemberofthegoatbankandhasasmallgarden.Photocredit:©JeffWilliams/CARE

Thevillagesfortheevaluationwerechosentorepresentadiversesetofsituations,intermsofsize,connectivitywiththeoutsideworld,projectexperienceandlengthoftimewithCAREprojects.Table5showsasummaryofdifferentaspectsofvillagesandimplementingtheevaluationineachvillage.Findingsofthefieldworkaregeneralisedacrossthevillages,butexamplesofindividualvillageshavebeenmentionedwhentheycanillustratethenormordifferfromthegeneralfindings.

Thesocialenvironmentinthevillagesishighlyconnectedandinter-dependentbecauseoftheremotelocations,andindividuallanguagesandculture.Thismeansthatthereisahighlevelofsocialcapital,whichinsomevillagesactstobenefitthewholevillagethroughpositivesupportsystems.Howevertherecanbeproblemsforwomen,oranyexcludedormarginalisedgroupinthiscontext.Ifthereisaresocialnormsthataffectwomennegatively,suchasanacceptanceofviolenceagainstwomenordamagingtreatmentofwomenandchildren,itcanbeverydifficultforwomentoescapeortoactalonetochangesocialnormsbecauseoftheremoteandtightknitenvironment.Therecanalsobearisktoindividualstryingtochangepowerrelationswithinthevillage.

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Table5:Villagecontextandevaluationexperience

Village Tanglou DakDen Tangyerng Sangmai

Villagesize 246people 489 447 205

Languageandethnicgroup

TaliengandKatuethnicgroups,manyparticipantsdidnotspeakLaoorTalieng

Taliengethnicgroup,manyparticipantsdidnotspeakLaoorTalieng.

Taliengethnicgroupandlanguage,someLaospokenbywomen

Taliengethnicgroupandlanguage,hardlyanyLaospokenbywomen

Villagelocation

TothewestofDakCheungonaturningofftheroadtoTangyerng

DirectlysouthofDakCheung,within2–3hourwalkingdistance,butappearedtobeisolatedattheendofaroad.

DirectlywestofDakCheungbeyondtheturningtoTanglou

DirectlytothenorthofDakCheungwitha9–10hourwalkdistance.

Typeofroad

Remotewithanewlybuiltfirstsectionoftheroadanddifficultfinalsection.Thevillagewasattheendoftheroad

Goodroadthewholeway Goodroadthewholeway.Therewereroadbuildingactivitieson-goingjustoutsideofthevillageandconstructionworkerswereprocuringproductsinthevillage.

Extremelypoorroadconditions,unpassablewhenitrains

Villagefacilities

Primaryschool,nolatrines,watersourcebuiltinvillage,villagericemill(providedbyCARE).

Primaryschool,somelatrines,villagehealthworker(butwewerenotabletointerviewhim/her),tworicemills,butownedbyfamilies(notbythevillage)

Secondary(verynew)andprimaryschool,healthcentre,accommodationforteachers,latrinesforallhouses,ricemill.

Dilapidatedprimaryschool,ricemill(brokenwhenwevisited)

Privatesectoractivity

Noshops,butsomewomenandmentradingwithinthevillage

Oneverysmallshoprunbyanelderlywoman.

3newlookingretailoutletsrunbywomen

Novisiblevillageprivatesectoractivityandreportsofverylowlevelsofsales

4.2 Successful approaches OverallthefindingsofthefieldstudyindicatethatDFSPcontributedtowardsstrengtheningtheeconomicempowermentofruralethnicminoritywomeninDakCheung.Thesuccessofthisprojectindoingso,liesinthemulti-levelandintegratedapproachthatpromotesnotonlywomen’seconomicadvancement,butalsowomen’spowerandagencyandwhilstaddressingstructuralandsocialnormbarrierstogenderequality.Whilenotallbarriershavebeenidentifiedandtackled,thereisevidenceofaprocessthatwillprovidesustainableandlong-termchange.Thefindingspresentedinthefollowingsectionsareinterdependent,andalignwiththeoriginalframeworkpresentedinSection2.Thechartshownhereshowshowimportantthechangesaretowomen.

Thoughthefindingsinthischartcomefromthefocusgroupsinallfourvillages,therearesomeresultsthatwerepredominantlycomingfromjustonevillage.Forexampleitthe“cleanervillageandbetterenvironment”figurecomesfromTangyerngonly,demonstratinghowimportantthelatrinesoftheCISSprojectwere,butalsotheeffectofpeopletakingresponsibilityforthecleanlinessofthevillage.Therewerealsodifferencesinprogressagainsteachofthesechanges.ForexampleinSangmai,thoughthewomenidentifiedincreasedincomeasanimportantchange,theyconsideredthattheyhadnotmademuchprogressasincomehadonlyincreasedbyasmallamount.

Sangmaispokesexerciseshowinglowprogressonincreasedincome

0% 5% 10% 15%

Increasedincome

Improvementinhealth

Increasedriceproduc7on

Increasedknowledgeandcapacity

Technicalknowledgeofcoffeeandveg

Knowledgeofcooking

Knowledgeofricefarming

Reducedworkload

Womenhavemore7me

Increasedconfidence

Knowandthinkmoreaboutdoingbusiness

Rela7onshipandMen'saFtude

Increasedsolidaritywithwomen

Increasedconsulta7onwithhusband

CleanervillageandbeHerenvironment

Socialnorms-Menhelpmore

Interestedinhavingabankaccount

Econ

omic

advancem

ent

Agen

cy

Rela7o

ns

Structures

Chart1:Women'svotesformostimportantchangethathashappened

%totalvotes(n=209)

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Insert heading here 11 June 2009

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4.2.1 Economic advancement

v Howhaswomen’sincomeearningandeconomicopportunitieschangedasaresultoftheproject?

v Whathascontributedtowomen’sincreaseinincomeandeconomicopportunities?

v Hasthisprojectcontributedtowomen’seconomicandfoodsecurity?

Womenandmeninallfocusgroupsreportedanincreaseinwomen’sincomeearningactivitiesasaresultoftheproject.Thisincludedwomen’sinvolvement:

• Cashcropproductionandsales–coffeenurseriesandplantation,rice,cassavaandothercrops

• SalesofNTFP

• Saleofsurplusgardenproduceandlivestock

• Tradingandretail

Whileitwasnotalwayspossibletoassessthetimeframeofthesechanges,itisclearthatprojectactivitieshavecontributedtoachangeinthetypeandvolumeofeconomicactivityandachangeinattitudearoundwomen’swork.

Economicactivityandincome

Womeninamajorityoffocusgroupsandininterviewsreportedthattheywerenotengagedinincomeearningactivitiesbeforetheprojectandthattheydidnotknowabouttherangeofproductsthatcouldbeproducedandsold.Theirmainrolewastocareforthehomeandthechildrenandtoworkinthericefields.Thisinvolvedprocessingrice(bypoundingfor2–3hoursat3aminthemorning),collectingwoodandwaterontheirbacks,weedingandcaringforthericefieldsandcollectingnontimberforestproducts(NTFP)forconsumption.Nearlyalloftheproductionwasforconsumption.Womenrarelyleftthevillageandhadlittlecontactwithoutsidersorarenainwhichtheycouldtrade.

Table6:Primaryeconomicandhouseholdactivitiesbygender–Newactivitiesforwomenintroducedbytheprojectareinbold

Menonly Bothmenandwomen Womenonly

Knifeandaxeproduction

Fencebuildinginvegetablegarden

Fencemakinginriceandcoffeefields

Woodcutting

Wildlifehunting(squirrels,treeshrews,deer)

Livestock–Buffaloandcattle

NTFP–honey

Selllabouroutsideofvillage–buildingandfarmwork

Salesofknives,spadesandaxes

Coffeenursery,plantationandprocessing

Farming:peanuts,lowlandanduplandrice,pumpkins,cucumber

Fishfarmingandcatchingfishfromriver

Fruittrees:jackfruit,logan,guava,mango

Livestock–pigs,ducks,chickens

Vaccinators

Retailshop(Tangyerng)

Nutritioncustodian

CookingandhousekeepingCaringforchildren

Labourexchangewithotherwomen

NTFPcollectingandselling–Doklai,paknok,makaengfruit,sweetbamboo,cardamom,ratten.

Vegetablegarden–plantingandwatering(alsochildrendothis),saleofvegetables

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Focusgroupdiscussionsrevealedachangeintypesofactivities,rolesandresponsibilitiesbetweenmenandwomen.Bothwomenandmenhavebecomemoremotivatedtoproducecertaincrops,livestockandvegetablesbecausetheyaremoreawareofboththemarketpotentialandthenutritionpotential.Allwomenfocusgroupparticipantsreferredtohavingchangedtheirattitudestowardsearninganincomeandbeinginvolvedinproduction.Theyalmostalwaysattributedthischangeinattitudeto:

• Learningaboutproductiontechniquesthroughtheprojecttraining–thishasenabledthemtoproducemoreandtoproducedifferenttypesofcrops,livestockandvegetablesthatcanbesold

• Learningaboutthemarketvalueofsomeproductsthattheydidnotknowhadpotentialbefore

• HavinghigherlevelsofconfidenceduetothetrainingandtheinvolvementinWINGS

• Havingmoretimeduetothetimesavingassetsandtechnology(ricemills,handcartsandirrigation)

• VisitingothervillagesandPaksongandseeinghowmuchmoneyotherpeoplecanmakeandhowthishaschangedtheirlives

Allprojectactivitieshaveincludedwomen,sotheyareactiveinproductionandmarketingandsales.Thishasbeenparticularlyapparentwiththevegetablegardens,wheretheyusedtoonlygroworcollectonevarietyofveg,butnowtheygrowseveraltypesofveginthegardenandsellthesurplusinthemarketorinthevillage.Theinclusionofwomeninmixedsextrainingactivitieshasbeenanessentialpartofthechangeinattitudesaroundwomen’sparticipationandincomeearning.Menhaveseenwomen’spotentialandthewomenthemselveshaveseenhowthepowerbalancehasshiftedwhentheyareabletojoinintraditionally“male”activities.

Alloftheevaluationfocusgroupswithwomenparticipantsidentifiedanincreasesinincomeasamajorandmostimportantchangethathadhappenedasaresultoftheproject.Tangerng,TanglouandDakDenparticipantsallsaidthattherehadbeenamediumtohighlevelofincreaseinincome.Sangmaiwastheonlyvillagewherethischangehadbeenlimited,thoughthewomenstillvotedthatitwasoneofthemostimportantaspectsoftheproject.Increaseinincomewasattributedtotheneweconomicactivitiesthathadstartedasaresultoftheprojectandimprovementsinexistingactivities(suchasricefarming).

Therearethreewaysthatwomenreportedtheywereabletosellproduce:(i)tootherfamiliesinthevillage,(ii)atthemarketinDakCheungand(iii)toLaoandVietnamesetraderswhocometothevillage.Whilewomentendtosellmorewithinthevillage,astheyarenotabletotravel,theydosometimesvisitthemarketinDakCheungtosellproduce(particularlyfromDakDenandTangyerng).WomenhavealsobeguntotradewithinvillagesandsetupsmallretailoutletswithproductsfromthewholesalerinDakCheung.TherearenowfourretailoutletsinTangyerng.Whiletheprojecthasnotdirectlysupportedthedevelopmentofvillagetradingandretail,womenwhohadstartedtradingreferredtotheprojectasourceofinformationabouttradingandaboostintheirconfidence.

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VietnameseandLaotraderscometovillagesandareparticularlyinterestedinbuyingcoffeeanddoklai(aproductthatiscollectedintheforest).Everyvillageandfocusgroupreferredtobothoftheseasfairlynewchannelsandprod

uctsforsaleduetotheproject.Villagerswerenotawareofthehugemarketfordoklaibeforetheprojectandsohaveonlyjuststartedcollectedandselling.Thishasbeenagoodopportunityforwomen.Howeversalestoexternaltradersisoftendonebythemenofthevillage,especiallyforcoffee.Thereweredifferencesinhowthiswasdone–somemensaidthattheirwivesdidnotknowaboutpricingorhowtonegotiateproperlywithtraders,andthattheydidnotspeakenoughLao.Somewomenlackedconfidencetotradedirectlywithexternalbuyers.Howevertherewerealsoanumberofwomenwhoweretradingcoffee,recordingincomeandmakingdecisionsaboutpricing.ThesetendedtobethewomenwhohadtakenpartinastudyvisittoPaksongtoseehowcoffeeisgrownandmarketed.Theprojecthasalsoprovidedsomebasicbookkeepingtrainingforcoffeefarmers.

SeveralwomeninTangyerngmentionedsellingtotheroadconstructionworkerswhowereworkingjustoutsideofthevillage.Thishighlightshowimportantaccesstomarketsaretothevillagewomen.

ThecoffeeprocessinggroupinDakDenhadtwowomenmembersoutoffive.Thewomensaidthattheywereequallyinvolvedinalloftheprocessinganddecisionmakingforthecoffee–andthatthiswasaresultofthePaksongstudyvisit,whichclearlyhadanimpactontheroleofwomeninthecoffeebusinessinallofthevillages.Menandwomennearlyalwaysreporteddoingincomeearningactivitiestogetherandworkinginpartnershiptoearnanincome,ratherthanindependentlyonseparateeconomicactivities.Coffeeproductionandprocessing,vegetablegardening,livestockandNTFPhaveallclearlycontributedtotheincreaseinfamilyincome.

Table7:Examplesofwomencontributingtoincomeincreases

Women’scontributiontoincomeearning

Participantviews

Women’sincreaseintimeavailability

“Iammosthappywiththericemill,thecartandthevegetablegardens.Ithelpsmetohavetimetomyself.ItiseasierformeasIdoesn'thavetocarrysomuch.Irestandsleepmore(until4or5aminsteadof2am).Ialsocleanthehouse”.LaoWomen’sUnionrepinTanglou

Box8:Tanglouwomantrader:

Istartedtradingin2012.BeforethatIhadaverysmallhouseandwewereverypoor.WhentheprojectstartedIbecameinterestedinearninganincomeasIsawwomeninothervillagestrading.Alsomyhusbandhaddonethegendertrainingandhewasveryopentomynewideas.Infactheoftenencouragesothermentochangetheirattitudestoo.

Ireallywantedabetterhouse.OnedayIwastalkingwithmyhusbandsayingthatIhadsavedsomemoney.Togetherwehadtheideaoftradinggoodsinthevillage.Istartedbybuyingsoaps,saltandbiscuitsandsellingtheminthevillage.IgetmoneyfromsellingchickensorducksandwhenIhavealotofvegetablesIkeepsomeforthefamilyandIselltherest.Isaveallofthemoney.IgivemoneytomyhusbandtobuythingsfromDakCheung.IcannotgoasIdon’tknowhowtoridethemotorbike.ThereisawholesaleshopinDakCheung.ThewholesalercomesfromPaksong.Ikeeptheproductsinmyhouseandthevillagerscometomyhousetobuy.Nowwehaveabetterhouse,butIwouldliketohaveabiggerhouseinthefuture,liketheothervillagers.

IwritedowntheincomethatImakeandalsothecostsofthegoodssothatIcanworkouthowmuchprofitIammaking.Idon’tincludethecostofpetroltogettoDakCheung–ifIdidthatIwouldnotbemakinganymoney!

Ithinkofotherproductstobuy,butusuallyIdon’thaveenoughmoney.Iwouldliketosellpetrolforthericemillandmobilephonestopupcards,butIneedinformationaboutprice.

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Womeninvolvedintraditionally“male”activities

“Inthepast,womendidn’thavetheopportunitytolearnabouthowtodonurseryforthecoffeeplantation,thetechniquesaboutcuttingthebranchesofthecoffeetrees,ortheselectionofseeds.Thisisafterattendingthecoffeetrainingthatwomenstartedtogrowcoffeeasanincomegeneratingactivity”.Tanglouwoman.

Women’sincreasedinclusioninproductionactivities

"Iamnowintheirrigationgroup–Imanageallofthevillagevolunteerstobuildandmaintaintheirrigationsystem.ThishasresultedinmuchhigheryieldsinthericeproductionandIamproudtobepartofthat.Iamnotnervousaboutbeinginthisgroupasyouhavenoneedtobeafraidofanythingifyouwantthingstobebetter.Wedon'twantourlivestobelikebefore.Iamveryhappy.Iwouldlikethingstogetmuchbetterinthefuture.Otherwomenfeelthesame.Womenaremuchbetterthanbeforeastheycannowexpressthemselvesinmeetings"Womanirrigationgroupmember,DakDen

Womenmovingfromproductionforconsumptiontoproductionforsaleandmarketing

“AfterattendingthetrainingandstudytourinPaksongandDakcheung,wegainedsomenewknowledge.Nowwethinkaboutdoingbusinessaswesawothersearnmoney,sowewanttooalso.Wetrytogrowvegetablesandraisemoreanimalstoselltothetrader(“middleman)inthevillage(fishes,ducks,chickenandthesurplusofvegetables)whowillselltovisitorsandothervillagers”.Tangyerngwoman

“Whatmostsignificantlychangeswomen’slifeisnowtheydon’tfocusonsubsistencefoodonly,buttheyhavenowabusinessfocustoincreasetheincomesfortheirownfamilyandthecommunity”.Tanglouwoman

Changesinsocialnormsandgenderrolesinincomeearning

“IfeelconfidentaboutgrowingvegetableswhencomparewiththepastasIdidn’tknowhowtoearnincomethen.Inthosedaysallincomecamefrommyhusband.”Tanglouwoman

Assetownershipandwellbeing

Asincreasesinincomearenotoriouslydifficulttomeasureinthistypeofproject,incomeearningactivities,expenditureandimprovementsinwellbeinghavebeenusedasproxiesforthisaspectofeconomicadvancement.Theinformationaboutthisalsorevealsdecisionmakingaroundexpenditureandwellbeing.Ingeneraltherewereexamplesofincreasedwellbeingintermsofnutritionanddecisionmakingaroundhealthandsexualandreproductivehealthandalsoanincreaseineducationopportunitiesandassetsasaresultofincomeincreases.

Womenreportedspendingincomeonchildren’seducation,includingsecondaryschoolandsometimesuniversity;medicines;clothing;foodproducts(includingrice,saltandMSG);cookingutensils;housing(includingnewhousing,houserepairsandimprovements);motorbikesortractors.

Nearlyallwomenreportedthattheywereresponsibleforkeepingthemoneythatthefamilyearnedandthattheykeptsavingsintheirhouseorbybuyinglivestock(whichtheyagreedwiththeirhusbands).Noneofthewomenwhoparticipatedinfocusgroupsorinterviewshadaccesstofinancialservicesorbankaccountsforsavingandborrowingmoney.Averysmallnumberofwomenwereusingtheirincometoinvestinnewbusinessopportunities,andwouldprobablybeabletoexpandtheirenterprisewithaccesstofinancialservices.

Box9:Usingincomeforeducation

“IusethemoneyIearnfromsellingcoffeetosendmychildrentostudyhousingengineeringinPakse.Ipaid8,000,000KipfortheschoolfeesandmaterialformychildrenbetweenOctober2014andJanuary2015.Somewomenalsosenttheirdaughterstostudyattheteachers’schoolinSalavanProvince”.Woman,DakDen

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Insert heading here 11 June 2009 Nearlyeverywomaninthefocusgroupsreportedanincreaseinwellbeingandhealthoftheirchildrenbecauseofimprovednutritionandhealthybehaviour.Mostofthemenwerepleasedbytheincreasedvarietyandbettertastingfood.Othervillageactorshadnoticedachangeinchildren’shealth,especiallythevillageheads.

4.2.2 Power and agency

v Howhavewomen’scapacity,self-esteem,knowledgeandskillschangedasaresultoftheproject?

v Howhavewomen’srelativepowerandvoicewithinthecommunityandthefamilychangedasaresultoftheproject?

v Whathasenabledthesechanges

v Dowomenholdleadershippositionsinvillagecommittees/coffeegroups?

v Aretheirvoicesheardandacteduponinthecommitteemeetings?

Knowledgeandskills:Womeninallfocusgroupstalkedaboutlearninginfourcrucialareas:farmingknowledge,businessawareness,healthandnutritionandgender.DakDenandSangmaiwomenclaimedtherehadbeengoodprogressintheirknowledgeofcoffeefarmingandgardening.Howeverinmostvillageswomenwantedtohavemoretrainingormentoringtoprogresstheirabilitiesincertainareas.Anumberofwomencomplainedabouttheirlackofabilitytogrow“beautiful”coffeeplantsandvegetables.Howevertherewereanumberofotherfactorsthatalsolimitedproduction(seeSectionX).

Table8:Evidenceofwomen’sincreasedknowledgeandskills

Typeofknowledge Progress

Newfarmingknowledge-cropproduction,plantingandcareoffruittrees,livestockrearingandgardening

Thisisanimportantareaprogressforwomeninfocusgroupsandinterviews.Itwasparticularlymarkedforthewomeninthecoffeegroups(includingallofthosethatdidthePaksongvisit)andirrigationgroup.Thesewomenhadpassedonknowledgetoothersintheircommunitiesandwereseenastechnicalleadersincoffeeproduction,whichhadchangedthevillage’sattitudetowardsthem.

“WehavemoreknowledgeaboutcoffeeprocessingnowafterbeinginthePaksongstudyvisit.Weknowhowtodryandusethegrindingmachine.

Box10:Improvementsinwellbeing

“BeforetheprojectInoticedthatthechildrenhadlotsofdiseasesandinfections.Theyhadpoorhygieneanddirtyfood.Ihavenoticedchangesinhowtheyeat-theyeatbetterfoodandtheydressbetter.”Tanglouvillageteacher

“Thehealthcentrehasbeeninthevillagefor3-4years.Thewomenknowaboutbirthcontrol,sodonothavetoomanychildren.Theactivitieshavemeantthattheyhavemoreincome,canbuymorefoodandarehealthier.Everyhousehasalatrine.”Villagehead,Tangyerng

“Childrenhavemorevarietyofvegtoeatandwomen'scookinghasimproved.Alsotheyhaveenoughfood.Childrenatschoolhavecomplementaryfood.Wenowhavecleanwaterandknowtoboilitfordrinking.Themortalityratehasdecreasedandsicknesshasreduced.Therearefewermalariacases”.Villagehead,DakDen

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WhenwecamebackfromPaksongweexplainedallofthistotheothervillagersinameeting”.WomenmembersofcoffeegroupinDakDen

Otherknowledgeofrice,livestock,fishandvegetableproductionwerereferredto.Howeversomewomenwerehavingvariablesuccesswiththeirtechniquesandfelttheyneededmorehelp.Thiswasaffectingtheirconfidence.

“Inthepastwehadverysmallgardens.Whenweatefruitandvegetableswejustthrewtheseedsonthegroundandletthemgrow.Whatisnewforusisthetechniquestomakeavegetablegarden.Theprojectgaveseedstousandadvisedusonhowtodigthesoil,howtogrowtheseeds,howtowaterthem.Wealsoreceivedsomegardeningtools”.WomanSangmai

Businessawareness,salesandmarketingcapability–understandingthatsomeproductshadpotentialmarkets,wheretosellproductsandpricing,howtonegotiatewithtraders.

Nearlyallofthewomeninterviewedandinfocusgroupssaidthattheyhadmorecommercialawarenessasaresultoftheprojecttrainingandvisits.Howevertherewaslimitedknowledgeaboutbusinesspractice.Eventhoughsomewomenwererecordingincomeandexpenditurefortheircoffee,theydidnotknowwhethertheiractivitieswereprofitable,norwhattoincludeinbusinessaccounts.Theyalsolackedinformationonmarketsandprices.

Health,hygieneandnutritionknowledgeandhowtoapply–cookingandknowledgeoffoodgroups,howtokeephouseandvillageclean

Allwomeninterviewedandinthefocusgroupsreferredtothenutritionandcookingtrainingandfelttheyhadchangedtheircookingpracticesignificantly.Menalsoreferredtobetterandtastiermeals.HoweverthewomeninSangmai,alsooneofthemostremoteandpoorcommunities,refereedtofindingitdifficulttofindsufficientingredients.WomeninTangyerngwereparticularlypleasedwiththeknowledgetheyhadgainedonhealthandhygieneandlinkedthetidyandcleanstateoftheirvillagetothisandtothewidespreadownershipoflatrines.

“BeforetheCAREprojectinstalledthelatrineswehadtowalkintotheforesttousethetoiletanditwasnotconvenient.Nowthatwehavethelatrineitismuchmorecomfortableandcleaneraroundourvillage”.Tangyerng,man

Gender–abilitytotalktohusband,knowledgeofrights,understandingofgenderroles

Womenandmeninallfocusgroupsreferredtoanincreaseinknowledgeofgenderequalityandwomen’srightsbecauseofthegendertraining.Meninparticularsaidthattheynowbetterunderstoodthehardshipsanddifficultiesthattheirwiveswereexperiencingandweremoremotivatedtohelptheirwivesandincludethemindecisionmaking.Aboutaquarterofthewomensaidthattheyfeltthatitwaseasiertotalktotheirhusbandnowthattheyknowtheirrights.Whenmenwereunabletoattendthegendertrainingthewomenthemselvestaughtthemwhattheyhadlearnedinthegendertraining.Severalmenreferredtothisandhadevenchangedtheirbehaviourandhelpedtheirwivesmore.

Notonlywastheincreaseinknowledgeconnectedwithanincreaseinconfidenceandbeliefinthemselves,butalsosomewomenwerenowseenofasanauthorityoncertainissues(e.g.coffeefarmingandprocessing)andabletoteachothersbecauseoftheprojectactivities.IneveryvillagetherewerewomenwhohadattendedthecoffeetraininginPaksong.InDakDentherewasacoffeeprocessinggroup,whohadlearnedthetechniquesinPaksong.Thesewomenhadnotonlyexperiencedthecoffeebusinessandprocessesfirsthand,buthadalsobeenexpected

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totakepartindisseminatingthatknowledgethroughthevillage–mostlythroughgroupsessions,butalsoasinformalsourcesofinformation.Thisappearedtohavechangedtheirstatusinthevillage.Theirknowledgeandexpertisedemonstratedhowvaluabletheywereasparticipantsineconomicactivityandasmentorstoothers.TheDakDencoffeegrouphadtomakedecisionstogether,bothmenandwomen,sothiswasanotherareawherenormswerechanged.

Anunintendedimpactoftheprojectwasonwomen’sinterestineducationandtheirabilitytoaccessit..AwomenfromTanglouwasbuyingbookswiththeextraincomethatshewasearningfromsellingducksformtheproject.SheattributedherinterestineducationtotheinfluenceoftheWINGSgroup.Theschoolteacherwashelpingherwithherstudiesandwasteaching10otherwomenwhohadnothadaneducation,bothLaoandacademicsubjects.Thisawarenessoftheneedforwomentobeeducatedappearedtogohandinhandwiththeirneedtoearnanincome.ThiswasrecognisedbytheVillageheadinTangyergn,whowasalsoorganisingadulteducationlessons.

Women’sconfidence:Evidenceofincreasesinwomen’sself-confidenceandself-esteemhasbeenseeninthefollowingareas:

ü Willingnesstoattendvillageandprojectmeetings

ü Abilitytoparticipateinmeetingsandtotalktostrangers

ü Willingnessandabilitytoleadprocessesandmakedecisions

ü Self-care,cleanlinessandtidiness

Menwhoparticipatedinthefocusgroupsreportedthattheirwivesparticipatedinmeetings,butthattheirwiveswerestilltoosometimestooshytospeakup–andthiswasoftenbecauseoftheirlimitedLaolanguageskills.Othermenhadnoticedthattheirwivesfounditeasiertospeaktostrangersandtocontributetotheprojectactivities.

Thewomen’sWINGSgroupsappearedtohaveprovidedwomenwiththespacetodiscussissuesamongthemselves,whichhadincreasedtheirabilitytotalkinmeetingsandtoanalyseproblemsinthevillage.ManywomenreferredtotheWINGSgroupsasasourceofsupportandself-help.

Womenattributedtheirincreasedconfidenceto:

Ø Inclusioninactivitiesandmeetings

Ø Increasedabilitytoearnanincome–andtobeabletobuywhatisneededforthefamily

Ø Increasedknowledgeandabilitytogrowcoffeeandvegetables

Ø Supportfrom

Box11:Women’sexperienceofincreasesinself-confidence

ParticipatinginWINGS:“Now,womenfeelmoreconfidentwhentheyhavetogivetheiropinioninthevillageorWINGSmeetingsorganizedbyCare.TheythinkthatthosemeetingsprovidethemgoodopportunitytospeakLaoandconsulteachotherabouttheprojectactivities”.WomanDakDen

Speakingwithoutsiders:“NoIamlessshyandinthepastitwasdifferentbecauseIdidn’tknowtheLaolanguage.Itisabitbetterthanbefore,butIstillhavetroubleunderstanding.Inthepastmyparentsdidn’tspeakLaoatall.NowIwanttospeakLaowiththeCAREofficers.Weunderstandeverything,butcan’tspeak.WecanexpressourselvesinTalieng”.Samgmai,woman

Earninganincome:“Now,womenfeelmoreconfidentthanbeforebecausetheyhavetheabilitytoearnmoreincomesontheirown.Inthepast,theyfeltverydiscouragedandnotconfidentbecausetheirhusbandsweretheoneswhobroughtmoneyathome”Tanglouwoman

Confidenceandenvironmentimpactingonwellbeing:“Abetterenvironment:thehouseandtheyardinfrontofthehousearecleanerthanbefore.Eachhouseholdhaslatrines,whichmakeswomen’slifemorecomfortablethanbeforeandreducestherisksforwomenandthefamilymembersfrombeingaffectedbydiseases”.Tangyerngwoman

Takingcareofthemselves:“Wiveshaveimprovedtheirdressingupstylestobeprettierandtheycancookmoredeliciousmenuswithmoreingredientthanthepast”.ManTanglou

Confidenceincreatingabilities:“Beforetheprojectwomenwereveryshy.Theywouldhideandletmentalk.Nowtheydosayhitostrangersandtheytaketheinitiativeto(e.g.)sellvegetables”.Maleteacher,Tanglou

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theirhusbandsandvillagehead–knowingthatinfluentialandpowerfulmeninthecommunityarekeentoincludewomeninactivitiesandforthemtocontributetofamilyincomeearning.

Relationsanddecisionmaking:

Inthepastgenderroleswereclearandpolarised–withmendoinglittleornoworkinthehouseandincertain“women’s”tasksandnotinvolvingwomenindecisionmaking.InalloftheFGDsbothmenandwomentalkedabouthowmenusedtocontributelittletothehouseholdworkload,preferringinsteadtodrinkalcohol,sleepandhangoutwiththeirfriends.Theprojectcausedachangeinthisbehaviourwithmentakingmoreresponsibility,treatingtheirwivesbetteranddrinkingless.

Familyrelationships:Womenwereparticularlyarticulateabouttheimprovementsintheirrelationshipswiththeirhusbands–sayingthattherewaslessarguing(andinoneortwocasesadecreaseorcessationofviolence),theirhusbandsweremorecaringandcontributedmoretotheirworkload.Thiswassometimesattributedtowomen’sincreasedincome,butmoreoftentothegendertraining.ThegendertrainingandWINGShadincreasedmenandwomen’sabilitytodiscussarangeofissueswithinthefamilyandformentoacceptwomen’sopinions.

Thereappearedtohavebeenashift

Box12:Changesinrelations

Womenbecomingmoreassertiveinrelationships“Menusedtocutthewood,butwewouldcarrytothefieldandbuildthefences.Nowwedolessandmencarryalloftheheavystuff.BeforetheprojectcameIhadtodoeverythingbymyself.TheWINGSgrouphashelpedmealot.IcanaskforadvicefrommyfriendsandaboutmystudiesandIfeelmoreabletobeassertive.BeforeattendingthegroupIwouldnothavedaredtointroducethegendertrainingtomyhusband.”Laowomen’sunionrepTanglou

Womenvaluedmore:“Ofcoursemyhusbandlovesme,otherwisehewouldn’tbewithme,buthelovesmealittlebitmorethanbeforeasImakeabitmoremoney.”Sangmai,woman

Womenparticipateinagreeingcoffeeandlivestockprices:“BothmyhusbandandIareabletosellthecoffee,itdependsonwhoisinthehousewhenthetradercomes.Wealwaysdiscussandagreethepricewewanttosellforbeforehand.Evenwhenmyhusbandsellsacowhewillconsultmeonthepricewewouldliketoget”.Woman,DakDen

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inthebalanceofpowerwithinrelationships–butofcoursethiswouldhavevariedfromfamilytofamily.Thishadamarkedimpactonwomen’sparticipationindecisionmaking–enablingwomentohavemorepowerinfamilydecisionmakingandalsoinbusinessandagriculturerelateddecisions.

Allmen’sandwomen’sfocusgroupsmentionedthegendertrainingprovidedbyCAREwithoutbeingprompted.Overwhelminglythechangeinrelationswasattributedtothisgendertraining.Anaspectofthegendertrainingthathadparticularlystruckachordwithintervieweeswastheinventoryofdifferentactivitiesthatmenandwomendo.Allofthemenwhoexpressedthissaidhowtheyhadfeltquitesadwhentheyhadseentheheavywork

burdenthattheirwiveshadhadtobear.Theyhadfeltashamedandwantedtohelptheirwives.Somemenalsosaidthattheyhadlearnedhowtheycouldearnmoremoneyiftheyworkedtogetherwiththeirwivesandthattheycouldbemoresuccessfulasafamily.Theyhadbeguntoseethattheirwiveswerevaluable,particularlyastheywerecontributingtoearninganincomeforthefamily.

Itislikelythatthemenwouldnothavebeensoopentothegendertrainingwithouttheotherprojectactivities.SeveralwomenreferredtotheirincreasedconfidenceasaresultofparticipatinginWINGS,orasaresultoftheireconomicactivity,ascontributingtotheirconfidenceincommunicatingwiththeirhusbands–andthatthishadenabledthemtoencouragetheirhusbandstoattendthegendertraininginthefirstplace.Itisverylikelythatgendertrainingalonewouldnothavehadsuchatransformationalimpactonmenandwomen’srelationshipsandbehaviour.Thoughitsimpactontheprojectvillageshasbeenessentialforallaspectsofprojectprogress.

Otherrelationships:Workingrelationshipsbetweenmenandwomeninprojectgroupswerealsoreportedtobefairlyequal–andthiswasattributedtoconstantcommunications(“Wedon’thavedisagreementsaswediscusseverythingwitheachother”,Irrigationgroup,DakDen).Unsurprisinglyobservationofcommunicationsbetweenmenandwomeninthesegroupsdidnotalwaysreflectthissentiment,thoughwomeningeneralappearedtocommunicateconfidently.Nearlyallfocusgroupparticipantssaidthatwomenweremoreinvolvedinvillagedecisionmakingastheywerenowattendingmeetings.ThiswaspartlybecauseoftheWINGSgroupsandencouragementfromtheirhusbands,butalsowasattributabletotheroleofthevillageheadsinencouragingwomentoparticipateandspeakup.

Organisingwithothers:Womenwereincludedinallofthecoffeeproductionandprocessingandirrigationgroupsandwereactivemembersofthegroupsthatwereinterviewed.Theprojectapproachofincludingwomeninactiveroleshadworkedparticularlywell,butalsothesupportoftheWINGSalsoappearedtocontributetowomen’ssuccessinothergroups.WINGSwerealsomentionedbymanyofthewomenwhosaidtheynowattendvillagemeetings.NearlyeveryfocusgrouptoldstoriesoflearningtospeakupfirstintheWINGS,toorganisewithotherwomenandtogainconfidencespeakingLaoandmakingdecisions.

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4.2.3 Structure and social norms

v Howhavecommunityandinstitutionalsocialnormsandattitudeschangedasaresultoftheprojectorotheractivities?

Thereferencestochangesinmen’sbehaviourandrolesbetweenmenandwomenwassofrequentinthefocusgroupsandinterviewsthatitcouldbesaidthattherehasbeenquitealargeshiftinsocialnormsaroundgenderroles.Changesthatbothmenandwomenreferredtoincluded:

ü Mencarrywoodorusethericemillingmachine(thoughnotpoundingrice)

ü Meninvolvedinhouseholdtasks(e.gclotheswashing,caringforchildrenwhenwomengotomeetings)

ü Mendrinkinglessalcohol

ü Womenincludedinvillagemeetingsandtakingleadershiprolesinprojectgroups

ü Menandwomenmakingdecisionstogether

ü Mendoingtheheavyworkthattheydidnotdobefore(e.g.digginginthegarden,puttingupfences)

ü Menandwomenhelpingeachother

ü Womeninvolvedinincomeearningactivities–andthattheyareexpectedtoearnanincometoensurefoodsecurityandfamilyhealth

ü Thevillagersandvillageauthoritiesaremorereceptivewhenwomenexpresstheiropinions

ü Girlsnotgettingmarriedsoearly

ü Womenandmenwantingfewerchildren

Thoughthesechangeslookpromising,therewereindicationsthatseveralofthesechangesappearedtobeintheearlystagesandthatmoresustainedeffortwouldberequiredtoensurethatprogresscontinued,soitisimportanttounderstandthedriversofthischangeprocess.Therewereseveralkeydriversofthisoverallsocialnormchange:

o Bothmenandwomenwereinvolvedinthegendertraining.Thismeantthatmenwereabletolearnanddrivesomeofthechange,influencingothermeninthevillage.Notallmenattendedthetraininginallvillages,sotherewerestillpocketsofmenwhowereeithernotawareofthetrainingorwhodidnotwishtochange.

o Theleadershipofthevillageheadwasanimportantinfluenceonmeninthevillageonsupportforchangesinattitudeandgenderroles.ThevillageheadhelpedtochooseparticipantsandtoencouragewomentojointheWINGSgroups,attendvillagemeetingsandtoparticipateintraining.Otherinfluentialmeninthevillage,forexampletheschoolteacherinTanglou,appearedtohaveanimportantroleinleadingthechangeinattitude.

o Thewidescaleinclusionofwomeninarangeofactivitiesandincomeearningrolesbothwithinandoutsideofthevillageplayedanimportantroleinchangingattitudestowardswomen.Itisclearthattheinclusionofwomenincropproductionandgardeningtrainingandstudyvisitshasplayedanimportantpartinsocialnormchangearoundincomeearningroles.Ithasincreasedmen’sconfidenceinwomen’scapability.

o TheWINGSgroupshaveenabledwomentogainconfidenceandtopracticecommunicationsskillsinasafe,supportiveenvironment.Ithasalsogivenwomenthechancetodrivechangesandtakeonleadershippositions.

o Theencouragementofthedistrictandprovincegovernmentofficialsandtheirsupportforgenderequalityandwomen’srightswithinthevillageswasmentionedasmallnumberoftimes–butappearedto

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becrucialforlegitimisingtheactivities.Governmentofficialswhowereinterviewedaspartoftheevaluationexpressedstrongsupportoftheprojectapproachandthecommitmenttowomen’seconomicempowerment.

o Thepromiseofincreasedincomeactedasastrongmotivatingfactorformen.Theyconsistentlystatedhowpleasedtheywerethattheirwiveswerenowearninganincomeorsupportingtheincreaseinfamilyincomeandknowmoreaboutsalesandfarming.Thepotentialforanincreaseinfamilyincomemayhaveactedasmotivationforthementhemselvestochangetheirbehaviourandtoworkharderforthefamily.

Theeconomicactivityofwomenappearedtohavecontributedtochangesinattitudesaboutwomen’srolesandgirls’education,whichinturnhadimpactedonsexualandreproductivewell-being.Severalwomenwhowereinterviewed(manyintheir20sor30s)hadgotmarriedaschildren(attheagesof13or14)andhadnotbeenabletofinishschool.Thisappearedtohavebeenasocialnorminthevillagesandparentsrequiredtheirgirlstogetmarriedearly.Nearlyeverymanandwomaninterviewedsaidthattheynowsendbothboysandgirlstoschoolandmanyintendedtheirchildrentoattendsecondaryschool,eventhough30%ofwomeninthefocusgroupshadnoeducationatall(comparedto5%ofmeninthefocusgroups)andonlyonewoman(0.8%ofsample)hadfinishedsecondaryschool(comparedto9%ofthemeninthefocusgroups).Severalwomenandmeninterviewedstatedthatgirlsgetmarriedintheir20snowastheyarestudying.Knowledgeofcontraceptionandreproductiverightshadalsochangedwomen’sattitudesabouttheirrolesandincomeearningpotential–buttherewasstillalongwaytogoinsomevillagesforwomentobeabletorealizetheirsexualandreproductiverights.

Box13:Changesinsocialnorms

Menhelpmore:“Menhelpgrindingtherice.Andweworktogetheronthericefield.Wehavechangedbecauseofthegendertraining.TheCAREofficerscameevery2monthstoadviseongender.Inthepastmendidhelp,butnowtheyhelpmore.Nowmenhelpwithcuttingwoodandcarryingwood.Butnotallofthetime:Ihavetocarrymybabyonmyfrontandthewoodonmyback.Myhusbandsometimeshelpsme,butnotallofthetime.Hegoestotheforesttohuntanimals.Hehastogetsomeanimalstofeedthefamily.”Samgmaiwoman

Leadershipofvillagehead:“Thevillageheadmanoftensaysinmeetingsthathewantswomentoearnmoreincomestomaketheirlifebetter.”WomanDakDen

Husbandandwifeworkingtogether:“Beforetheprojectcame,mywifeandIwerequitelazy.Thehusbandswouldalwaysgoouttodrink.Thewiveswereleftinthehouse.AftertheprojectcamehereandIhadtraining,mywifeandItalkmorewitheachother–wediscussandplanhowtoincreasethefamilyincome.WehadhelpfromCAREandsupportthemtorunthecoffeeplantation.Thatiswhywedecidedtojoininwiththisproject.”Tanglouman

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4.3 Challenges and gaps

v Whathasactedasabarriertowomen’sincomeearningandeconomicopportunities?

v Whatarethesocial,economicandenvironmentalbarrierstoprogressinwomen’seconomicempowerment?

4.3.1 Economic advancement challenges Whenwomenanalysedthechallengestheyfacetheytendedtotalkaboutpracticalissuesaroundproductionandsales.Ingeneralthereremainanumberofchallengesrelatedtoproduction,accesstomarketsandfinancialservices.

Productionchallenges:Thefollowingchallengesandbarrierswereidentifiedbywomen:

o Lowyields:limitationoffoodproductionvolumessothereisnosurplustosell,theweatherandsoilisnotgoodforcoffeeproduction(thisdependedonthelocationofthecoffeeplantations),forexampleinTanglouandDakDenthecoffeedoesnotgrowwellatvillagelevelandsothevillagershavehadtomakeplantationshigherupandfurtherawayfromthevillage.Thisincreasesthetimespentgettingtofieldsandthephysicalimpactonwomenwhohavetotakebabiesorchildrenalongwiththem.Otherproductionissuesincludedproblemswithpestsandanimalsareanimalsthatdestroycropsandfishproduction,andproblemswithtoomanyweedsandnotenoughcompost(e.g.lowlandriceinSangmai).

Box14:Harmfulpracticesandviolence

Earlymarriage:“IalsousethemoneytobuybooksandstudyasIwasnotabletofinishschool.Igotmarriedat14yearsoldbecausemyparentsarrangedit.”Tanglou,Laowomen’sunionrepresentative

Changesinearlyandforcedmarriage:“Iwas16years,andmyhusbandwas19yearsoldwhenwegotmarried.Myparentsforcedme.Ididn’twanttogetmarried.NowIcan’tforcemychildrentomarryastheywanttostudy.Itisuptothem.IreallyregretthatIwasnotabletogetaneducation.Whenpeoplefromtheprojectaskmesomething,Idon’tknowanything.”Tanglouwoman.

Violencestopped:“Theprojectmademyhusbandchange.Webothattendedthetrainingongender.HelearnedandafterthatwhenwewentbackhomeIaskedhimtohelpme.Nowhedoesn’tbeatmeanymore.Beforetheprojectmyhusbandusedtobeatmeandthechildren.HeusedtobeatmesohardthatIwassometimesbleedingandmychildrentoo.Theprojectofficerstoldhimnottodoit.Alsothevillageheadhadatalkwithhimandthepeoplefromthedistrictcameandtalkedtohim.AlsoIusedtobeatmychildren,buttheteacherattheschooltoldmethatIshouldn’tdoit,soInowhavestoppedalso.Beforewedidn’tknowthatbeatingwasbad,becausewehadnotbeentoschool.Wethoughtthattheviolencewasnormal.NowIthinkthatImusthavebeencrazy!Mychildrenaremuchhappier.IwasscaredthatifIbeatmychildrentoomuchtheymightgocrazy.Therewereothermenwhowerebeatingtheirwives.Justafewofthem.”Tanglouwoman

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o Physicalinfrastructureproblems-fencingtakestoomuchtimeandisnotadequateenough–cowsandbuffalocomeintocoffeeandricefieldsanddestroytheplants,veggardenisfarfromthewatersupply,

o Lackofsupportandhumanresources-lackoflabourforceaschildrenareatschoolorcollege,notenoughsupportforthosewhoarenewtocoffeeproduction,limitedknowledgeofriceproduction.

Limitedaccesstomarkets–WomeninvillagesthatarefarfromDakCheungmarketorhaveverypoorconditionroads(e.g.Sangmai),havedifficultyreachingthemarket.ForwomeninSangmaithiswassuchanissuethattheyhadlimitedtheirvegetableproductionastheywerenotabletosellalloftheirsurplusproduce.Inothervillageswomencomplainedthattheywereallgrowingthesamevegetables,sowerecompetinginawaythatlimitedtheirsalespotential.Therearealsowomenwhoarenotabletotraveltothemarketunlessaccompaniedbytheirhusband(e.g.Tangyerng).

Problemswithimmediatefoodsecurity–DakDenandSangmaidon’tproduceenoughriceforconsumptionthroughoutthewholeyear.Whileitwastheaimoftheprojecttoincreaseincomesfromcashcropssothattheycouldcovertheirfoodneedsbybuyingfood,therewassometimesatimelaginthegenerationofincome.Forexamplecoffeeplantstakethreeyearstomaturebeforeacropcanbeharvested.Landandtimeneedtobeusedtogrowcoffeeandthissometimesmeansthatfamilieshavetoshiftlandfromriceintocoffeeandspendmoretimeonthecoffeeplantationthanonfoodproduction.Thismeansthatforthreeyearstheremaybeashortageoffoodproductionwithoutanaccompanyingincreaseinincome.Sangmaiusedtobeself-sufficientinrice.Whencoffeewasintroducedsomefamiliesusedsomeoftheirricefields,whichhasnowreducedtheirriceproductionandtheyhavelessfoodsecuritythanbefore.

Lackofaccesstofinancialservices–Severalwomenwantedtobeabletobuymoreinputsfortheiragricultureproduction,ortoinvestintheirtradingactivities,buthadnocapitaltodoso.Moneytoinvestinbusinessactivitiesusuallycomesfromrelativesandsoislimitedtofamilieswhoalreadyhavesomeincomeorassets.Alsowomendonothaveasafeplacetokeeptheirsavings.

4.3.2 Power and Agency Whilemostofthewomeninvolvedintheevaluationwereconfidentthattheirknowledgeandabilitieshadincreased,menwerenotasconfidentofwomen’sskillsandknowledge.Forexamplementhoughtthatwomenhadchallengeswithpoorcoffeeplantingskills,littleknowledgeofpricingandhowtosellproduce,poortradingandnegotiationskillsandinabilitytocatchandselllargelivestock(particularlythatwomendon’tknowthepricing).Thismayhaverevealedacontinuedunderlyingprejudiceormisguidedbeliefaboutwomen’sabilities.ItalsorevealedalackofunderstandingamongthemenoftheroleoftheWINGSgroupsandhowwomenwerechangingthewaythattheycommunicatewitheachother.Theareathatwomenandmenconcurredwithwasaroundwomen’slackofself-confidenceandinabilitytospeak,readandwriteLao.Thiswasaconsistentchallengeareathatcameupinnearlyeveryfocusgroup.Somewomenineachfocusgroupwouldrefertotheir“shyness”aboutattendingmeetingsorspeakingupinmeetingsbecausetheydidnotfeelthattheirLaolanguage

Box16:Howwomensavemoney

“Incomeismuchbetterthanbeforeastheygrowvegbetter.WehavelearnedaboutgrowingvegandalsowesellinDakCheung.Inthepastweusedtoget30,000kipattheendoftheyear.Nowweget100,000kipattheendoftheyear.Wedorecordtheamountweearnfromcoffee(butnotforotherproducts).Wehaveabookwherewerecorditall.Wealsoknowhowmuchwespendandtoreimbursedebts.Iborrowmoneyfromrelatives.Wesavemoneyinourhomes.”Coffeegroupmembers,DakDen.

Box15:Difficultieswithproduction

“Wehavealotofweedsinthericefiled,soittakesalotoftimetogetridoftheweeds.Wehavelearnedhowtomakecompost,butwearenotusingitaswecan’t’carryittothericefield.”WomanSangmai

“IfeelconfidentaboutgrowingvegetableswhencomparewiththepastIdidn’tknowhowtoearnincome,allincomeswerefrommyhusband.ButforcoffeeplantationIfeellessconfidentbecausetheweatherhereisquitehot,itmakesthecoffeeplant’sleavesgoyellow.”Tanglouwoman

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skillsweregoodenough.AndthoughtheythoughttheynowhadmoreopportunitiestoengagewithoutsidersandtospeakLao,theywerestillunconfident.

Womenwerekeentoimprovetheircookingandnutritionknowledgefurtherassomeofthemfeltthattheystillneededsupport.Thefocusgroupsalsorevealedthattherehardlyanybookkeepingtakingplaceandthatthebasicsofbusinessmanagementandmarketingwerenotknownbythewomen.

Therearestillsomewomenwholackconfidenceandfindithardtospeakupinmeetingsandparticipateintheprojectandincomeearningactivities.Quiteoftenthiswasreferredtobewomeninrelationtotheirinsecurityabouttechnicalagricultureandlivestockknowledgeandskills,butmoreofteninrelationtotheirLaolanguageskills.TherewasalsoanexampleofaLaoWomen’sUnionleaderlackingconfidenceandleadershipmotivationandskills(Sangmai).Itwouldbeimportanttoassesswhatlimitssomewomentomakesurethereisaninclusiveapproachtotheprojectcontinuation,particularlyfortechnicalknowledgeandLaolanguageskills.

WomenSangmaiandDakDenarestillhavingchallengeswiththeirheavyworkloadandtimepoverty.Thisisrelatedto:

o Havingtoomanychildrentotakecareof–nearlyallofthemenandmanywomenreferredtotheheavyburdenofcaringforyoungchildren.Whilemenhadpreviouslymentionedthattheysometimeshelpwiththechildren,thereisstillanoverallbeliefthatcaringforchildrenisprimarilywomen’sresponsibility.

o Havingtopoundriceastherewaslimitedaccesstoaricemill–thiswasonlyhappeninginDakDenwherethevillagehadnotbeenprovidedwithaprojectricemill.Thereweretworicemillsownedbyfamiliesinthevillageandthesewerehiredouttothevillagers.Howevernearlyallofthewomenfocusgroupparticipantsinthatvillagereferredtothehighpriceofmilling.

o Carryingfirewoodandwaterastherearenohandcarts.AgainthiswashappeninginDakDenasthevillagewastoohillyforhandcartsandnoothertechnologywasavailable.

Structureandsocialnorms

Asmentionedbefore,thereisstillmoresustainedeffortrequiredtoensurethatvillagewidesocialnormchangeprogresses.Thoughthegendertrainingalongwiththeotherprojectactivitieshadmadeanimpactonmostmenandwomenintermsofgenderequality,somefocusgroupparticipantsreferredtocontinuedproblemsbetweenmenandwomenwhennegotiatingresponsibilitiesandwork.Bothwomenandmenhadstoriesofsomemenwhowerenotcontributingfullytothefamilyworkload,mostlybecausetheyaredrinkingalcohol,wakinguplateandnothelpingtheirwives.Therewerealsosomeexamplesofwomenwhoarenotinterestedinnutritionandarenothealthy.ThereappearedtobeaparticularprobleminSangmai,wherewomenwerecontinuingtosufferfromheavyworkloadswithlittlehelpfromtheirhusband,andsometimesthiswasduetoalcoholrelatedandotherun-diagnosedillnesses.Therewasalsoalackoftrustformodernhealthservices,withmoreuseoftraditionalhealers.TheseproblemscouldhavebeenresultofSangmai’sremotelocation,limitedaccesstohealthfacilitiesormarketsandvariablecontactwithothervillages.

Box17:Difficultiescooking

“Itisdifficultforustousethenewcookingtechniquesthatweweretaught.Wedon’thavealloftheingredients,sowearenotsohealthy.Wecan’tdowhattheytaughtus.”Sangmai,woman

Box18:Somemenstillnothelping

“Menarenothelpingsomuchbecausetheydrinkalcoholandtheyaresick.Theymaketheirownalcohol.WhenmyhusbandisdrunkhegetsupquitelateandIhavetocareforthechildrenandcarrythewater.Hewon’thelpme.”Sangmaiwoman

“Wiveshavesuggestedthatwechangeourbehaviour,sometimewedo,sometimewedon’tbecausewewanttomeetfriends,ifwedon’tdrink,wecan’tspeakLaofluently.”ManDakDen

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Inthefocusgroupsmenwereaskedtoidentifywhethertheirwivesandotherwomenintheirfamilyexperiencedchallengesorbarrierstoearninganincomeorbeinginvolvedineconomicactivity.Themostinterestingfindingofthisexercisewasthatthemenhadalotofdifficultyinthinkingaboutthechallengesthattheirwivesmighthave.Whentheywereaskedtothinkofsolutionsonhowtoaddressthechallenges,themenagainfounditdifficultgoingfromproblemidentificationtosolution.Therewereveryfeworiginalideasandmanyofthemrevolvedaroundwhatthementhemselvescoulddo,ratherthanwiderchangesthatmighttakeplace.Theexperienceofthisexercisewasrepeatedinnearlyeverymen’sfocusgroup.Itdemonstratesacontinuedlackofawarenessbymenoftheirwiveschallengesinearninganincomeandtheirworkburden.Thisfurtherindicatestheneedforcontinuedeffortstochangesocialnormsandtocontinuemuchoftheactivitiesinthisproject.

Beliefsandnormsaroundfamilyplanningwerealsoseentobeachallengebybothmenandwomenand,again,particularlyinSangmai.Whileallfocusgroupshadsomementionoftheburdenofcaringforchildrenandhowthislimitswomen’smobilityandtimetobeinvolvedinincomeearningactivities,therewasahighlevelofknowledgeoffamilyplanning.Howevertheredidnotappeartobehighutilizationrates,exceptwheretherewasahealthclinicinthevillage(Tangyerng).WomeninothervillageshavetotraveltoDakCheungtoaccessfamilyplanningservices,thoughoccasionallyavillagehealthworkerwillvisit.Howeverthiswasclearlynotfrequentenoughasseveralwomenreferredtounintendedpregnancies.Therewerealsoanumberofmythsaroundfamilyplanningtechniques,especiallylongtermandpermanentmethods(believingitcancauseillnessandcausewomentobeunabletowork).Thisindicatesalackoffamilyplanningcounsellingandadviceforwomenandmen.

Box19:TraditionalbeliefsandhealthinSangmai

“Iamscaredtogointotheforestalonebecauseofghostsandspirits.Sometimespeopleinthevillagegetpossessedbyspiritsandtheydon’tknowhowtogetridofthem.Ithashappenedtomyhusband.Hecan’tworkashehasbeenillsinceMay2014.Hecan’tevenspeak.Hejustwalksaround.Whenhedrinkshecanspeak,butitisrubbish.Thereisnodoctorhere.Hefellfromthehousetwicewhenhewasdrunkandhekeepsondrinking.Oneofmychildrenwassickfromasnakebite.Itookhimtothehospitalandtheywantedtogivehimaninjection,butIwouldn’tletthemasIwasworried.Wehaveatraditionaldoctorwhoblowsonthewound.Heisgettingbetter,buthecan’twalk”.BecausemyhusbandisillIhavetodoeverythingasmysevenchildrenarealltooyoung.Idon’thaveanymoneynoranythingtosell.Ididhaveonechicken,butaftermychildgotillIhadtokillitasasacrificetomakethingsbetter.”Sangmai,woman1with7children.

“Inthepastmyhusbanddidn’thelpmesomuchandheusedtodrinkalot.Butnowheissickandhecan’twork.Sohehelpsinthehome.HewenttoSekongtogetsomemedicineandnowhasgonetoPaksongforamonthtoseeatraditionalhealer.Ithinkheandothermengetproblemswiththeirstomachs.Idon’thaveanyhelpandthecoffeeplantationhasweeds”.Sangmaiwoman2with8children.

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Contextualchallenges

Thelackofhealthservicesinthreeofthevillageswasclearlyaffectingwomen’shealthandaccesstofamilyplanning.Thisisamajorissueforwomen’sinclusioninincomeearningactivitiesandthenormchangearoundgenderrolesthatisrequiredbythis.ThedoctorwhoworksinTangyerngdoesprovidefamilyplanningservices,andalsoadviceonnutritionandhygiene,sothereispotentialforsurroundingvillagestovisitthatclinicinsteadofgoingtoDakCheung.HowevershehasnevervisitedaWINGSgrouporparticipatedinanyoftheprojectactivities.Thislinkwithhealthservicesappearstobemissingfromtheproject.

Mininghasnotonlycauseduncertaintyforvillagesthathavetomoveduetogovernmentorders,butalsoasuddenandunsustainableinfluxofcashtosomevillagesaffectedbygoldmining,withassociateddestructionoftheirland.GenderissuesinSangmaiarebeingaffectedbythegoldminingsituation,withwomensufferingmost.Furtherinvestigationofthenegativeeffectsofthissituationareneeded.

Theroadqualityandroadmaintenanceandbuildingarehavinganimpactonwomen’sabilitytoearnanincome.InSangmai,wheretheroadisalmostimpassableformuchoftheyear,thewomenhardlyleavethevillageandarenotabletoaccessnearbymarkets.InTangyerng,wheretheroadconstructionworkersarebuyingproduce,thisseemstobebenefittingwomen.

Box22:Sangmaigoldminingandspendingchoices

“AVietnamesegoldminingcompanycamehereandgave£30,000(30millionkipperhectare)fortherighttodigon12hectaresofmyland.ThediggingstartedinJan2014anditisstillgoingon.Thelandwillbeunusableaftertheyhavefinished.Ihavekeptsomeofthemoneyandmywifesometimesasksmeformoney.ButIdon’thavetransportandmycoffeecropisnotmaturedyet”.Sangmai,man

Box20:Toomanychildrenlimitswomen’sparticipation

“Thevillageheadmanalsosupportsusandencouragesustogetmoreincomeforthefamily.Hewantsustoreduceourworkloadandincreaseourincomebutitisdifficultaswehavesomanychildren.”Sangmaiwoman

“Itisdifficulttoincreaseourincomeaswehavemanychildren.Contraceptionisdangerousforourhealth.Somewomenhadinjectionsandtheygotsick.Somewomensaiditwasverypainful.Sowedon’twanttousecontraception.Wedon’twanttohaveapermanentmethodsasthenwewon’tbeabletoworkinthefields.Thereisnohealthfacilityhere,soifwehavetheinjectionandwegetsick,thereisnoonetotakeustohospital.Soweareworried”Sangmaiwoman.

Box21:Maternalhealthinremotevillages

“Iftherewasanopportunityformetosolvethechallengeswomenfaceinourvillage?Iwouldworktomakeourhealthsituationbetter–thehardestmomentawomenfacesiswhenshegivesbirthinourvillage.Inourvillagewedonothavetheequipmentormedicinesneededtomakeitsafeforwomen–forthatwomenneedtotraveltothedistrictandwedonothavethetransport.Previouslywehadamidwifewhowastrainedinthedistrictbutshehassinceleftthevillage’.Thereissomefinancialsupportfromthegovernmenttogoandgivebirthinthedistrict–moneyfortransportanddormsroomsandfood….butactuallywomenhavetogotherefortwoweeksbeforethebabyarrives…thatisalongtimetobeawayfromthehouse…whowillcarefortheotherchildren…whowillworkinthevegetablegarden?Mostwomendonotwanttobeawayfromhomeforthatlong…”LaoWomen’sUnionleader,Sangmai

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Governmentlimitationsandsustainability–Thoughbothnationalandlocalgovernmentaresupportiveoftheproject’sgenderandwomen’seconomicempowermentapproach,thereisalackofexpertiseandfundingtosustainthistypeofsupportdirectlyfromgovernment.Thiscouldthreatenthesustainabilityoftheapproachasthereisstillalotmoresustainedeffortrequired.Ashorttermsolutiontothiswouldincludeamuchcloserrelationshipwithgovernmentofficials.

5. Learning about the approach and gaps

Caption:MrsSe33,marriedwith3daughtersandownerofpigswhicharekeptjustoutsidethevillage.NaVillage,KhuaDistrict,PhongsalyProvince,Laos.Photocredit:©JeffWilliams/CARE

Learningquestion1:TowhatextentdoCARE’sapproachesandmodelsachievesustainableeconomicparticipationandempowermentoutcomesinthelivesofwomenfromethnicgroups?Forexample,arestrongmember-basedassociationsaneffectivewaytopromotetherightsofethnicminoritywomensotheycan

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advocateforchange?Doesraisingmarginalisedwomen’sawarenessoftheirrightsandentitlementstoavailableresourcesandchallengingdiscriminationleadtoeconomicempowerment?

CARE’sapproachesinalloftheprojectshavecontributedtowomen’seconomicempowerment,thoughtheprojectsthattargetwomenandintegratewomenintoallactivities;andmeasureresultsforwomenhavehadmoresuccess(PRDP,DFSP).Thereisnooneelementthatcanbesaidtoleadtoempowermentoreconomicparticipation–itisratherthecombinationofapproachesthathaveledtosustainablechangeforwomen.Inparticularthelearningandinclusioninactivitieshavehadanimpactonwomen’seconomicparticipation.Thefollowinglessonscanbedrawn:

ü Womenappearedtolearnthroughacombinationofbeingtaught,bydoingandbyobservingandthiswasmoreeffectivewhentheytravelledoutsideofthevillage.Remotenessdefinitelylimitswomen’seconomicactivitiesevenmorethanmen’sastheyaremoretiedtothevillageandthehouse.Womenwhohaveexperiencedothervillagesweremoreopenmindedandconfidentabouttryingnewwaysofearninganincomeandtheyweremorecommerciallyaware.Physicalaccesstomarketsisessentialforwomentoprogresswithincomeearningactivities.Womenwholiveclosertothemarketareabletosellmore.Alsowhenbuyerscometothevillagethevillagershavelittlenegotiatingpower,andthisisevenworseforwomenwhomaynothaveaccesstorelevantinformation.Differentsalesmodelsandaccesstomarketsandbuyersneedtobeexplored.Womenneedongoingtechnicalagricultural,gardeningandlivestocktrainingandsupport–whetherforlivestockvaccinations,locationofcoffeeplantations,abilitytoproducecompostforriceetc.Somewomenappeartolackconfidenceintheirabilitytoproducecashcropsandfoodproduceandthiscouldunderminetheprogressthatismadetochangeattitudesaroundwomen’sroles.Itisthereforeessentialthatgoodqualitytechnicaladviceandon-goingsupportisprovidedtowomenduringtheproject.Constantfeedbackshouldbesoughtandapproachesadaptedtoensurethatthereissuccesswithlivestockrearing,fishfarming,vegetableandagriculturalproductionandproductivity.

ü Furtherprogressinwomen’seconomicactivitiesandincomeearningpotentialcouldbeachievedwithmoreofafocusonprivatesectorinitiatives.WhilePARUAIIsupportedthestart-upofmicro-enterprises,whichledtoanincreaseinincome,andPRDPimprovedunderstandingofmarkets,thesewereisolatedinitiativesamongtheportfolio,andoverallthereisalackofmarketanalysisandmarketingcapacitystrengthening.Thisisnotentirelysurprisingasthereviewedprojectsweremostlyfocusedonfoodsecurity,healthandUXOclearing.Howeverthishishaslimitedwomen’sabilitytoaccessmarketsandtounderstandhowproductionchoicesandsaleslocationareessentialforasuccessfulenterprise.Ithasalsomeantthattheprojectshavenotbeenabletotakestrategicapproachestomarketaccess,linkagesandphysicalmarkets.

Learningquestion2:Howdoesgainingincreasedaccessto,andcontrolover,economicresources,leadtosocio-culturalchangesattheindividual,family,communitylevels?Forexample,canwomen’seconomicempowermenthelpchallengedominantmythsaroundtheeconomicparticipationofwomen(e.g.inmanycountrieswomenareviewedasnotbeingcapableofmanagingsmall-scalebusiness)?Doespromotingwomen’seconomicempowermentthroughincreasedskills,accesstocreditandincreasedawarenessofeconomic/employmentopportunitiesleadtobotheconomicadvancementandincreasedagency?

Thecombinationofwomen’sinclusioninincomeearningactivity,women’sgroupsandgendertraininghasresultedinachangeinbeliefsandsocialnormsaroundwomen’seconomicactivity,theircapabilityanddecisionmakingpower.Whilethecontextofremotevillagesandverytightknitcommunitiesmeansthatthereislimitedincomeearning,orbusinesses,thatare“owned”entirelybywomen,women’sinclusioninincomeearningactivitieshasdefinitelychangedpeople’sbeliefsaboutwomencanandshouldbedoing.Thischangeinbeliefsandbehaviouristhekeytoasustainablechange.InDFSPandPRDPwomen’sinvolvementindecisionmakingatfamilyandvillagelevel,combinedwiththeirinclusioninincomeearningactivityhasledtoreportedsocialnormchangeandanawarenessofgenderequalityandhumanrights.

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ThisinclusioninincomeearningactivityinDFSP,LANGOCAandPRDPhasinturncontributedtoachangeingenderrolesandachangeinthebalanceofpowerinfamilyrelationships.Whilethishasnotbeenpossibleinallfamiliestherewereasignificantnumberofstoriesofwomencontrollingthefamilymoneyandmakingdecisionsaboutpurchasingarangeofitems.Therewasalsoevidenceofanincreaseinjointdecisionmakingbetweenmenandwomenbothwithinthefamilyandinthecommunity.

Thegendertraining,timesavinginitiativesandWINGSinDFSPprovidedanessentialcontributiontochange,thoughwithouttheinclusionofwomenineconomicactivities,trainingandvillagemeetings,thischangewouldpossiblyhavebeenlimited.Itwasthecombinationoftheseapproachesthathavemadeadifference.Havingsaidthatitwasclearthatasignificantchangetookplaceformenandwomenasaresultofthegendertraining.Atthatpointitseemedthatmenhadalreadyobservedthattheirwivescouldbeimportantactorsinimprovingfamilyincome,andwomenhadalreadyparticipatedintheWINGSgroupsandsohadincreasedtheirconfidencetotalkingroupsandinteractinproblemsolving.Howeverthesimpleandyetpowerfulmethodofdiscussinggenderroles,workloadandfairnesshadabigimpactonnearlyallofthemeninvolvedinthestudy.

Theinclusionofmeninwomen’sactivitiesandinlearningnewwaysofearninganincometogetherhasbeenanimportantpartofthesocialnormchangeinseveralprojects.Activitieswheremenandwomenhaveparticipatedtogether,suchasthePaksongstudyvisits,havemadeabigdifferencetomen’sattitudetowardswomen’sincomeearningactivity.Whenmenhavenotbeenincluded,forexampleinthecookingandnutritionactivities,orinunderstandingtheroleoftheWINGSgroups,menhavenotbeenfullyinvolvedofthechangeprocessandhavenotbeabletoplaytheirpartinthechangesthatneedtotakeplace,forexampleinnutritionandcookingpractices.Thiswasalsoapparentinoneortwoofthedeskreviewprojects.

Jointownershipanddecisionmakingbetweenmenandwomenhasbeenpromotedbytheproject’sinclusiveapproachthatisfocusedonthehouseholdratherthanthroughactionfocusedontheindividual.Thefocusgroupsandinterviewsrevealedthatthereisnotmuchdistinctionbetweenthehusbandandwifeintermsofownershipandpowerovermoney.Bothmenandwomenprojectastrongbeliefthatmoneyisearned“forthefamily”eventhoughtheindividual’sbehaviourdoeseffectthefamily.Beforetheprojectitappearedthatmenwereeithernotawareofornotchallengedabouttheirbehaviourwhenitwasdamagingtofamilywellbeing.Theawakeningofmen’sawarenessandwomen’sunderstandingoftheirrightsandabilitytochallengemenhasprovidedanimportantpushforthechangeprocess.

Someinitiatives,suchasthelivestockbanksinPFSCBPandPRDP,haveusedapproachestoaddressinequalitywithinthevillage,whereasothershavenotaddressedtherisks.Incomeinequalityisapparentineveryvillageandthisisnormal.Iftheinequalityincreasesinsuchacloseknitcommunitythesocialcapitalmaybeaffectednegativelyandthiscouldhaveanimpactonprojecteffectiveness.Thepig,cowandgoatbanksareagoodexampleofredistributionthatalsoenhancesaprivatesectorapproach.Inallprojectsthecommunityownedricemillsandthesharingofcartsbetweenfamiliesalsoenhancessocialcapitalandlevelsoutthe“playingfield”.TheWINGSgroupsinDFSPenhanceswomen’ssolidarityandcooperationbetweenwomenaroundcertainproblems,whichcanincreaseequality.

Leadershipandrolemodelshavebeenimportantingredientsforsuccessinchangingnormsaroundgenderequality.Forexample,inDFSP,thevillagehead,thedeputyandtheLaowomen’sunionhavehadanimportantinfluenceonthelevelofsuccessineachvillage.Ithasbeenpossibletoseehowthetwovillageswiththestrongestandmostcapablevillageheadsappearedtohavethemostorganizedanddevelopedprojectactivitiesandvillagegroups.Theircapacity,motivationanddriveisreallyimportantandshouldbefosteredwithintheproject.Otherkeyindividualssuchasthevillageteacher(asseeninTanglou)andthehealthworker(whowaspresent,butnotsomuchinvolvedinTangyerng)couldhavepotentialtoplayanimportantroleinsocialnormchange.

Socialnormchangearoundwomen’sincomeearningrolesandnutritionpracticesisworkinprogress.Thesekindsofprocessescantakealongtimeandtherearesometimesbarriersthatre-emerge.Theevidenceshowsthatsomemenstillhavenegativeattitudestotheirwivesattendingmeetingsorleavingthevillage.ThePraihaveparticularissuesaroundwomen’smobility.Thereisalsoevidencethatsomewomenstilldon’tknowwhattocook,

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don’twanttochangetheirmethodsordon’thaveaccesstoingredients.Soitcan’tbeassumedthattheprocessiscomplete.Championsandinfluentialpeopleinthevillage(suchasthevillagehead,teacherorhealthcareprofessional)arelikelytobeanimportantfactortosupportandsustainchangeprocesses.

Learningquestion3:Whatexamplesof‘goodpractice’canbeidentifiedfromCARE’seconomicempowermentworkthatdemonstrateeffectivenessandsustainabilityinaddressingeconomicparticipationandempowermentinthelivesofwomenfromethnicgroups?

ThecombinationofeconomicandsocialapproacheshasbeenakeytotheeffectivenessCARE’sworkoneconomicempowermentinLaos.Thishasenabledamoresustainablechangeasthesocialaspectshaveincreasedwomen’spowerandagencyandhavebeguntoaddresssomeofthebarriersrelatedtogenderinequalityineconomicactivity.Atthesametimetheeconomicaspectshaveenabledwomentostartearninganincomeandtotakeapartineconomicdecisionmaking.Allofthereviewedprojectscontainsomecombinationofthefollowinginitiatives:

ü Initiativestoenhancewomen’sincomeearningbyincreasingtheirabilitytoproduceandsellagricultural,gardenandlivestockproduce.Thishasmeantbuildingwomen’stechnicalknowledgeofagriculture,gardeningandlivestock,whileatthesametimebuildingcommercialawarenessofthepotentialofcashcrops,sellingofsurplusfoodandsellingNTFPs.Theinclusionofwomenintraininginitiativessuchasstudyvisitsandcourseswhileatthesametimegiventhemrolesincascadingtrainingthroughthevillagehasincreasedwomen’sstatusinthevillagesandtheirvaluewithinthefamily.Livestockbanks,usedinPRDPandPFSCBP,appearedtobeaneffectivewayforincreasingverypoorwomen’saccesstofoodproductionandincomeearningpotentialasitenabledsharedownership,responsibilityandbenefitforlivestock.

ü Initiativesforwomentoformwomenonlygroups(e.g.WINGS)andtobecomepartofmixedgendergroups(e.g.Coffeeprocessinggroups,livestockbankgroups).Thegroupshaveenhancedwomen’sconfidence,knowledge,abilitytonegotiateandcommunicatewithpeers(menandwomen),andtotakepartonvillageandprojectdecisionmaking.Theincreaseinconfidenceappearstoalsoextendtosalesactivities–withmorewomenableandwillingtoleavethevillagetoaccessmarkets.Notablyinprojectswheretherewerenowomen’sgroups(e.g.PARUAII)theprogressthatwomenwereabletomakewaslimited.

ü Specificapproachestochangesocialnormsaroundwomen’sandmen’srolesandgenderinequality.TheDFSPfieldworkdemonstratedhowthegendertraininghadhadatransformationalimpactonmen’sandwomen’sattitudesandbehaviour.Thishadsupportedtheotherprojectelementsandhadpotentiallycontributedtoamoresustainablechange.Leadershipofvillageheadsandotherinfluentialpeopleinthevillagewasalsofoundtobeanimportantaspectofthesocialnormchangearoundgender.

ü Initiativestoimprovewellbeingthroughreducedworkloadandimprovednutrition,sanitationandaccesstosexualandreproductivehealthservices.Theseinitiativesareparticularlyimportantforwomen’seconomicempowermentintheLaoscontext.Womenwhoseworkloadhaddecreasedandnutritionhadimprovedreportedfeelingmoreenergeticandhavingmoretimetothemselvestoandearnanincome.IntheDFSPfieldworkwomenratedimprovedsanitationandvillageandhouseholdcleanlinessasimportantaspectsofthechangesthathavetakenplaceintheirlives.Thishighlightshowhygieneandaccesstolatrinescanhaveapositiveimpactonwomen’sself-esteemandfeelingsofself-worth,whichareimportantforwomentobeabletofunctionasequalstomeninincomeearningactivities.

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6. Recommendations

Caption:Villagerssellbroomgrasstotradersthatvisitthevillagefora6weekperiodaroundFebruary.KunglithVillage,KhuaDistrict,PhongsalyProvince,Laos.Photocredit:©JeffWilliams/CARE

ThissectionofthereportpresentsaseriesofstrategicrecommendationswhichhavebeendrawnfromthefindingsoftheliteraturereviewandfieldstudyforCARELaos:

(i)Ensurethatathoroughgendercontextanalysisformsthebasisofallprojectdesigns.ThisshouldfollowtheCAREEmpowermentFrameworkandtheWomen’seconomicempowermentanalysisframeworkshowninTable1ofthisreport.Inparticularitcouldincludeanalysisofthefollowing:

ü Women’seconomicactivities,opportunitiesandbarrierstoincomeearning–includingeconomic,practicalandsocialbarriers(e.g.genderinequality,highfertility,workload,knowledgeofbusinessandmarketing,financialliteracy,currenteconomicactivityandincome)

ü Analysisofexistingandpotentialmarketsandoutletsforcurrentproduce(e.g.agricultural)andnewproducts(e.g.coffee,SIMcards)

ü Accesstofinancialservices–includingsavingsandcredit,butalsohealthinsuranceandleases

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ü Decisionmakingandpowerinthefamilyandinthecommunitywithrespecttoincomeearningandotheraspectsofwomen’slives

ü Sexualandreproductivehealthandrights(SRHR)andviolenceagainstwomenandgirls(VAWG).(thiscouldincludefertility,desiretolimitnumberofchildren,howwomenmanagechildcareandchildbirthandassociatedhealthrisks;assessmentofaccesstoservicesanddecisionmakingpoweroverwomen’sownbodies;VAWGprevalenceandimpactonwomenandtheirabilitytoearnanincomeandmakedecisions)

ü Existenceoffeministorwomen’sgroupsorsupportnetworks(e.g.theLaoWomen’sUnion)andassessmentoftheircapability

ü Institutional,legalandregulatoryframework(thismightincludelawsaroundinheritanceandlandownership,women’rightsandsexualandreproductiverights;alsoitmightincludegovernmentandprojectinstitutionalgenderequalityandsafeguardsofwomen’srights)

(ii)Developamorecomprehensiveapproachtopromotingwomen’sinclusioninprivatesectordevelopment.Thisshouldbebasedontheanalysisofwhatwomenneedinordertodeveloptheirincomeearningpotentialandcouldpotentiallyinclude:

ü Businessdevelopmentservices–buildingupbookkeeping,managementandleadershipknowledgeandskills,marketingandmarketanalysisexpertiseandexperience

ü Technicalskillsindesignandproduction(e.g.foodprocessing,handicrafts,equipment),agriculture,services(e.g.motorbikemaintenance,hairdressing)andintroductionofnewtechnologyproductsandservices(e.g.SIMcards,solarpoweredlamps,motorbikerentalservices,transportservicesetc)

ü AccesstofinancialservicessuchassavingsandloansandinsurancethroughVSLA,formalbankingsystem,mobilemoney

ü Enhancingaccesstomarketsthroughmakingmarketconnections(e.g.throughFairtrade),addressingphysicalandgenderbarrierstoaccessingmarkets(includinginnovativeapproachestosalesmodels,communicationsandphysicalmarketplaces).

ü Introduceprivatesectorapproachesthatencouragecollaborationandjointownershipwithinandbetweenvillagesinordertoenhanceinclusionandincomeequality,whileatthesametimeenablingbulkpurchasingofinputsandbulksales(e.g.cooperatives)

(iii)Ensuretraininghasalongtermapproachandthatitisappropriateforwomen.Thisshouldbebasedonwomen’sneedsand,wherepossibleandbeneficial,shouldbeintegratedwithmen’straining.Insomecase,suchasgendertraining.Gendertraininginparticularcouldincludechildrentootoensurethatsocialnormchangeistakesplacethroughwholefamilies.Whendevelopingtrainingapproachesitisimportanttorecognisethatlearningandchangesinpracticearenotlinearandoftenneedalongtermview.Evidencehasshownthatashortfallinachievementaffectswomen’sconfidence.Trainingplanningshouldbebasedonneed,butcouldincludetraininggender,nutrition,SRHR,Laolanguage,literacyandadulteducation,andtechnicalandbusinesstraining.Trainingapproachescouldinclude:

ü Longtermtimeframeswithrepetitivesessions

ü Mentoringandcontinuedtechnicalsupport

ü Integrationoflifeskillsintotechnicalskillstraining

ü Extensivestudyvisitsastheseappeartobemosteffectiveduetopeerlearningandobservation

ü Cascadingbetweenmenandwomen,throughoutvillagesandbetweenvillages(cascadingisparticularlyimportantwhenwomenarenotyetabletoleavethevillagefortrainingandneedstobemorepurposefullyplannedfrommentowomen).

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ü Inclusionofthesupportofkeyvillageinfluencerssuchasthevillagehead,teacherorhealthprofessional

(iv)Supportvillage,districtandprovincechampionsforgenderequalityandwomen’sempowerment

ü Enablevillageheadstoimprovetheireffectivenessandleadershipofchangeprocesses

ü StrengthenthecapabilityofLaoWomen’sUnionrepresentativesbyensuringtheyhavearoleontheprojectsandthattheyknowwhattheyaredoing.Provideleadershiptraining

ü Supportgovernmentchampionstovisitvillagesandtoprovidemoralandtechnicalsupporttogenderequalityapproaches

(v)Produceastrategicapproachtoinequalityandexclusionintheremoteethniccommunities.Itisimportanttoconsiderthewholecommunitywithrespecttoincreasingincomebecausetheseremoteethniccommunitiesaresocloselyknitandhavehighlevelsofcohesionandsocialcapitalwhichispartoftheirsurvivalandsuccessstrategy.Approachesthatincreasetheincomeofasmallnumberofpeoplewhileleavingtherestinpovertywillincreaseincomeinequality,riskbreakingupthesocialcapitalanddamagingoveralllongtermdevelopmentprospects.

(vi)Analyseandmonitortherisksassociatedwithsocialnormchange,alcoholconsumptionandviolenceagainstwomenandchildren.

ü Ensurethereisasystemforwomentotalkaboutviolenceinthefamily(maybethroughwomen’sgroupsorwithhealthworkers)andtoaddressthroughsupportsystemsandaccesstojustice

ü Raiseawarenessofalcoholismwithinahealthcontextandprovideaccesstoservices

ü Monitormen’sattitudestowardswomen’schangingrolesandensuremen’sfearsandconcernsarelistenedtoinordertoavoidbacklashandviolence

(vii)Addressstructuralandenablingenvironmentbarrierssuchasinstitutionalgenderinequalityingovernmentservices,projectdesignandmanagement,discriminatorylawsorpublicsectorpractice

ü Connectthelocalserviceswiththeprojectactivitiesinordertoimproveaccesstohealth,educationandWASHservicesandtomaximiseimpactforwomen’seconomicempowerment

ü ConsiderWASHinitiativesthatarewomenfocusedinordertosupportwomen’sconfidencebuildingandfamilyhygiene

ü Monitorandraiseawarenessoflocalandnationalpoliciesandimplementationofwomen’srightslegislationinrelationtocustomarylawinethnicareas

(viii)Strengthenprojectandprogramme-levelM&Eprocessesbasedonappropriatemixedmethodsapproaches.ThematerialreviewedforthisevaluationsuggeststhatitcouldbeusefulforCARELaostoworktowardsestablishingasetofstandardizedoutcome-levelindicatorstobemeasuredacrossprogramminginitiativeswhichshareacommonfocusonwomen’seconomicempowerment.Indicatorswouldneedtobedefinedtoreflectchangesinwomen’seconomicadvancement(e.g.income,expenditureandassetownership),andpowerandagency,andsowouldincludeattitudeandbehaviourindicatorsdefinedtomeasureaspectsofrelations(e.g.householddecision-making,incidenceofdomesticviolence)andstructures(socialnorms).Theconsistentuseoftheseindicatorsinbaselineandendlinesurveyswouldenableamoredetailed,quantitativeassessmentoftheextentandnatureofprogrammeachievementsacrossthecountryofficeportfolio.Theroleofqualitativeevaluationswouldthenbeacomplementaryoneofexploringhowandwhychangehastakenplace,resultinginanoverallmorecompellingbodyofevidenceconcerningtheeffectivenessandprogrammingapproaches.

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Annex 1: Tools

DFSPEXPOSTEVALUATION-FOCUSGROUPWITHWOMEN

NOTEFORFACILITATORS:Questionsinboldbelowareyouropeningquestions.Thesequestionsaredesignedtoencouragediscussionandstorysharingbytheparticipants.Questionsasbulletpointsarespecific‘probing’questionsthatyoucanusetofindoutmoreinformationbasedonparticipant’sinitialresponses.

Askforspecificexamplesasmuchaspossible–donottake“yes”or“no”oronewordresponsesforananswer–askformoreinformation.Recordquotesthatcanbeusedtoillustrateapoint.

FACILITATORINTRODUCTIONTOPARTICIPANTS

Thanksforcomingtomeetwithustodayandforandsharingyourtimetodiscusstheworkinyourvillage.

IamXXXXandthisisthefocusgroupnotetakerXXX

WeareheretodaytobetterunderstandwhetherandhowwomenhavebenefittedfromtheeconomicdevelopmentandnutritionworkundertakenwithCAREinthisvillage.WewouldliketohearabouthowyourliveshavechangedasaresultofworkingtogetherwithCARE.TheinformationandideasdiscussedtodaywillhelpCARELaosunderstandhowtheirworkhasenhancedwomen’sincomeandcontrolovertheirlivesandwhatneedstobeimprovedorexpandedfurther.Theinformationwillalsobeusedtoreportbacktoourdonorssothattheyhaveconfidencetoprovidemoremoneyforsuchprojects..

Everythingthatwediscusstodayisconfidential.Thoughwewillbewritingnotesinordertorememberthemainpoints,noinformationwillbepresentedbynameinthefinalreport.Itwillallbeanonymous.WewouldliketohaveaconversationandIwillstartthisbyaskingquestions.Thereareno‘rightorwrong’answersandwewillnotbejudgingeachotherduringthediscussion.Ijustwanttohearaboutpeople’sdifferentexperiences.Iftherearequestionsthatanyonedoesnotfeelcomfortableanswering,theydonothavetoanswer..

Therewillberefreshmentsattheendofthemeeting.Ifyouhavenotalreadyfilledinallofyourinformationontheparticipantsheet,pleasedocomeandfillinattheend.

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FACILITATORQUESTIONSforparticipants

Mainquestion timelimit

Probingquestions

1.Introductions–pleasetellthegroupyournameandwhatactivity/iesyoudotoearnmoneyorproducefoodforyourfamilyandyourself.

10mins

• Doyoufarmorhaveakitchengarden?

• Doyousellproduceinthemarket?

• Doyoucollectandsellforestproducts?

• Areyouinvolvedinacoffeeplantation?

• Anyotheractivities?

Overarchingspokesquestion:Whatarethemostimportantandsignificantchangesthathavetakenplaceforyouintermsofyourincomeearning,healthyeating,overallcapabilityandconfidenceandtheopinionandsupportofthecommunity.

2.Fromtheactivitiesthatyouhavejustmentioned–areanyofthemnewtoyouthatyoudidnotdobefore?Doyouownanyequipmentorproperty(e.g.land)tohelpyouwiththeseactivitiesthatyoudidnothavebefore?Whydidyoustarttheseactivities?

(thisincludesincomeearning,growingandproducing(livestock,fish,cropsetc),collectingandprocessingforestproducts,craftsandfoodproductionandsales,ownershipofequipmentandlandetc).

20mins

Activitiestoearnincome

• Whateconomicactivitieswereyouinvolvedinbeforetheprojectandhowhasthischanged?

• Inwhatactivitiesareyouusingnewinformationandideasthatyouhavebeentaughtabout?

• Ifyouaresellingwheredoyousellyourproducts?Howdoyouknowwheretosell?

• Howhaveyouincreasedyourincomeifatall?Howareyoumeasuringandrecordingthis?

• Howdoyousavemoneyorfoodproduceforthefuture?

Assets

• Whatassets(equipment,landetc)doyouhavenowthatyoudidnothavebefore?

• Aretheassetsownedbyyouorbyyourhusbandorfamily,orthevillage?

3.Howhasyouropinionofyourselfandyourabilitieschangedoverthelastthreeyearssincetheprojectstarted?Whyorhowdoyouthinkyouhavechanged?

20mins

• Doyoufeelmoreconfident,havemoreknowledge?–giveanexampleoftheincreaseinconfidenceorknowledgeandhowthishappened.

• Whomakesdecisionsinthefamily?Areyoumoreabletomakedecisions?Whyisthis?

• Doyouhavebetterskillsandresourcestofeedyourfamily?–Pleasedescribe?

• Doesyourhusbandorotherfamilymembersexpectyoutodothingsthattheydidnot

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before?Inwhatway?

• Hasyourrelationshipwithyourhusbandortherestofyourfamilychangedatall?

• Doyoufeelmoreconfidenttoparticipateinandspeakupinvillagemeetings?

4.Whatdothevillagepeopleandyourfamilythinkaboutwomenworkingandearningmoneyinthesenewways?Isthisdifferentfromhowitwasbeforetheproject?

15mins

• Howhavewomeninthevillageoverallchangedoverthelast3years?

• Whatdomenthinkaboutwomenworkingforanincome?

• Doyougetanysupportfromyourhusband?E.g.investment,selling,buying,moralsupport,helpinthehouseorwiththechildcare?Pleasegiveaspecificexample.

• Howdoesyourfamilysupportyou?

• Arethereanygroupsororganisationsthathavesupportedyoutoearnanincome?

• Doyoufeelincludedinvillagedecisionmaking?Areyoulistenedto?

5.NowstarttheSPOKESexercisewithinformationthathascomeoutofthediscussioninquestions2,4and5.(60mins)

Outofalloftheissueswehavebeendiscussingjustnow–whatarethemostimportantandsignificantchangesthathavetakenplaceforyouintermsofyourincomeearning,healthyeatingandoverallcapabilityandconfidence.

InstructionstofacilitatorforSPOKES

(i) Withthewomendecideonsymbolstorepresent8–12ofthemainchangestowomen’seconomicadvancement,powerandagencythathavetakenplaceandarrangetheminacircle.Symbolswillincludephysicalthingsthatyoufindaroundyouorthatyoucarrywithyou.Allowthegrouptoagreewhichsymbolsrepresentwhichchange,andthenotetakershouldwritewhateachsymbolrepresentsintheirnotes.Keepreferringbacktothemeaningsandgetthegrouptorememberthemeaningsofthesymbols

(ii)Thendrawlinesfromthecentreofthecircletoeachofthewrittencards–likespokesinawheel.Forexample:

Myhusbandgivesmehelpwithhousework

Ifeelsupportedandthathasmademestronger

Iknowhowtoprocesscoffeeandaminvolvedincoffeegroup

IhavemoremoneytospendasIwish

Iamfeedingmyfamilybetterfood

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(iii)Thenthegroupwillusemarkerstoindicatehowmuchprogresshasbeenmade.Therewillbetwodifferentcolourordifferenttypemarkers.(e.g.blackandwhitestones).Oneofthemarkerswillindicatewherethewomenwerebeforetheprojectstarted.Theotherwillindicatewheretheyarenowinrelationtoprogress.Thewomenthemselvesneedtodiscusstogetherandagreewherethemarkershouldgo–relatingthedecisiontotheirownlives.Theywillplacethemarkernearerthesymboliftherehasbeenprogressandtheyareclosertoreachingtheirgoalwiththisissue–andfurtherawayfromthesymboliftheyarefarfromachievingthegoal.

e.g.iftheyareinvolvedinacoffeeplantation–iftheywerenotinvolvedintheprojectbeforetheywouldputthemarkerthefurthestawayfromthesymbol(e.g.inthecentreofthecircle.)Toassesstheprogressandwheretheothermarkershouldgoyoumightencouragethemtodiscusswhethertheyhavebeeninvolvedindecisionmaking,arethebeingpaidfortheirwork,aretheypleasedwiththeprogressordotheyneedtoseemoreprogress.

Thegrouphastoagreeonthelevelofprogress–e.g.thatifhalfthegrouparegettingnohelpinthehousefromtheirhusband,buttherestofthegrouparegettingsomehelptheymightagreethatprogressisabouthalfwayalongthespoke(seepictureabove.Thecloserthestoneorsweetistotheboxthemoreprogresshasbeenmade.

Duringthisdiscussionyoushouldexplorethebarriersthatthewomenhavefaced:

Whatarethebarriersthatyouhaveexperiencewhentryingtoearnanincomeorreachinganyofthesegoals?Hasthisbecomeanyeasierduringsincetheprojectstarted?

• Isthereanythingaboutbeingawomanthatlimitsyoufromearninganincome?Giveexamples.(thiscouldincludethingslike“Iamnotasconfidentasmen”,“womendon’thavethesameskills”,“peopleinthevillagedon’tthinkwomencandothesethings”,“Iamtoobusytoearnanincome”,“Idon’thaveseedsformygarden”etc)

• Whatareyourbiggestfearsandworrieswhenearningincome?(couldincludeviolencefrompartnerorotherfamilymember,UXO,hunger,safetyofmychildrenetc).

• Doyouneedyourhusband’spermissiontohaveyourownenterpriseortogotoworkortosellproductsinthemarketinDakCheung?Hasthischangedatallsincetheprojectstarted?

• Doyouhavemoreorlesstimetodoeverythingyouneedtointheday?Givespecificexamples.(e.g.equipmentnowsavestime,husbandhelpingwithwoodcollectionorhouseworketc)

• Doyoufeellikeyouaresupportedbyfamilymembers,yourhusbandorotherpeopleinthevillage?Giveexamples.(thissupportcouldincludechildcare,investmentinbusiness,helptosellproducts,moralsupport,groupsupportfromWINGSforexample.etc)

Ifeelmoreconfident Ihavemoretime

toworkinmyvegetablegarden

Peopleinmycommunityrespectme

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(iv)Finally-voteforthemostimportantofthechangeareas–orinitiativesthathavechangedyourlives.Whichonehasbeenmostimportanttoyouandhadthemostimpactinimprovingyourlife?Eachparticipantisgiventhreestonestovotewith.Shecanputthestonesonanyoftheboxes–orallthreeononebox.

6.WhatdoyouthinkCAREcoulddotofurtherimprovewomen’sincomeandsupporttheirparticipationindecisionmakinginthehomeandcommunity?

Attheendaskfor2volunteerstocomebacktotelltheirstoriesaboutthetopthreevotedforchanges.Theyneedtobeabletoexplainhowthechangecameabout–whatwasinvolvedinthechange,whosupporteditandwhyitissoimportanttothem.

Methodforcollectingandrecordingthestoryofchange.

Wewouldliketoknowexactlyhowthechangehappened.Theissuestobeexploredinthestoryare:

• Actualchangeineconomicwellbeingandnutritionwellbeing

• Selfesteem,selfbeliefandaspirations

• Learningandknowledge–includingbusiness,marketing,pricesetc

• Relationshipswithfamilyandhusband

• ExperienceinWINGSandinothercommunitygroups

Whatdoyouthinkyouwerelikebeforetheprojectstarted–tellmewhatyourdaywaslikeandhowyoufeltduringyourday?Wasthereanythingyouwereconcernedaboutorscaredof?

Hasthatchanged?Howhasitchanged?Telluswhathappenedwithallofthedetails.Whatrolesdidpeopleinyourfamilytake?Wereyouhappyaboutit?Whathaveyoulearned,whatareyoudoingdifferently?Arepeopleinthecommunitydifferent?

Beforetheprojectstarteddidyoufeelconfident?Wereyouabletospeakoutinmeetings,discussanyissueswithyourhusband?Doyouthinkthathaschangedatall?Tellmehowithaschanged–givemeanexampleofhowyounowcommunicatewithyourhusband.

Howhasyoureconomicandfarmingactivitychanged?Beforetheprojectdidyouknowaboutmarketsforyouragricultureproducts,livestockanddifferentgardeningandcookingtechniquesetc?Whatnewthingshaveyoulearned?

Howmuchdoyouearneachweekonaverage?Byhowmuchhasthisincreasedoverthelastthreeyears(ifatall)?Howdoyoumanagethefinancesofyourlittlebusiness?

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DFSPEXPOSTEVALUATION-FOCUSGROUPWITHMEN

NOTE:Questionsinboldbelowareyouropeningquestions.Thesequestionsaredesignedtoencouragediscussionandstorysharingbytheparticipants.Questionsasbulletpointsarespecific‘probing’questionsthatyoucanusetofindoutmoreinformationbasedonparticipant’sinitialresponses.

Askforspecificexamplesasmuchaspossible–donottake“yes”or“no”oronewordresponsesforananswer–askformoreinformation.Recordquotesthatcanbeusedtoillustrateapoint.

FACILITATORINTRODUCTIONTOPARTICIPANTS

Thankforcomingtomeetwithustodayandforandsharingyourtimetodiscusstheworkinyourvillage.

IamXXXXandthisisthefocusgroupnotetakerXXX

WeareheretodaytobetterunderstandwhetherandhowwomenhavebenefittedfromtheeconomicdevelopmentandnutritionworkundertakenwithCAREinthisvillage.WewouldliketohearabouthowthelivesofwomenhavechangedasaresultofworkingtogetherwithCARE.TheinformationandideasdiscussedtodaywillhelpCARELaosunderstandhowtheirworkhasenhancedwomen’sincomeandcontrolovertheirlivesandwhatneedstobeimprovedorexpandedfurther.Theinformationwillalsobeusedtoreportbacktoourdonorssothattheyhaveconfidencetoprovidemoremoneyforsuchprojects..

Everythingthatwediscusstodayisconfidential.Thoughwewillbewritingnotesinordertorememberthemainpoints,noinformationwillbepresentedbynameinthefinalreport.Itwillallbeanonymous.WewouldliketohaveaconversationandIwillstartthisbyaskingquestions.Thereareno‘rightorwrong’answersandwewillnotbejudgingeachotherduringthediscussion.Ijustwanttohearaboutpeople’sdifferentexperiences.Iftherearequestionsthatanyonedoesnotfeelcomfortableanswering,theydonothavetoanswer..

Therewillberefreshmentsattheendofthemeeting,Ifyouhavenotalreadyfilledinallofyourinformationontheparticipantsheet,pleasedocomeandfillinattheend.

FACILITATORQUESTIONSforparticipants

Mainquestion timelimit Probingquestions

1.Introductions–pleasetellthegroupyournameandwhatactivity/iesyoudotoearnmoneyorproducefoodforyourfamilyandyourself.

10minutes • Doyoufarm,haveakitchengardenorownlivestock?

• Doyousellproduceinthemarket?

• Doyoucollectandsellforestproducts?

• Areyouinvolvedinacoffeeplantation?

• Anyotheractivities?

2.Wewouldliketounderstandhowincomeearningandfoodproductionactivitieshavechangedoverthelastthreeyears?

10minutes • Howwereyouandyourfamilyearninganincomeorproducingbeforetheproject?Canyoudescribethesituation?

• Whatisthesituationlikeforyouandyourfamilynow?Whatisdifferent?Canyougivemeanexampleofachangeordifferencethathasbeenimportanttoyou?

• Whatnewactivitiesareyouinvolvedinsincethebeginningoftheproject?

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3.Nowwewouldliketodiscusshowwomenhavebeeninvolvedintheseorotherincomeearningactivities.

Whatnewincomeearningactivitiesarewomeninvolvedin?

Thinkingofyourwifeoryoursisters-pleasesharesomeexamplesorstoriesofhowtheirabilitytoearnanincomeortoproducefoodhaschangedoverthelastthreeyears.

30minutes • Inwhatwayhavewomen’sknowledgeandskillsforearninganincomechangedoverthepastthreeyears?Canyougivemeanexampleofthischange?

• Howaredecisionsmadeinthehousehold?Hasitalwaysbeenthatwayorhasanythingchanged?Pleasegiveexamplesofhowthishaschanged(e.g.schoolfees;whattoplantwhenandwhere;healthclinicvisits)?Arethereanydecisionsthatonlymencanmake?Canyougivemeanexample?

• Whatistheroleofwomeninvillagemeetings?Pleasegiveanexampleofhowthismighthavechanged.(e.g.morewomencometomeetings;womenspeakmore;womenhavetheirowngroupsthatmakedecisionsaboutcommunityissues)?Whathaschanged?Whatwasitlikebefore?

• Doyouthinkwomenfeelmoreconfident,orhavemoreknowledge?

• Areyouandyourfamilyeatinghealthierfood–pleasedescribe?

• Arewomenearningmoremoneyandgrowingfood?

• Howistherelationshipwithyourwifeandtherestofyourfamily?

4.Whatdoyouthinkofthesechangesthatwomenhaveexperienced?

10minutes • Howwellarewomendoingsomeofthethingstheyhavebeentaught?E.g.cooknewtypesoffood,processcoffee,sellproductsinthemarket?

• WhatdoyouthinkabouttheWINGSgroups?

• Doesanythingworryyouaboutthechangesinwomen’sactivities?

• Whatdoyouthinkaboutwomenearningtheirownincome?

• Shouldwomenbeabletodecidewhattospendmoneyon?

• Doyousupportyourwifeorotherfemalefamilymemberstoearnmoneyorimprovethefoodthatthefamilyeats.

5.NowstarttheSPOKESexercisewithinformationthathascomeoutofthediscussionin6.(60minutes)

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Whatdoyouthinkwomenfindmostdifficult?Whatstopswomenfromparticipatingandearninganincomeandhowdoyouthinkthiscouldbechanged?

• Isthereanythingaboutbeingawomanthatlimitsthemfromearninganincome?

• Dowomeninthisvillageevergetbeatenorexperienceviolencefromtheirhusbandsorotherfamilymembers?

• Doesyourwifeneedyourpermissiontohaveherownenterpriseortogotowork?

• Dobeliefsaboutwomen’sroleinthecommunitymakeitdifficultforwomentoearnmoneyorproducefood?

• Arethereanygroupsororganisationsthathavesupportedwomentoearnanincome?

InstructionstofacilitatorforSPOKES

(i)Identifysymbolstorepresentthemainsuggestionsforaddressingwomen’sdifficultiesfromthediscussionofthequestionabove.Arrangetheminacircle.Symbolswillincludephysicalthingsthatyoufindaroundyouorthatyoucarrywithyou.Allowthegrouptoagreewhichsymbolsrepresentwhichchange,andthenotetakershouldwritewhateachsymbolrepresentsintheirnotes.Keepreferringbacktothemeaningsandgetthegrouptorememberthemeaningsofthesymbols

(ii)Thendrawlinesfromthecentreofthecircletoeachofthewrittencards–likespokesinawheel.FOREXAMPLE:

(iii)Thendiscusswhetheranyprogresshasbeenmadeforwomenandhowclosetheyaretothesuggestionbeingachieved.Thishastobediscussedasawholegroupsothatallofthemencangivetheiropinioninrelationtotheirownlives–e.g.ifmenthinkwomenneedmoreofaroleinthecoffeeprocessinggroup–thendiscusswhytheyhave

Provideawellforsafewater

Betterbusinessskills

Husbandsbeingmoresupportive

Aroleinthecoffeeprocessinggroup

Morecartsforcarryingfirewoodandotheritems

Moreseedsforthegarden

Womengoingtoschoolandlearningtoread

Accesstocredit

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notbeenabletodothissofarandwhatneedstochangetoreachthegoal.Whatwouldtheyliketoseedonedifferentlyinthisinitiativesothattheywouldbenefitmore?Thenplaceamarker(stoneorsweet)alongthelinefromthecentretodemonstratehowmuchprogresshasbeenmadeandhowhappytheyarewiththechangeprocess.Thegrouphastoagreeonthelevelofprogress–e.g.thatifhalfthegroupthinkwomenalreadyhavesomeroleinthecoffeeprocessinggroup,buttherestofthegrouparethinkthatwomenmightgotomeetings,buttheydonotparticipateormakeanydecisionsthenprogressisabouthalfwayalongthespoke(seepictureabove.Thecloserthestoneorsweetistotheboxthemoreprogresshasbeenmade.

(iv)Finally-voteforthemostimportantofthesuggestionsforchangingwomen’slivesandabilitytoearnanincome.Whichonewouldbethemostimportantforyourcommunity?Eachparticipantisgiventhreestonestovotewith.Hecanputthestonesonanyoftheboxes–orallthreeononebox.

Attheendaskforonevolunteerwhohasexperiencedaparticularchangeinattitudeandachangeinthewaythefamilyisorganised.Theyshouldcomebacktotelltheirstories.Theyneedtobeabletodiscusstheirownattitudesandopinionsofwomen’sparticipationandcontributiontothevillageandfamilyeconomy.

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Methodforcollectingandrecordingthestoryofchange.

Wewouldliketoknowexactlymen’swives/sistersliveshavechanged,howthishappenedandwhataremen’sattitudestothesechanges.Theissuestobeexploredinthestoryare:

• Actualchangeineconomicwellbeingandnutritionwellbeing

• Selfesteem,selfbeliefandaspirations

• Learningandknowledge–includingbusiness,marketing,pricesetc

• Relationshipswithfamilyandhusband

• ExperienceinWINGSandinothercommunitygroups

Whatdoyouthinkyourwifewaslikebeforetheprojectstarted–tellmewhatherdaywaslikeandshebehavedduringtheday?Wasthereanythingshewasconcernedaboutorscaredof?Whatdidyouthinkaboutherthen?

Hasthatchanged?Howhasitchanged?Telluswhathappenedwithallofthedetails.Whatrolesdidpeopleinyourfamilytake?Wereyouhappyaboutit?Whathaveyoulearned,whatareyoudoingdifferently?Arepeopleinthecommunitydifferent?

Beforetheprojectstarteddidyourwifefeelconfident?Wassheabletospeakoutinmeetingsanddiscussanyissueswithyou?Doyouthinkthathaschangedatall?Tellmehowithaschanged–givemeanexampleofhowyounowcommunicatewithyourwife.

Howhasyourwife’seconomicandfarmingactivitychanged?Beforetheprojectdidsheknowaboutmarketsforheragricultureproducts,livestockanddifferentgardeningandcookingtechniquesetc?Haveyousupportedhertogainnewknowledgetosellproduce?Doyousellproducejointly?

Doyouthinkyourattitudetowardsyourwifehaschangedduringtheproject?Whatdoyouthinkabouthermoneyearningactivities?Whatdoyouthinkaboutherconfidenceandabilitytocommunicatewithyouandwithotherpeople?Isthereanythingthatconcernsyouorworriesyouaboutthechanges?

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Semi-structuredInterviewguide–DFSPExPostevaluation

• Localgovernmentofficials(includingDistrictAgricultureandForestryOffice)

• RepresentativeofLaoWomen’sUnion

• Villageleader

• Farmergroupleaders,cooperativeorcoffeeprocessinggroupleaders/manager

• Women’sgroupfacilitator(WINGS)

• Healthworkerand/orteacher(thisistohearwhethertherehasbeenanyhealthchangessincethestartoftheprojectandalsowhethertheyhavenotedchangesinsocialnorms,women’sattitudesetc)

• Communitygroupleaderandorirrigationgroupleader.

Explainthatweareheretoevaluatetheprojectimpactonwomen’seconomicempowerment–andwhatthismeans.Thetimewilltakebetween60–90mins.

1.Pleasecanyouexplainyourroleinthisprojectandon-goingprojectsintheDakCheungregion(ifany),oryourrolewiththecommunities.

2.Whatdoyouthinkhaschangedinthisvillage/thesevillagesinthedistrictoverthelastthreeyears?

3.Howhavewomenbeeninvolvedinthesechanges?

• Havetheybeenincludedinmeetings,committeesandassociations?

• Dotheyhavenewroles?

• Arewomenearningmoremoney?

• Dotheyownmoreassetsnow?

4.Howhavewomenchangedasaresultofprojectsintheircommunities?–givemesomespecificexamplesofthesechanges.

• Dotheyhavemoreincome?

• Dotheyhavemoreknowledge–whatkindofknowledge?

• Arethemoreinvolvedinhouseholddecisionmaking?

• Arewomenmoreconfident?Dotheyspeakupmore?

• Canyougivemeanexampleofawomaninyourcommunity/district/organisationwhohastakenonaleadershiproleasaresultofthisproject?

5.Howhavetheattitudesofpeopleinthevillageingeneralchanged

• Dotheyrespectwomenmore?

• Dotheyhavedifferentviewsaboutwhatwomen’srolesshouldbe?

• Aretheyawareofthecontributionthatwomenandgirlscanmaketotheprosperityofthevillage?

• Dotheattitudesofpeopleinthevillageeverstopwomenfromearninganincomeorimprovingtheirlives?–givespecificexamples

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6.Whatdoyouthinkhasbeenthemostvaluableaspectofprojectsthathavechangedwomenandtheircommunities?

• Leadership

• Projectactivities

• Training

• Women’sgroups(WINGS)

• Gendertraining

• Alloftheseoracombinationofthings–whichcombination...

7.Whatdoyouthinkofthechangesthataretakingplace?

• Doyouagreewiththechanges?

• Doyouthinkthereareanyrisksinvolvedinthesechanges?

• Doyouthinkwomencanmakegoodleaders?

8.Arewomenandtheirfamilieshealthierandmoreeducated?

• Aremorechildrengoingtoschool?

• Whydoyouthinkthisis?Whatisthemaincause?

• Doyouthinkwomenhavechangedtheircookingandfoodpreparationbehaviour?Arethefamilieseatinghealthiermeals?Dotheyhavemoreaccesstovegetablesandprotein?

• Docoupleshaveaccesstofamilyplanning–(forhealthworkers)whichmethodsdoyouhavehereinyourclinic?DoeseveryoneinthevillageknowaboutFP?

9.Whathasyourorganisation/village/officedonetohelpwomen’sprogress?

• Aretheremanywomenleadersinyourorganisation?

• Howdoesyourorganisationensurethatwomenhaveopportunities?

• Hasthischangedatallasaresultoftheproject?

10.Dowomenstillhaveproblemsearningmoneyandfeedingtheirfamilies?

• Whatkindsofproblemsdotheyhaveandwhy?

• Aresomeoftheirproblemsanythingtodowithpeople’sviewsofwhatwomenarecapableoforwhattheirroleshouldbe?

• Dowomenownassets?

11.Whatwouldyousuggesttoimprovethesituationforwomen?Whatmorecanbedone?

• Toimprovetheirdecisionmakinginthevillageandinthefamily–tobeheardandtocontribute.

• Toowntheirownassets

• Tobesupportedandencouragedbypeopleintheircommunity

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Annex2:Sekongmapandprojectoverlaps

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Annex3:Fieldevaluationparticipantinformation

33

20

38

36

Chart1:Totalrespondents

DakDen

Sangmai

Tanglou

TangYerne

0

5

10

15

20

25

DakDen Sangmai Tanglou TangYerne

Chart2:Male/femaleresponsesbyvillage

NumberofWomen

NumberofMen

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0 5 10 15 20 25 30

15-24years

25-34years

35-44years

45-54years

55years+

Chart3:RespondentsAge

Women

Men

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0 2 4 6 8 10 12

DakDenMen

DakDenWomen

SangmaiMen

SangmaiWomen

TanglouMen

TanglouWomen

TangyerngMen

TangyerngWomen

Chart4:Numberofchildrenperperson

10+

7to9

4to6

1to3

None

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0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

DakDen

Sangmai

Tanglou

Tangyerng

Chart5:Sanita7on

OpenDefeca7on

Latrine

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0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Sangmai Tanglou Tangyerng

Chart6:Distribu7onofAssets

Tools&Machinery

Livestock

Land

Vehicles

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0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

None SomeSecondary FinishedPrimary

Num

bero

fpeo

ple

Chart7:Educa7onlevelofpar7cipantsinDakDen

Women Men

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0

2

4

6

8

10

12

None FinishedPrimary SomeSecondary FinishedSecondary

numbe

rofp

eople

Chart8:Educa7onlevelofpar7cipantsinSangmai

Women Men

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0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20


Num

bero

fpeo

ple

Chart9:Educa7onlevelofpar7cipantsinTanglou

Women Men

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0

2

4

6

8

10

12


Num

bero

fpeo

ple

Chart10:Educa7onlevelofpar7cipantsinTangyerng

Women Men

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Annex4:StoryofChangeInterviews

Village:TanglouVillage

Name:MsInnalee

Occupation:ricefield;woodcutter,coffeegrower

Assets:buffalo,motorbike,pigs

Interviewer:JosieandVang

Date:24/01/15

Ms.Innaleeis29yearsoldandismarriedwithsixchildren.InnaleestartedworkingwithCAREin2010afterCAREheldameetinginhervillagetoexplaintheproject‘CAREheldameetinginthevillageandallthewomenwereinvitedtoattend’.OverthelastfouryearsInnaleebelievesherfamilyhasexperiencedagreatnumberofchanges.

‘Beforetheprojecteachdaywasveryhardwork–Iusedtowakeupat2amsothatIcouldpoundenoughriceforourmeals–Iwouldspendmostofmydaypoundingrice–inthemorningforlunchandagainintheafternoonfordinner.SincethevillagereceivedaricemillaspartoftheCAREprojectIamnowabletoprocessbetween30-60kgofricewhichlastsusforanentiremonth–ittakesmeonehourtoprocessthismuchrice!”Innaleenowwakesat5ameachdayandfindsherselfwithmoretimetoworkinhervegetablegardenandthericefieldswithherhusband.Shealsobelievessheislessstressed,‘IamstillworkinghardbutIhavetimetostopandtalkwithothersandlaughwithmychildrenduringmyday’.

Innaleebelievesherfamilyhasalsobenefittedfromherparticipationintheproject‘Beforetheprojectwecollectedfoodfromtheforestandboileditwithsalt–eventhoughIwouldspendthetimeIhadafterpoundingriceandworkinginthefieldIonlyevermanagedtocollectasmallamount’.HoweverafterattendingatrainingwithCARE,Innaleeestablishedavegetablegarden–thegardennowprovidesadiversityoffoodincludingsaladgreens,beans,onions,cassavaandmorningglory.WithtechnicalassistancefromtheCAREthefamilyalsobuiltafishpondwhichnowprovidesasteadysupplyoffishthroughouttheyear–enoughtofeedthefamilyandsharewithrelatives.ThefamilyhasalsoincreasedriceproductionusingtechniqueslearntthroughCAREtrainings.Innaleebelievesthatbetterriceproductiontogetherwithhervegetablegardenhasmeantthefamilyhasmorestablefoodsourcesthroughouttheyearandthisinturnhasledtoahealthierfamily,‘nowweeatagreatervarietyofvegetablesandfishalongwithourriceandmychildrenaremuchmorehealthyandhavegainedweight–evenIhavegainedweightandammorebeautiful!Mychildrenusedtofallsickwithfeverandcoldveryoften,butnowtheyaremoreactiveanddonotfallsick’.

Innalee’sfamilyincomehasincreasedthroughthesaleofsurplusvegetableandfishproduction.InnaleesellshervegetablesinhervillageorinDakCheungtownandalthoughDakCheungisdifficulttoaccessInnaleebelievesshecangetareasonablepriceforherproducethere.ReachingDakCheungmeanswalkingoverthecourseadayortravellingonaneighbour’smotorbikeandsharingthecostofpetrol.Thefamilyhasusedtheincreasedincometopurchasebasicssuchassaltandcookingoilaswellasfoodduringthewetseasonwhen

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thevegetablegardenisnotproducingenoughtomeetthefamily’sdemands.DecisionsonhowtospendthefamilyincomearemadebyInnaleeandherhusbandtogether,althoughInnaleeherselfkeepsthemoneyandmanagesthehouseholdbudget,‘Ikeepthemoneyitselfandwhenmyhusbandwishestobuysomethingthenwediscussittogetherandwehavetoagreeandofcourseitisthesameforme’.Innaleebelievesthatherabilitytobringmoneyintothefamilyfromherownworkhasledtoabetterrelationshipwithherhusband,‘BeforeIjoinedtheprojectIhadtorequestmoneyfrommyhusbandforeveryneedinthehouse–evenforsalt–butnowIamearningmoneymyselfandsoIcanbepartofthedecisionabouthowtospendmoney.WearemuchhappierandmyhusbandishappythatIcanmakemoneytoo’.

OutsideherfamilythoughInnaleefeelsitismorechallengingtoshareherthoughtsandopinions,‘ofcoursewomencanspeakbuttheycanonlybeheardbyotherwomen’.Innaleebelievesthisisduetothelanguagebarrierthatmanywomeninthevillageface,‘weonlyspeakourlanguagesowerelyonthementotranslateforuswhenwespeak(intoLao)atmeetingswheretherearelocalgovernmentordistrictgovernmentofficials–wealsohavetowaitfortranslationofwhatothersaresaying–itdoesn’talwayshappen’.

Village:TanglouVillage

Name:MrSoukvisay

Occupation:ricefield;woodcutter,coffeegrower

Assets:buffalo,motorbike,pigs


Date:24/01/15

Mr.Soukvisayis29yearsoldandismarriedwiththreechildren.SoukvisaystartedworkingwithCARE2010afterCAREheldameetinginhisvillagetoexplaintheproject‘CAREheldameetinginthevillageandexplainedwecouldlearnaboutgrowingvegetablesandraisinganimals’.Soukvisayremembersthemeetingbecauseitwasoneofthefirsttimeswomenwereincludedinthevillagemeetings.SincethenSoukvisaybelieveshisfamilyandTanglouvillagehasexperiencedagreatnumberofchanges.

‘Beforetheprojectourliveswereveryhard–westartedeachdayat3amandafterasmallbreakfastofsteamedrice,walkedfor3-4hourstoreachtheforestwherewewouldcollectfood,firewoodandwater.Ittookusalongtimetodothis–wewalkedveryslowlybecauseoftheheavyload’.

Workload‘BeforeworkingwithCARE,mywifewouldpoundricebetween3to4hourseverydayandeventhenshewasonlyabletoproducemealsfortwodays.Sincereceivingtherice-millfromCAREwearenowabletoprocessmanykilosatatimeandinjustonehourwehaveenoughtoproducemealsfortendays’.WhenaskedwhethermenprocessriceSoukvisaylaughs‘beforemendidnothelpwithprocessingthericebutnowthatthereisamachine–yesofcoursewehelpwiththis!’Mr.Soukvisay’sfamilyalsoreceivedahandcartfromCAREwhichtheyusetocollectwaterandwood,‘wedonotneedtogototheforesteachdayanymore–onecartloadofwoodwilllastusforoneweeksowehavemuchmoretimetoworkinourrice-fieldsandgardensandcareforthechildren’.

‘Beforetheprojectwecollectedfoodfromtheforestandboileditwithsalt–thetimeavailableforcollectingfoodwasnotmuchasmostofourtimewasspentworkinginthericefield.Mywifewasalsobusycollectingwoodandwaterandcaringforourchildren’.HoweverafterattendingatrainingwithCARE,Soukvisayandhiswifeestablishedavegetablegarden–thegardennowprovidesadiversityoffoodincludingcucumber,beans,onions,lemongrassandmorningglory.WithtechnicalassistancefromtheCAREthefamilyalsobuiltafishpondwhich

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nowprovidesasteadysupplyoffishthroughouttheyear–enoughtofeedthefamilyandsharewithrelatives.Soukvisay’swifeattendedatrainingonnutritionandfoodpreparationandnowhebelievesthattheirdietismuchbetter‘Mywifelearntabouthowtocookhealthymealsusingmanyvegetablesandonionsandgarlic–sheismakingmuchmoreinterestinganddeliciousmealsthanbefore!’.

Soukvisaybelievesthatthecombinationofareducedworkloadandbetterdiethasledtopositivechangesinthehealthofhisfamilywithhiswifeandchildrengainingweightandfallingilllessfrequently,‘previouslymywifewasthinandtiredallthetime.Mysonwasalsotiredbecausewehadtogototheforestformanyhoursthechildrenhadtotravelwithmywife–butnowwiththehandcartweareabletocollectwaterandwoodmuchmoreeasilyandquickly–mywifeandchildrenhavegainedweight–mywifeisbeautifulagainandmysondoesnotfallsickanymore’.

Soukvisay’sfamilyincomehasincreasedthroughthesaleofsurplusvegetableandfishproductionandthesaleoflivestocksuchaspigs,‘CAREprovideduswithonefemalepigsincethenIhavesold10pigs–forabigpigsIget1.5millionkipandforasmallpigIcanget500,000kip’.MrSoukvisayandhiswifehasalsorecentlyestablishedanewsmallbusinessbuyingproductssuchasbeer,ovaltine,andcigarettesinDakCheungtosellinthevillage.

Thefamilyhasusedtheincreasedincometopurchasebasicssuchassaltandcookingoilaswellasfoodduringthewetseasonwhenthevegetablegardenisnotproducingenoughtomeetthefamily’sdemands.Inadditionthefamilyisnowmakingmorelong-terminvestments,forexamplepurchasingmaterialstorebuildthehouseandaddasteelroofaswellaschildren’sschoolfeesandmaterials.DecisionsonhowtospendthefamilyincomearemadebySoukvisayandhiswifetogetherbecausehiswifemanagesthehouseholdbudget,‘mywifeistheonewhoknowsmuchmoneywehavemadeandhowmuchwehavespent,sherecordsitallbutsheshowsmethemoneyandtheoncewehaveagreedshegoestobuythericeandsalt.Iamproudtohaveawifelikethat.PreviouslyIwastheonetotrainherbutnowshehasknowledgetocontributetothefamilyalsoandsheistheonetotrainme’.

ForSoukvisaythechangeshavealsobeenpersonal.AfterattendingagendertrainingSoukvisaystartedtohelphiswifeincaringforthechildrenandcollectingfirewoodandwater.WhenaskedwhyhechangedhisbehaviourSoukvisaysays‘itmadesensetomethatifyouwanttohavemoreincomeandabetterfamilylifethenyouhavetoworktogetherwithyourwife.PreviouslyImademyowndecisionsaboutbuyingalcoholandleftmywifetoworkinthehouseandlookafterthechildren–Ididn’tcareandwouldjustgooutandnotthinkaboutthefamilyincome.ButnowtogetherwithmywifeIdiscussourproblemsandmakedecisionstogether–wetalkabouthowtostorefoodandaboutwhatproductsweshouldbuyinDakCheungtownandsell.Wearehappier’.SoukvisayislesssurethathiswifeisparticipatinginvillagemeetingsbecausealthoughsheattendssheisquietbecauseshedoesnotspeakLaos.

WhenaskedaboutthefutureofhisfamilySoukvisaysmilesandsayshefeelsconfidentthatthefamilywillbestronginthefuture.HoweverhehasconcernsaboutthepoorroadinfrastructureconnectingthevillagetoDakCheungwhichlimitshisfamily’sabilitytoincreasetheirmarketingandtrading.Soukvisayisalsoconcernedaboutmaintenanceofthericemillsbecausealthoughtheyarestillworkingnooneinthevillagehastheskillstorepairthem.Soukvisaysayshewouldbeinterestedinofferingrepairservicesasasmallbusinessifhereceivedtraining.

Village:Tanglou

Name:SengDavon

Information:Primaryeducation,married,6children

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Occupation:fishpondandtrading

Assets:motorbike,tractor&buffalo.

BeforetheprojectmywifeandIknewnothing.Wedidn’tknowhowtodressorhowtotalktopeople.Wedidn’tknowhowtosellorthatwecouldsellproduce.Mywifeusedtohidewhentherewasavillagemeeting.

Whenwemarriedshewas18yearsoldandIwas22.Wehavesixchildren,twoboysandfourgirls.Webothworkedinthericefieldandcollectedforestproducts.Wedidn’tgoanywhereatthattime.Webothtookcareofthehousetogetherandwehadparentstohelpwiththehousewhenwelivedtogether.Wedidmakedecisionstogether.Butsometimesmywifeusedtoyellatme.Somemeninthevillageusedtobeattheirwivesandcheatonthem.IhaveneverbeatenmywifeandIonlyhaveoneglassofalcoholaday.

Theprojecthasmadeadifferencetoourlives.Wearenowinvolvedinalotofactivities.Wehavepigs,afishpond,avegetablegardenandacartforcarryingthings.Wealsohaveacoffeeplantationandaricepaddy–butnotasmuchasbefore.Wehavemorecomfortinourlivesbecausewehavemoreincome.Igottotowntosellproducts,andmywifedoesn’tgoassheisverybusy.SometimeswhenthereisaholidayItakemywifetoDakCheungtovisit.

WhenmywifetellsmetogoandsellsomeproductsIdogotoDakCheungasthevillagersinTanglouarenotabletosellmuchoftheirproductshere.AfterIhavesoldthevegetablesIbuysaltandspices.IreporttomywifetheamountsthatIhavespent,butwedon’twriteitdown.SometimesmywifecanbuyproductsherselfinthevillagefromVonsai,whobringsproductsfromDakCheungtosellinthevillage.Sheisthewifeoftheteacherandhashersmallshop.

Iwouldlikemywifetoearnmoremoney,butIamworriedabouthermarketingskillsasshedoesn’tknowhowtonegotiateandshecan’tread.Ilearnedtotradeandnegotiatebymyselfbyvisitingothervillagesandseeinghowtheirliveshavechanged.Itryanddothesameasotherstoearnmoremoney.Mywifeisshytocommunicatewithpeopleoutsideofthevillageasshedoesn’tspeakLao.Iwouldlikehertostudy,butwedon’thavethemoney.IhavestartedtoteachmywifeLao,sosheisbetterthanbefore,andshedoesunderstandquitealotnow.

Inrelationtotheprojectactivitymywifeisnowsmarterandismoreconfidentwithmeandinthevillage.Nowshedoesgotovillagemeetingsandeventellsothersheropinion.Alsothereismoreunderstandingbetweenmeandmywife.Eversincethegendertrainingwehavebeengettingonbetterwitheachother.Ididn’tgotothegendertraining,butmywifedidandshecamehomeandtoldmeallaboutit.Shetoldmethatwehavetosharethetasksandearnincometogethertohaveastrongerfamily.Sheseemsmoreconfidentasshedidnotusedtodarespeakouttomeaboutanythingbeforetheproject.Itwasgreatbecausethevillageheadencouragedmywifetoattendthegendertrainingandheidentifiedwomeninthevillagebynamesothattheyhadtogotothemeetings.

Allofmychildrengotoschool.Myoldestboyis15yearsandhasadisability.HeisatsecondaryschoolinTangyern.IfeltsobadforhimhavingtowalktoTangyern,thatIhavelenthimmymotorbike.Inowhavetowalkeverywhere–butIfeelgoodasheisgettinganeducation.Myotherchildrenareatprimaryschoolinthevillage.Mychildrenhelpinthehouseandmydaughtersareabletocarrythewaternowwehaveacart.

Ihavenoworriesaboutthechangesinthevillage.Themorewechange,thebetterourliveswillbe.Iwillkeepthetraditionsandthecustoms,butIthinktheymayslowlydisappear.Oneexampleisthatweusedtothinkthatstrangerscouldnotenterourhouse.Butnowwedon’tthinkthatistrueanymore.Thisisbettersothatwecanwelcomepeopleintoourhouses.

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Village:DakDenVillage

Name:MsMonneVong

Occupation:Uplandricefarming,coffeeplantation

Assets:nonerecorded


Date:27/01/15

Ms.MonneVongis40yearsoldandismarriedwithnochildrenofherown.MonNeVonghasbeenworkingwithCAREsince2010.OverthetimeMonNeVonghasbeenworkingwithCAREshebelievesherfamilyhaveexperiencedsignificantchange.

‘BeforeIstartedworkingwithCAREourliveswerehard–Iwouldwakeeverydayat3amtopoundriceanddomyworkaroundthehousebeforeleavingtoworkinthericefield.Ialsohadtospendbetween3to4hoursadaycollectingwater’.

SincethattimeMonNeVongbelievesherfamilyhasbenefittedfromherparticipationintheproject.Herfamilyincomehasincreasedandthatthisismainlyduetotheproductionofcoffee.MonNeVonghasthreecoffeegardens–theyvaryismaturityfrom10years;4yearsand1yearold.CoffeegardeningwasnotanewactivityforMonNeVongasshepreviouslyworkedasalaboureronacoffeefarminPaksong–itwastherethatshefirstlearntaboutgrowingcoffeeandbroughtseedshometoexperimentandseeshecouldgrowcoffee.HoweverafterattendingatrainingwithCAREinPaksongMonNeVongbelieveshertechniqueshaveimproved,‘beforeIdidnothavetheformaltraininganunderstandinginhowtoplantandgrowthecoffeebutnowIcanseethechangeinmyproduction–itismuchhigherthanbeforewhichiswhywedecidedtoplantanothergarden’.MonNeVong’sharvestlastyearwashermostsuccessfultodate–shewasabletosellthetotalharvestfromtwogardensfor12millionkip.HoweverthisyearMonNeVongisworriedwhattheharvestwillbelikeastheweatherhasbeenchangingandbecomingmuchwarmerthanisnormal.MonNeVongisalsointerestedtostartgrowinghighervaluevarietiesbutsheisnotsurewheretosourcetheseedsfrom.

MonNeVongsellstoLaostraderswhocomefromSekongandtoVietnamesetraderswhocomefromDakCheungTowntoDakDentobuythebeans.MonNeVongsharesinformationoncurrentmarketpriceswithothervillagersandtogetherthevillageagreesinadvancehowmuchtheywillselltheirbeansfor,‘IhaverelativeslivinginPaksongandsoIcallthemtofindoutwhatthecurrentmarketpriceisforthebeansandthenwecomparethatwiththepricethetraderoffersus’.MonNeVongdoesnotfeelshecouldnegotiatewiththetradersdirectlyandpreferstoletthevillagetaxcommitteenegotiatedirectlywiththetraders‘becauseoncethetradershavepaidourmoney,thecommitteetakestaxforthevillagefundandthensharesouttothevillagers’.Thevillagefundisusedtosupportvillageneedssuchaspurchasingfoodduringdifficulttimesforvulnerablefamilies.MonNeVongdoesnotfeelshehastheabilityorconfidencetosellherproductsdirectlyinPaksongorDakCheung,‘therearemanychallengestothatidea’shesays‘firstlyitistoodifficultformetotransporttheproductIhavetotown–theroadsarenogoodandIdonothaveanytransportunlessIshareamotorbikewithmyhusbandoraneighbour.SecondlytosellintownIneeddocumentstoshowthetaxdepartmentandIdon’tknowhowtogetthosedocumentsandIcannotreadorwrite.FinallyIamalsoafraidtotakemyproducttoPaksongorDakCheung–whatifnoonebuysfromme?It’stooriskyformetodothat–thereisnowaytoknowifIwillbeabletosell’.

MonNeVonghasusedtheincomefromcoffeetomeetbasichouseholdneedssuchassalt,cookingoil,andsoap.Howevertogetherwithherhusbandtheyhavealsomadelonger-terminvestmentssuchasrebuildingthehouseandpayingtheuniversityfeesforMonNeVong’sniecewhoisstudyinginSekong,‘Idon’thavechildrenofmyownsoIsupportmyniece-itmakesmehappytodothat’.

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MonNeVongandherhusbandmakedecisionsabouthowtospendthefamilyincometogether,‘wediscusstogetherasawholefamily.ImarriedmyhusbandwhenIwas13–hewasanorphanandheneededsomeonetohelphimlookafterthehouse.Heisakindmanandhenowliveswithmeandmyfamily–soIdiscusswiththewholefamily,notjustmyhusband,whatthefamilyneedsareandthendecidewhattobuy’.

MonNeVongalsobelievesherfamilyismorefoodsecuresinceshestartedworkingwithCARE,‘Beforetheprojectwecollectedfoodfromtheforestandboileditwithsalt–eventhoughIwouldspendthetimeIhadafterpoundingriceandworkinginthericefieldIonlyevermanagedtocollectasmallamount’.HoweverreceivingequipmentandseedsfromCAREandafterattendingpaddyimprovementtrainingprovidedbyDAFOMonNeVongstartedusingnewtechniquesinhowsheplantedandmaintainedthepaddy–thepaddyfieldnowproduces20bagscomparedto9bagsbeforetheproject.Thefamilynowhasenoughricetolasttheyearwhereaspreviouslyitlastforonly6months.MonNeVongwasunsurewhethertheirrigationsysteminthevillagewaspartoftheCAREprojectornot,butshebelievesithasmadeadifferencetoherproductivity,‘withtheirrigationwecannowproducemorericetwiceayear’.

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Village:DakDenVillage

Name:MsPhetSaVanh

Occupation:Vegetablegarden,coffeegarden,lowlandricefarming

Assets:nonerecorded


Date:27/01/15

Ms.PhetSaVanhis41yearsoldandismarriedwithsixchildren.PhetSaVanhhasbeenworkingwithCAREforalongtime–shebelievesitmayevenbesince2002untilnow.OverthetimePhetSaVanhhasbeenworkingwithCAREshebelievesthatbothherselfandherfamilyhaveexperiencedsuchsignificantchangethat‘todaywearecompletelydifferenttowhatwewerebeforeCARE’.

‘BeforeIstartedworkingwithCAREourliveswerehard–Iwouldwakeeverydayat3amtopoundriceanddomyworkaroundthehousebeforeleavingtoworkinthericefield.Wehadnounderstandingorwaytomakeanincomeatthattime–wereliedonourlabourinthefieldandonthefoodwecouldcollect’.

SincethattimePhetSaVanhbelievesherfamilyhasbenefittedfromherparticipationintheproject.PhetSaVanhbelievesherfamilyincomehasincreasedsinceshestartedworkingwiththeCAREprojectandthatthisismainlyduetotheproductionofcoffee.PhetSaVanhhasthreecoffeegardens.CoffeegardeningwasanewactivityforPhetSaVanhbutherhusbandattendedatrainingwithCAREinPaksong.PhetSaVanhwouldhavelikedtoattendthetraininginPakSongbutshewasnotabletotravelbecausesheneededtolookafterthechildrenandhouse,soherhusbandattendedforthefamily.HoweverPhetSaVanh’shusbandwasquicktosharetheknowledgehegainedduringthetrainingandtogethertheyagreedtoestablishtheircoffeegardensonebyone.Ittookthreeyearsbeforetheycouldharvesttheirfirstcropfromherfirstgarden.PhetSaVanh’slastharvestsoldfor5millionkipwhichisasignificantamount-PhetSaVanhproudlysharedthatshegrowsacombinationofhighervaluecoffeevarieties(‘white’beans)andstandardvarieties(‘blackbeans’)andthatshemainlysellsdriedbeanswhichhaveahighervaluethanthefreshcherries.OnlyoccasionallywillPhetSaVanhsellhercoffeecherriesdirectlyinDakCheungtownwhensheisinurgentneedofmoneyforsupplies.

PhetSaVanhsellstoLaostraderswhocomefromSekongandtoVietnamesetraderswhocomefromDakCheungTown.PhetSaVanhagreesinadvancewithothervillagersgrowingcoffeehowmuchtheywillselltheirbeansfor–eitherbytankorbykg,‘wecanagreetosellforbetween85000kip-92000kip/tank(onetank=10kg)’.PhetSaVanhdoesnotfeelshecouldnegotiatewiththetradersdirectlyandpreferstoletthevillagetaxcommitteenegotiatedirectlywiththetraders‘becauseoncethetradershavepaidourmoney,thecommitteetakestaxforthevillagefundandthensharesouttothevillagers’.Thevillagefundisusedtosupportvillageneedssuchaspurchasingfoodduringdifficulttimesforvulnerablefamilies.

PhetSaVanhhasusedtheincomefromcoffeetomeetbasichouseholdneedssuchassalt,cookingoil,andsoap.Howevertogetherwithherhusbandtheyhavealsomadelonger-terminvestmentssuchasrebuildingthehouseandpayinghighschoolanduniversityfeesfortheirthreedaughters.PhetSaVanhandherhusbandhavealsoinvestedintheirassetbasetoincreasetheiragriculturalproductivityincludingbuyingasmalltractorandhiringlabourinthericefieldsothattheyhavemoretimefortheircoffee.Theyhavealsopurchasedanumberofpigsandarebreedingpigletstoeitherbarterorraiseandsell,‘wecanbarterpigletsfordieselorwecanraiseabigpigandsellittoothervillagersforceremoniesfor2.5millionkip’.

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GenerallyPhetSaVanhandherhusbandmakedecisionsabouthowtospendthefamilyincometogether,‘wediscusstogetherwhatthefamilyneedsareandwebothdecidewhattobuy.Forexample,IsawanotherfamilyusingthesmalltractorandIconvincedmyhusbandtobuyoneforourfamily’.PhetSaVanhalsosaysthatshehasmadeasmallincomefromsellinghersurplusvegetableproduceinDakCheungtown.Shemainlyusesthemoneyearnedfromsellinghervegetablestobuyhouseholditemsandsmalldriedgoods.Themoneythatsheearnsfromsellingvegetablesisforhertomanageandspendasshedecides.Howevermoneyearnedfromthecoffeeandthesaleofpigsmustbediscussedtogetherwithherhusbandasitis‘familymoney’.

PhetSaVanhalsobelievesherfamilyismorefoodsecuresinceshestartedworkingwithCARE,‘Beforetheprojectwecollectedfoodfromtheforestandboileditwithsalt–eventhoughIwouldspendthetimeIhadafterpoundingriceandworkinginthefieldIonlyevermanagedtocollectasmallamount’.HoweverafterattendingpaddyimprovementtrainingandonceCAREhadrehabilitatedtheirrigationsysteminDakDen,PhetSaVanhstartedusingnewtechniquesinhowsheplantedandmaintainedthepaddy–thepaddyfieldnowproduces20bagscomparedto5bagsbeforetheproject.Thefamilynowhasenoughricetolasttheyearwhereaspreviouslyitlastforonly6months.

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Annex5:QuantificationofvotesinSpokesexercisesfromfocusgroups

0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10%12%14%16%18%20%

Lessonstoridemotorbike

Familyplanning

Laolessons

EncouragewomentospeakmoreinLao

Encouragewifetobeinvovledinpublicac7vi7es

Menhelpwivesmore

Businesstraining

Coffeeplanta7ontraining

Livestocktraining

Teachwomentotrade/marke7ng

Teachwifeveggrowingtechnique

Teachwifehowtosellbiglivestock

Mentoinvestmoneyinsmallshopforwomen

Agen

cy

Econ

omicadvancemen

t

Men'ssuggesXonsforaddressingwomen'schallengeswithincomeearning.%ofvotes(n=184)

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Annex6:Bibliography

Backgroundliterature

UNWomenLaoPDRFactsheet

Chapter7:Laos,Ethno-linguisticDiversityandDisadvantage,ElizabethM.KingWorldBank,DominiquevandeWalleWorldBank.RevisedNovember2009;revisedMarch2010

GenderandPowerAnalysisforRemoteEthnicGroups(REG),CAREInternationalinLaoPDR,SuzieAlbone,Women’sHealthAdvisor,CAREInternationalinLaoPDR,June2011

CountryTechnicalNotesonIndigenousPeoples’Issues,LAOPEOPLE'SDEMOCRATICREPUBLIC,IFAD2012

Women’sEmpowermentImpactMeasurementInitiative,(parts1–4)Contentadaptedfrom:Picard,M.andGillingham,S.(2012)Women'sEmpowermentImpactMeasurementInitiativeGuidance

StrongWomen,StrongCommunities,CARE’sHolisticApproachtoEmpoweringWomenandGirlsintheFightAgainstPoverty

GoodPracticesFramework,GenderAnalysis.CareInternationalGenderNetwork,May2012

Projectdocuments

PhongsalyFoodSecurityandCapacityBuildingProject.ProjectdocumentsubmittedbyCAREInternationalinLaoPDRtoEU

PhongsalyFoodSecurityandCapacityBuildingProjectFinalReview

ReducingUXORiskandImprovingLivelihoodsofEthnicCommunitiesinSekongProvinceprojectBaselinestudyBySteeveDaviau.FundedbytheAusAIDLao-AustraliaNGOCooperationAgreement(LANGOCA)Program,Sekong,May2008

REDUCINGUXORISKANDIMPROVINGLIVELIHOODSOFETHNICCOMMUNITIESINSEKONGPROVINCEActivityDesignDocumentforLaoAustraliaNGOCooperationAgreementProgram(LANGOCA)SubmittedtoAusAID20June2007Organisation:CAREAustralia

REDUCINGUXORISKANDIMPROVINGLIVELIHOODSOFETHNICCOMMUNITIESINSEKONGPROVINCEActivityDesignDocumentforLaoAustraliaNGOCooperationAgreementProgram(LANGOCA)SubmittedtoAusAID25June2007Organisation:CAREAustraliaFINALVERSION

EndofProjectIndependentFinalEvaluation,LANGOCALONGTERMACTIVTY(LTA),REDUCINGUXORISKANDIMPROVINGLIVELIHOODSOFETHNICCOMMUNITIESINSEKONGPROVINCE.AUSAIDAGREEMENTNUMBER37891/9,LAOPDR.CAREINTERNATIONALINLAOPDRDecember2013

ActivityCompletionReportLANGOCALONGTERMACTIVTY(LTA)REDUCINGUXORISKANDIMPROVINGLIVELIHOODSOFETHNICCOMMUNITIESINSEKONGPROVINCE,AusAIDAGREEMENTNUMBER37891/9CAREINTERNATIONALINLAOPDR28FEBRUARY2014

LaosAustraliaNGOCooperationAgreement(LANGOCA)ProgramING310.FinalEvaluationReport.RhondaChapmanDavidFarrowJuly2014.DFAT.

MidtermReviewCARELaosReducingUXORiskandImprovingLivelihoodsofEthnicCommunitiesinSekongProvince.February,2011RichardHackman

ReducingUXOriskandimprovinglivelihoodsofethniccommunitiesinSekongprovince(LongTermActivity)andSupportingLaoDisabledPeople’sAssociationtoEnableSocialandEconomicInclusionofPeoplewithDisabilities

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inSekongProvince(ISPD)(ShortTermActivity)6MonthlyProgressReport:1stJuly2010–31stDecember2010.Implementedby:CAREInternationalinLaoPDRSubmitted:15March2011Organisation:CAREAustralia

LANGOCAAnnualReport.July2009–June2010

PovertyAlleviationinRemoteUplandAreas(PARUA),PhaseIIDesignDocument,SubmittedtoSwissAgencyforDevelopmentandCooperation.November2007AdamFolkard(consultant)onbehalfofCAREInternationalinLaoPDR

EvaluationoftheVillageVeterinaryNetwork.SaysathaneDistrict,SayabouryProvince.FinalReportMrStuartLingandMsViphoneThammavongIndependentConsultantsJanuary2012

ReportoftheMidtermReviewofthe“PovertyAlleviationinRemoteUplandAreasProject”(PARUA)PhaseII.December2010KristenEwersAndersen,KoulapSysourath

PovertyAlleviationinRuralUplandsArea(PARUAII)FinalProgressReport50months01/03/08–30/04/12

SeveralPARUAIIinterimreportsofsixreportingperiods.

DakCheungFoodSecurityProject(DFSP)ProjectDocument:2009FoodSecurityProgrammeforLAOPDR.EuropeanCommissionGrantApplicationForm,Budgetline:210201,Reference:EuropeAid/128-090/L/ACT/LA.15June2009

DakCheungFoodSecurityProject,EndofProjectEvaluation,Finalreport30thJanuary2014JoelCoudrayplusmissionpowerpointpresentation

DakCheungFoodSecurityProject,EndofProjectEvaluation,Gendercomponent.December2013Consultant:DrLindaMalam

DakCheungFoodSecurityProject,MidtermReviewReport2012KoutianeSitthivong

ANCPProposal:StrategicsupporttoCAREInternationalintheLaoPRD’sprograminterventions:RuralDevelopment&Women’sEmpowerment.PhongsalyRuralDevelopmentProject(PPRDP)andLegalAwarenessandLifeSkillsProject(LALS)July2011

ImprovingLivelihoodandHealthOptionsforRemoteEthnicCommunitiesANCPAnnualPlan2013–2014

PhongsalyRuralDevelopmentProject(PRDP),FinalEvaluationReport23rdMay–25thJune2014Submittedby: KoutianeSitthivong

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This case study report formed part of CARE’s 2015 ... · This case study report formed part of CARE’s 2015 strategic evaluation into our ... programming to promote women’s ...

Documents