A CRITICAL VIEW OF GENDER AND TERRITORIAL DYNAMICS IN
RURAL DEVELOPMENT: EXPERIENCES FROM A REGIONAL STUDY,
DEPARTMENT OF CHALATENANGO EL SALVADOR.
Photo: Maritza Florian
Master´s thesis, 30 ECTS
Human Ecology Division, CPS Program
Author: Maritza Florian
Supervisor: Susan Paulson
Term (of defense): Spring-11
Department:
Address:
Phone:
Human Ecology
Geocentrum 1
Solvegatan 12
223 62 Lund
Sweeden
046-222 8690
Supervisor:
Professor Susan Paulson
Title and Subtitle:
A Critical View Of Gender And Territorial Dynamics In Rural
Development: Experiences From A Regional Study, Department Of
Chalatenango El Salvador.
Author:
Examination:
Master thesis
Term of defense:
Maritza Florian
Spring-2011
Abstract:
With this thesis I contribute with critical and applied research that challenges
empirically and theoretically the naturalization of research categories regarding
gender within the different frameworks of development studies. In this study, I
investigate initiatives to incorporate gender considerations into a project I
collaborated within Chalatenango, El Salvador. This project was conceived within a
'new' Rural Development framework postulated by a large research network
coordinated by RIMISP, a Chilean NGO that does research in rural territorial
dynamics in Latin America.
I analyze gender from a historical, as well as ethnographic- perspective in order to
build a re-conceptualization of gender analysis in a rural development research
project. I critically reflect on the evolution of gender categories in order to identify
the driving factors that historically have enhanced or inhibited the development of
this analytical category. Considering and addressing the identified blind spots in
some approaches to gender studies, I developed and implemented a proposal to
apply gender analysis to the case study in El Salvador. For the case study, I included
actors who are not included in regular categories of various development studies,
and I also used concrete methodological tools to build up a solid gender conscious
analysis.
The results of the thesis showed that gender systems have considerable influence in
the territory in El Salvador due to them being determined by and in turn affecting
the economic, social and environmental dynamics. These dynamics are land use,
access to credits, access to technology and knowledge amongst others. Another
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important finding was the identification of specific constraints on some of the
sources of crucial information for understanding regional dynamics.
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Acknowledgements
First of all I would like to thank my family who is always there, supporting me in
every project I undertake, to them all my gratitude.
This study would not have been possible without the company and the advice of my
supervisor Dr. Susan Paulson. Thanks to her I had the opportunity to explore a field
of knowledge as complex and yet exciting, as is gender. Thank you Susan for your
devoted guidance.
Thanks to my friends and colleagues from the gender group. Bruno, Teresa, Rafa,
and Carina, this experience would not have been as rewarding as it was without
your inputs and your support throughout borders. Special thanks to Carina, you
know, for everything about everything!
I also want to thank the wonderful group of researchers from Prisma foundation in
El Salvador. I was fortunate to work with great people who made this experience
truly enriching both academically and personally. Thanks to all, especially to Ileana
Gomez, Rafael Cartagena and Silvia Gutierrez.
Research for this document was supported by the Rural Territorial Dynamics
Program, implemented by Rimisp in several Latin American countries in
collaboration with numerous partners. The program has been supported by the
International Development Research Center (IDRC, Canada) and The New Zealand
Aid Programme (NZ-AID).
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Table of Contents
1.
Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 4
2.
Description of the territory .......................................................................................... 8
3.
Research methodology: research instruments developed and applied .............. 12
3.1. Primary data: generation of gender sensitive information ............................ 12
3.1.1. Livelihood workshops ...................................................................................... 13
3.1.2. Survey about gender in the local councils CACH and CIHCG ................. 14
3.2. Secondary data ........................................................................................................ 14
4.
Theoretical framework of study ................................................................................. 14
4.1. Gender and development: frameworks and positioning gender.................. 15
4.1.1. Feminist theory .................................................................................................. 17
4.2. Gender mainstreaming, institutions and prevalent research categories ..... 19
4.3. Reproduction of prevalent research categories: critique of institutions and
resisting hegemonic concepts ........................................................................................ 22
4.4. Separation between productive and reproductive activities ......................... 25
4.4.1. Historical roots of the dichotomies: nature/socio economic system,
production/reproduction ............................................................................................ 25
4.5. Gender in geography: rural territorial approach .............................................. 28
5.
Results and discussion ................................................................................................. 31
5.1. Visualization of territorial gender dynamics in investigation ...................... 31
5.2. Gender dynamics in production systems in the northern river bank of
humedal Cerrón Grande ................................................................................................. 34
5.2.1. Profile of people in cattle farming .................................................................. 34
5.2.2. Profile of people involved with fishery ......................................................... 37
5.2.3. Diversification of activities and characteristics of the territory ................. 40
5.3. Mobilization of knowledge in gender territorial dynamics: gender and
DTR in the local coalitions discourse. .......................................................................... 42
5.3.1. Considerations for the strengthening of processes and actors ................... 44
6.
Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 45
7.
References....................................................................................................................... 44
8.
Appendices ..................................................................................................................... 47
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Critical view of Gender and territorial dynamics in Rural Development:
Experiences from a Regional Study, Department of Chalatenango El Salvador.
Introduction
With this thesis I attempt to recognize and describe a rural territory in terms of
gender within a framework of ‘new’ rural development. Additionally, I illustrate the
relevance of using gender as an analytical category in development studies, by
examining the historical relationship between gender and development, and the
significance of this relationship in terms of culture, power and sustainability.
This thesis is divided in five sections; beginning with a description of the territory
and the justification of the research, followed by the methods, then the theoretical
framework which is further divided in four sections: gender and development,
gender mainstreaming, separation between productive and reproductive activities
and concluding with gender and geography. This last section includes the case study
of a territory in El Salvador, and the results section is based on this case study. To
conclude I weave together practical and theoretical considerations in the discussion
and conclusion.
This thesis emerges from my time as an intern in an environmental NGO called
Prisma in El Salvador where I participated in a study titled, “Rural Territorial
Dynamics in the Northern River Bank of Cerrón Grande Wetlands, Chalatenango.”
This study attempted to include gender as an analytical category within the research,
however, it did not explicitly apply a gender-orientated analysis. This lack of a deep
and general conceptual framework that recognizes and considers gender systems
appears all too often in development studies. Even though many studies argue that
they include gender considerations or gender components in their analysis, they do
not thoroughly implement a deep and detailed gender analysis. One can then
wonder what it means to implement gender analysis, and why it is relevant to
research gender in rural territorial dynamics or development in general?
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Another query, if gender is so important, why do development projects working
under a development framework with an emphasis in economic/ecological/sociocultural balance such as the one proposed by Prisma are not implementing a deep
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and detailed gender analysis from the beginning of the studies? I address these
questions in the theoretical section of the thesis. These questions are not new, and
they have been widely discussed by various scholars; feminist, Marxist feminist and
poststructuralist, amongst others (Fernandez 1994, 4). The discussion addresses a
broad range of factors, from epistemology to economical, ecological and political
implications of gender categories throughout history.
This thesis is relevant not only because it emphasizes the contextualization of gender,
but because it provides a series of methodological tools that contribute to the
systematization of a gender perspective for use in rural development studies. This
systematization proves essential since most of the current development programs are
required to examine gender as part of their analysis. However, considerations are
often shallow and narrow, sub estimating or ignoring the impact of gender
(intentionally or not). Thus, these methodological tools will help to guide a more
thorough approach to gender analysis. Additionally, when approaching a study
through the perspective of gender, power relations exercised by institutions, both
influenced by and influencing people’s access to and use of various types of capital,
becomes central.
Through the thesis I will refer to these relationships and interactions between men
and women shaped by socio-cultural factors and immersed in power relationships as
gender dynamics. Gender is a determinant in the allocation of political, social, and
economic resources (Fernandez 1994, 2). There is also a tendency in current rural
development studies to implement a gender component to their policies and
programs (Bernadette 2010, 70). Both policies and programs have implications in the
cultural, political, geographic, economic and environmental traits of rural territories.
One focus of this thesis is to show the benefits of using gender as an analytic
category in studying the dynamics of culture, power and sustainability. One of the
advantages of implementing a gender perspective in development studies is that it
complements information in conventional studies and provides a more complex
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arrangement of actors. For instance, many studies and projects are limited to
activities deemed as ‘productive’, and amongst these the institutionalized activities,
such as formal employment. Several scholars as one of the drivers of gender
constraints have identified the productive and reproductive separation. Other
scholars define this separation, as the trigger of the current economic and
environmental crisis, since the reproductive capacities and contributions of nature, as
well as those of certain social groups, have been widely ignored or assumed as
constant under standard economic rationale (Biesecker and Hofmeister 2010, 1703).
Thus, I made a notable effort in collecting and presenting information that takes into
account both the productive and reproductive activities of the population, since they
are crucial factors in the social, economic environmental, and sustainability dynamics
of each territory.
In the case of El Salvador, I worked with the organization Prisma, who showed
interest in pursuing the application of a gender analysis to their study. Together we
developed an analysis of rural territorial dynamics from a gender perspective titled
“Gender and Rural Territorial Dynamics in the Northern River Bank of Cerrón
Grande Wetlands, Chalatenango”. This study resulted in several methodological
lessons that showed how, when applying more accurate and gender sensitive tools
and analysis, it is possible to identify the roles and activities that the different actors
play in the territorial dynamics. The arrangement of these roles and activities
constitutes the territorial gender system.
To successfully describe the livelihoods of people in the territory the physical
landscape, economic, cultural and political spheres must be taken into consideration.
This is important since a change in the livelihoods of the people are directly linked to
changes in the different traits of the territories and vice-versa. These changes create
differential access and use of the different capitals in the territory for its various
inhabitants. Therefore, in the Northern riverbank of the Cerrón Grande Wetlands , in
collaboration with the group of researchers from Prisma we were able to visualize
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these differences for the people involved in fishery, livestock and agriculture. These,
thanks to the analysis of rural territorial dynamics with a gender perspective.
The Cerrón Grande Wetlands is an important territory in El Salvador because of it is
type of ecosystem, its associated economic activities, and its current infrastructural
transformations. It is home to projects of national interest such as a hydroelectric
(power plant) and an important highway that will connect El Salvador with
Honduras and Guatemala. The three main single activities in the territory are fishery,
agriculture and cattle farming. Furthermore, the territory has important local
councils that aim to represent the interest of the community and are in constant
search of tools that allow them to have substantial impact in the territory (further
description of the territory, 8-11). Thus, in order to understand the socio-ecologic
systems and the coalitions in the territory I addressed the following research
questions that are answered in the section of results and discussion.

What are the main characteristics of gender systems of the Northern
River Bank of Cerrón Grande Wetlands in terms of access and use of natural
resources within the predominant productive regimes that sustain the
territory economically?

What methods and concepts can help identify and analyze gender
through research in order to reveal patterns of access and use of natural
resources within the productive regimes that sustain the territory?

How can knowledge of gender dynamics in the territory of
Chalatenango be mobilized to add to the development of successful regional
dynamics?
In the following section, I will describe the territory in question - taking into account
a historical perspective on the contribution of gender analysis to development
studies focused on rural territories. My intention is hereby to locate the case study
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within a critical analysis of development and gender frameworks.
Description of the territory 1
The study, “Gender and Rural Territorial Dynamics in the Northern River Bank of
Cerrón Grande Wetlands” was conducted by Prisma in the department of
Chalatenango, which is a key location of economic activity in El Salvador. The
importance of the Cerrón Grande wetland is due to its role as a provider of
ecosystem services and also because of the ongoing construction of the Longitudinal
del Norte Highway (CLN), which is an important connectivity point in Central
America.
This study is part of the program rural territorial dynamics DTR advanced by the
Latin American Center for Rural Development (RIMISP). Thus, the concept of rural
territory was based upon DTR’s definition.
“Although territories can be considered to exist at different scales, they need to be
both large enough to have a critical mass of sustainable economic activities, but small
enough to offer some sort of collective sense of identity, with geographically and
socially accessible institutions; i.e. in practice they are likely to be supra-municipal
(except where municipalities are very large) but sub-regional or sub-provincial
(except where regions or provinces are relatively small) in size. Territories thus may
or may not, correspond to existing administrative units of government.” (Rural
Territorial Dynamics, 2007)
The study area consists of seven municipalities in the department of Chalatenago:
Tejutla, El Paraíso, Santa Rita, Chalatenango, Azacualpa, San Luis del Carmen and
San Francisco Lempa. They are part of the northern riverbank of the wetland Cerrón
Grande (See Fig 1).
The description of the territory is based upon:
Ileana Gómez y Rafael Cartagena “Dinámicas socio ambientales y productivas en la zona
Norte de El Salvador,” Documento de Trabajo N° 67 (Santiago, Chile., Programa
Dinámicas Territoriales Rurales. Rimisp, 2011).
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According to the 2007 Census, the population of the seven municipalities of the
Chalatenango territory was 66.782 people. The economically active population (EAP)
was 18.227 people (34% of the population) of which 11.397 (27%) worked in the
tertiary sector, and 4.459 (7%) worked in the agricultural sector. Therefore, the third
category sector had the greatest number of people in the EAP, however it has not the
greatest number of people per single activity. The most significant single activities in
the territory are farming, fishing and cattle farming, these are the productive systems
that I analyze in this study.
This region faces considerable challenges due to the development projects that take
place in this region. The wetland is of great importance as a provider of ecosystem
services, as it is the site of the largest hydroelectric plant in the country. Additionally,
the construction of the CLN alters economic, social and environmental dynamics. In
terms of local impact, these development plans affect land use and the productive
activities mentioned above.
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Figure No 1: Map of the territory, adapted from Ileana Gómez y Rafael Cartagena
“Dinámicas socio ambientales y productivas en la zona Norte de El Salvador,”
Documento de Trabajo N° 67 (Santiago, Chile, Rimisp, 2011), 7.
Due to plans for the extension of the CLN, the territory faces new challenges
including land prices speculation and changes in land use. These challenges generate
conflict in the Chalatenago territory because the wetland provides ecosystem
services, and both economic and sustenance activities.
In 1976 arable land in the Chalatenago territory was transformed into the biggest
(135 km2) hydroelectric plant in El Salvador. This change produced the artificial
wetland, which has now become an important part of both the social and economic
structure of this territory. The wetland is a permanent water body that has become
an important provider of ecosystem services. It supplies energy to the country and
supports a great variety of plants and animals that have adapted to the wetland
conditions. Additionally, the wetland’s fluctuating land-water margins sustains vital
economical and sustenance activities for the local population such as agriculture,
shepherding and fishery.
The management of land in the territory is complicated by the fact that the
municipalities have neither regulative instruments nor existing land-use plans for the
territory. This often leads to conflicts between farmers, stockbreeders, and fishers
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who engage in disputes over the fluctuating lands. With little regulation, the
fluctuating lands can be used without supervision, enhancing degradation and
pollution of the soil. For example, when these lands are covered by water, fishers use
them while they are flooded, but farmer’s fences often damage their fishing nets.
This is an example of conflicting land-use strategies over time/space in cyclical
ecosystems. In addition to the problems generated by the lack of regulation over
these lands, recent natural phenomena like the tropical storm Agatha also threaten
the productive activity of the territory. The most affected are farmers and
stockbreeders in the bordering zones of the wetland, due to flooding and the
resultant loss of the crops cultivated in these zones (Gómez, Ileana 2010).
Chalatenango is constantly challenged to balance environmental sustainability and
economic growth, which has become a central paradox. In addition, this community
will also be challenged to adapt to the effects of climate change.
As a response to the above mentioned pressures, environmental social forums have
been created, including, Chalatenago's environmental committee (CACH) which in
turn, has a sub division of CACH; The Interinstitutional Committee of the Cerrón
Grande Wetlands (CIHCG). They both deal with topics related to the wetland.
Both the CACH and the CIHCG are consolidated forums that have recognition and
acceptance in some sectors of the population, especially in the fishing sector (obs.
Personnel). These committees are in constant search of tools that allow them to have a
substantial impact on the territory. These forums and/or social movements respond
to and are involved in development initiatives. According to Escobar (1999) social
movements can reorient development in a more sustainable and locally appropriate
direction that is culturally, socially and economically sensitive (Escobar 1999, 1).
Thus, it is important to stimulate and support awareness and propagation of more
positive gender dynamics in these environmental forums. The first step that we took
towards a holistic study of the productive and reproductive dynamics of this
territory was to identify the role that small producers and other local actors, such as
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students, pensioners or ‘house wives’ play in these dynamics. Making visible these
actors helps to guarantee an increase their participation, in the configuration of the
models of production that better adapt to the complexity of the current
socioeconomic and environmental panorama of the territory.
Research methodology: research instruments developed and applied
This thesis emerged from my experience as an intern with the Latin American Center
for Rural Development (RIMISP) and Prisma foundation in El Salvador. Prisma is
one out if of the 19 partners, from 11 nations in Latin America that participate in the
program DTR developed by RIMISP. DTR aims to identify policies that are more
comprehensive and holistic than conventional development studies and encourages
processes such as "economic growth, poverty reduction, greater equality and
responsible environmental governance" (Rimisp 2010).
I worked for the Prisma foundation for a period of three months (June-August 2010),
where I used Prisma’s methods of research in the territory as a template will I
expanded upon by developing extra tools that allowed us to gather further gender
sensitive information. Prisma participates in and mediates local councils in the
territory. They conduct workshops within the productive sector, fishery, cattle
farming and agriculture in order to make livelihood analyses. The tools I
implemented in order to help provide consistent information for gender analyses
include: (1) the design of tools to gather gender sensitive information at livelihood
workshops (2) a survey about gender for use in the local councils, CACH and
CIHCG.
3.1.
Primary data: generation of gender sensitive information
With the information obtained in the livelihood workshops, I contributed to the
analysis of productive activities that had been previously limited to the economic
indicators such as the EAP. This methodological strategy of triangulate discursive
and official information provides important raw material to build a more thorough
gender analysis.
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3.1.1.
Livelihood workshops
Group work
2Together
with researchers from Prisma, I worked with local workshop participants,
in groups of men and women, using associated facilitators for each group to reduce
the risk of people being uncomfortable talking to men or respectively women. The
group sessions were opened with a discussion of the following question: what do we
do for a living? From this question, participants identified up to three types of
livelihood per group. For each type of livelihood, we identified both productive and
reproductive activities by asking about the use of natural, social and economic
resources and assets, and about the institutions that govern such use, arrange access
and support development. We also identified the constraints associated with each
activity. The information was gathered in a matrix. In addition, we carried out semistructured interviews with each group to inquire about these issues. The facilitators
of each group systematized the information.
Plenary
At the end of the workshops all the participants gathered in plenary in order to
define a schedule of activities for both men and women. Here we mapped out
activities related to fisheries and cattle farming and defined who carried out each
activity. For upcoming workshops, we think it would be beneficial to produce a more
detailed calendar of events that more accurately capture the practices of both men
and women their related discourses and meanings. A tool that could be more
sensitive to gender visions might include the separation of men and women when
defining the calendar rather than during the plenary stage. Additionally, it would be
useful to include a detailed schedule and description of daily activities in the
calendar, including what resources and assets were used
In the Appendix (nr 1), I include an outline of the methodology used for livelihood
workshops carried out with fishermen and farmers
2
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3.1.2.
Survey about gender in the local councils CACH and
CIHCG
I explored how gender was understood in the multi-actor spaces of the territory by
developing a survey3 inquiring about the gender perceptions of participants. This
was an electronic survey directed to all the members of the steering committee of the
CICH and CACH. Out of fifteen members, five completed the survey. The survey
inquired about what gender means in these spaces, how the issue of gender has been
addressed and what suggestions could complement and promote gender positive
relations?
3.2.
Secondary data
I carried out the research for the thesis in the frame of a larger interdisciplinary study
“Rural Territorial Dynamics in the Northern River Bank of Cerrón Grande Wetlands,
Chalatenango” carried out by the Prisma foundation. The report from this study was
the main source of information regarding the description of the territory.
I also used the 2007 National Census for El Salvador to obtain local statistical
material for this study. I have also revised written material from the CACH and
organizational documents from Prisma and the ministry of environment of El
Salvador.
Theoretical framework of study
Gender as a category first appeared in development programs in the 70s with a peak
in its use in the 90s. However, development initiatives have always had an impact on
gender systems. That is why before presenting the gender analysis proposed for the
3
Original survey can be found in the appendix # 2
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case study in El Salvador, I emphasize the distinction between gender as an explicit
institutional consideration, and gender conceived as an omnipresent social
phenomenon. The latter conception contemplates that gender is constantly
transformed and transforming territorial dynamics while the former tends to
establish static categories. Theories I draw on contribute to potential repositioning of
gender as an analytical category in development studies. Thus, I present a theoretical
approach consisting of four sections which contribute to this : 1) Gender and
development: frameworks and positioning gender, 2) Gender mainstreaming,
institutions and prevalent research categories, 3) Separation between productive and
reproductive activities, and finally 4) Gender and geography.
4.1.
Gender and development: frameworks and positioning gender
To understand the role that gender has played in development studies it is necessary
first to understand the history of their relationship. To do this I will describe the
relationship between development and gender, for groups of men and women, from
the perspective of global north practitioners. Economics and capital also influence the
concept of development, especially in the so-called “business of international
development” period from 1960-2011 and shape social structures including the
division of labor, politics, technology inputs, and funding. Consequently, state,
capital and development transform gender and ethnic identities thus reconverting
local territories, economies and cultures (Escobar 2010, 91). All these factors have
been mediating the relation amongst developed and developing countries until now.
The concept of international development first evolved in the 40s and was associated
with economic growth and capital expansion (Fernandez 1994, 2). At the time,
concepts of underdevelopment where related to certain intrinsic characteristics of
geographical regions. For instance, machismo was a characteristic attributed to Latin
America, and part of the explanation for underdevelopment, according to Fernandez
(1994) ‘Underdevelopment, poverty and economic and political stagnation were
conceived as the effect of men’s inability to control their sexual proclivities and
women’s ample interest in procreation’ (ibid, 3). As a response, to this logic fertility
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rates became a mayor concern amongst development scholars and policy makers of
this epoch.
Subsequently, in the 50s the differences between the rich and powerful countries and
poor countries were even more accentuated as well as binary categories such as
development/underdevelopment. These dichotomies were the prime material for
development studies.
In the 60’s modernization theories proposed the transference of economic, political
and cultural norms from the global north to the global south as the ‘solution’ for
underdevelopment. The belief that “underdeveloped” countries have simply not yet
adopted the necessary (and inevitable) characteristics that will lead them forward
still exists and has a strong influence today. These beliefs include the adoption of
western-type institutions, literacy, “hard work”, industrialization, etc. Development
was about “helping them move forward.” Modernization was conceived by
disciplines such as political science, and economics with the idea that Latin America
had to approximate to Unites States and Western Europe or on the contrary they will
suffer violent revolutions (Black 1998, 5).
A decade later, the national liberation movements throughout the third word
criticized faith in modernity, mainly because this progressive belief reinforces
dependency on developed countries. This is known as the dependency theory
(Fernandez 1994,4). As a counter explanation, theories of dependency and unequal
exchange emerged, which states that underdevelopment can be attributed to the
exploitative relation of the global north verse the global south. Development of the
north was considered to be the reason the global south was into underdevelopment.
In the 70s, the world system perspective arose as an attempt to incorporate the
particularities of geopolitical regions that were not considered in dependency theory.
This decade theorist emphasized in social and economic democracy and new kinds
of nationalism (Tainter 2007,361).
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In the 80s the political environment of the epoch, such as the collapse of the Soviet
Union and the end of the Cold War, triggered the development ideal of
postindustrial societies. These conditions brought again faith in technology for
developing countries, and science and innovation for advanced nations. These ideals
came with a new international division of labor and the triumph of neoliberalism
suppressing all contending paradigms until the end of the century (Fernandez
1994,5, Black 2010, 5).
The new international division of labor was characterized by lowering production
costs by relocating production to less developed countries. This encouraged the
proletarianization of these countries, and an increasing reliance on women as
providers of low-cost labor. In many parts of Latin America, labor conditions, job
security, and welfare also deteriorated with the increasing trends of privatization
(Paulson et al. 2010, 7). As a consequence of this rapid introduction of new labor
regimes and the incursion of neoliberal policies, men and women’s roles in society
experienced abrupt transformations, especially in Latin America where the neoliberal
impacts where greatest due to this relocation of production (Harvey 2005, 154). For
the first time gender was formally perceived as a key variable in industrial
restructuring. Therefore, gender emerged a necessary concept in development
agendas (Fernandez 1994, 5).
4.1.1.
Feminist theory
Most feminist and development theories have their roots in the Western ideology,
thus most theoretical knowledge arose from the perspective of global north
practitioners. However, the history of gender-and-development theories were
also part of historical policy interventions in developing countries, so it was also
analyzed and critiqued from the perspective of the global south.
Together with trends in politics and economics and their associated repercussions
in the developing world, the roles of men and women were constantly modified
through the decades with variations across regions and contexts. Feminist theory,
18
and specifically feminist history and economics, developed to address these
modifications. In Latin America women became a part of the productive sector
through their involvement in various development projects in the 1980s. Gender
continued to be an issue based on the need to ‘include’ women in development.
These efforts are the first step (1980s) and were practiced trough the framework
of ‘Women In Development’ (WID) resulting in the now infamous ‘add-womenand-stir’ programs (Mcllwaine and Datta 2003, 370).
As a response to the ‘grand universalizing theories’ of the mid 20th century, the
intellectual currents of postmodernism interacted with the rise of the feminist
theory (Beneria 1995, 1841). The postmodernist critique opened up new questions
that began to position gender as an analytical category instead of a synonym of
women studies.
In the 80s certain feminist theorists, questioned the positivism of previous
development theories, contributing to development of new conceptual ideas of
post-colonialism, postmodern/post-structural feminism and post-development
(Waine & Datta 2003, 371). Feminist analyses have influenced both thinking and
practice in international development agencies. The evolution from ‘women in
development’ (WID) to ‘gender and development’ (GAD) shifted the focus, from
women’s ‘problems’ in developing countries to focusing on gender as a social
construct that also contemplated power relations (Crewe and Harrison 1999, 50).
The emergence of GAD generated debate about reproductive and productive
activities. This critic went further than the invisibility of reproductive work; it
also questioned the structural impacts of capitalist development itself. This new
perspective showed the negative impacts of industrialization and
commercialization for both productive and reproductive activities (Parpart 2002,
374). However, as GAD approaches were adopted in practice, they were often
depoliticized, and lost much of their feminist edge (ibid, 371).
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Emphasis on addressing gender issues and realities in all aspects of development
policy and practice started increasing relatively fast in the first half of the 90s,
with the explosive emergence of gender units and a wide explosion of tool kits,
manuals and frameworks that permeated development and environmental
agendas (Tzannatos 2006, 21). This practical, institutional approach to gender is
now known as gender mainstreaming. I will explore this in the following section.
4.2.
Gender mainstreaming, institutions and prevalent research categories
‘ Feminist economist have so far concentrated on providing the effects of gender blind or
gender- adverse policy; now the task seems to have been expanded to demonstrate the
adverse effects of allegedly gender-inclusive policy’ (Schoenpflug 2006, 120)
Gender mainstreaming is defined in the UN Economic and Social Council (UN
1997, 28) as follows:
Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the process of assessing the
implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation,
policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making
women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of
the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and
programmes in all political, economical and societal spheres so that women
and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal
is to achieve gender equality (UN 1997, 28 in Porter and Sweetman 2005,2).
Gender mainstreaming is a new form of gendered politic and policy practice for
development theory. The implementation of gender mainstreaming does not
mean that gender has to be an additional category but that gender considerations
should be included at all stages both in theory and practice.
There is evidence that gender mainstreaming is more powerful than gender and
development approaches that include and analyze gender just aiming to help
women. However, one critique of some applications of gender mainstreaming is
that it is harder to keep track of gender when it is not segregated as a "women's
project" implemented with gender funds by gender experts. Thus, sometimes is
20
easier for development practitioners to prioritize other goals instead of looking
transversally at gender.
For some, many of the gender mainstream initiatives constitute nothing more
than a strategic move that does not challenge modernization or neoliberal
economics (Parpart, 2002, 371; Bernadette 2010, 70). This is the case for critics
such as Crewe & Harrison (1999) that suggest that challenges from gender
mainstreaming are shallow since they do not critically consider the ideologies
and material conditions of power relations, thus dismissing political and
economic roots of gender practices and meanings. They also reflect upon the
inertia of gender research and the power of institutions by using the following
assertion, “Ideas are selectively used by ‘developers’ to make post hoc
rationalizations of the practices in development that create and recreate gender
inequalities… At the same time, they can be used as effective rationalization only
because the ideas have a powerful affinity with existing structures of gender
relations” (Crewe & Harrison 1999, 50). Crewe and Harrison (1999:55) argue that
gender analysis only rarely becomes a gender-sensitive practice.
In opposition to critiques such as the one of Crewe and Harrison that suggest
gender mainstreaming as an obsolete process, Elgstrom (2000) argues that ”new
gender norms have to ‘flight their way in to institutional thinking’ in competition
with traditional norms” (Elgstrom 2000 in Walby 2005, 322).
The lack of consistency in the conceptualization and practice of gender studies
made evident the need to reform frameworks like the GAD.
The re-conceptualization of this framework was suggested by some feminist
scholars who considered starting a more sophisticated theorization of diversity
and the integration of masculinities (Parpart 2002, 371). However, these
adjustments in gender analysis are also criticized and not easy to put into
practice. Operational challenges and difficulties to addressing issues of poverty
and immediate material exigencies are critiqued in their adjustments. These
21
critiques triggered further arguments between scholars and institutions. A very
complex arrangement of variables is necessary for the development of gender
conscious studies and it is a challenge for development practitioners to deal with
such complexities (Crewe and Harrison 1999, 67).
This thesis applies simple conceptual principles and methodological tools
without sacrificing the complexity of gender analysis. This thesis is one example
of many varying methods to successfully mainstream gender by addressing and
visualizing relevant socio- ecological dynamics in a transversal and holistic way.
Gender mainstreaming has led to diverse strategies that can be used to include
gender in the policy framework for sustainable environmental practices. “This is
a multifaceted debate that is simultaneously normative, philosophical, theoretical,
substantive, empirical, and policy-relevant” ( Walby 2005, 326) generating several
strategies which can be used to navigate successfully through gender
mainstreaming in several areas of research including, education, development,
health and economic projects across the world.
However, the outcome of some gender mainstreaming initiatives is not always
positive. For instance, if the embedded power relations are overlooked, it can be
counterproductive (Bernadette 2010, 70). Unfortunately the inadequate planning
and design of projects can keep systematically benefiting certain group of actors,
dismissing others, and increasing discrepancies in access to different types of
capital (Bergeron 2006, 131).
One group of actors constantly investigated in gender analysis is women, and
even if there are legitimate reasons to do so, this can portray the idea that women
are the locus of gender problems and that women need to make changes to rectify
their position limiting the analytic potential of the concept (Crewe and Harrison
1999, 68, Fernandez 1994, 8). Thus, the gender identities of both women and men
must be investigated especially since neoliberal restructuring has led to the loss of
22
formal employment for everyone. Men have been especially vulnerable, since
more men were officially employed with benefits and more women were
employed in micro enterprise, cottage industry, etc. (Paulson et al, 2010, 7).
However, this ‘new’ view of gender also raises opposition since there is a fear
that the inclusion of men in gender discourse and policy may create the
impression that women are now less needy beneficiaries which could lead to the
‘re-exclusion’ of women (Bernadette 2010, 70). The latter is a misinterpretation
caused by looking at gender as a dualistic category. These misinterpretations are
avoidable by understanding gender as complex category socially constructed
beyond the dualistic man-woman stereotypes that highlight the differences based
in ‘natural’ or physical constructs. This is where gender analysis comes in. Men
and women are systematically related such that change for man means change for
women and vice versa. Therefore, it is necessary to question the normative hetero
man-woman categories imposed by development initiatives and programs in
order to recognize the millions of people around the world who do not fit well
into those categories.
I will now address some of the reasons of the perpetuation of ‘natural’ gender
categories
4.3.
Reproduction of prevalent research categories: critique of institutions
and resisting hegemonic concepts
Gender discourse that is based solely on the subordination of women, women’s
empowerment, and equity lead to a shallow perspective of the systems and
structures that shape social, economic and environmental roles of men and
women. This type of gender discourse has come to seem ‘natural’ and remains
both in the collective imagery and in public policies of development institutions
and governments where gender discourse is associated with “helping” women.
On occasions this discourse is strategically modified to construct an illusion of
23
gender inclusion. One can wonder about the function and the prevalence of these
discursive strategies.
One explanation is provided through power of discourse. Schoenplug (2006, 118)
makes an analysis in the context of engendering development, where she uses
Foucault’s theory of discourse to remark how discourses are always practices of
in-and exclusion. Foucault (1978) highlights the role of discourse in the
constitution of subjectivity, showing how discourse exercises power by
authorizing certain voices while silencing others; he also focuses in processes of
legitimization and the power of definition. This highlights the way power and
knowledge can be combined in a certain society, where practices of exclusion and
inclusion get materialized through economics where dominant groups control
social discourse, policymaking and, therefore, distribution and economic
wellbeing (Focault 1978 in Schoenplug 2006, 118).
In an analytic framework that reveals how economy shapes discourse, it becomes
evident that the neoclassical economic model strengthens binary gender
categories and shapes men and women’s roles in society by the separation of
productive and reproductive spheres in society (which I will discuss below). For
example in Latin America, the devalued reproductive work aside from paid
employment has been portrayed by ideological constructions that represent
women’s jobs as a low wage extension of their domestic responsibilities
(Fernandez 1994, 11). In contrast, men’s social role is discursively and
ideologically represented as solely ‘productive’ exerting pressure on men not to
engage in reproductive activities (Paulson et al 2010, 7).
The institutionalization of gender discourse has enhanced the power exerted by
the current economic system (Bergeron 2006, 131). These power relations are
determinant in preserving certain discourses and practices regarding gender. For
instance, Escobar (1999) reflects upon the way discourse influences structure and
agency in development programs. He argues that professional discourses
24
generate categories and labels to describe the facts and that these categories are
designed to release the responsibilities of powerful/dominant institutions,
groups and individuals from responsibilities. Thus, attributing the problem to
intrinsic characteristics of individuals through certain labels such as pregnant
women and small farmers amongst others (Escobar 1999, 69). Furthermore,
politics and institutional practices are determinant in the reproduction and
materialization of discourses and the different strategies of exerting power.
The power scheme that establishes gender categories is easier to maintain than to
change. Gender can be easily reduced or dismissed by policy makers, notably
through the conceptualization of gender as “helping women.” A complex gender
analysis implies a change in social relations between men, women, and
institutions through the redistribution of power; it faces the same deep resistance
to any interrogation by dominant power relations (Crewe and Harrison 1999, 62).
Gender at the institutional level influences policy making and, therefore, it has
enormous consequences for the lives of millions of people in developing
countries (Tzannatos 2006, 25). Even if current attempts of development
programs include social and cultural factors, institutions are still criticized by
their lack of commitment in challenging the core of economic and imperialistic
tendencies (Bergeron 2006, 131). Some critics, coming from a feminist economy
focus highlight how dualistic concepts are still in use for institutions such as the
Word Bank, FAO, USAID, amongst others. These categories such as male-female,
developed-developing, nature-society keep reproducing socially binary
differences (Schoenpflug 2006, 120). The danger with preserving these categories
is that these differences tend to be perpetuated educationally, socially, historically
and politically with serious consequences (Beneria 1995, 160). For example, the
legitimization of this systematic dualism by a complex body of legislation
(Fernandez 1994, 10) gives guidelines for the arrangements of access according to
assets, education, land property and management, participation in public
25
policies, amongst others. Thus, it is essential to reflect and to question the
‘natural’ status of these traditional categories.
4.4.
Separation between productive and reproductive activities
Only on the basis of a short-sighted economic thinking that reduces productive labor to
“gainful,” commodity- producing labor has it been possible to obscure the inseparable ties
between the productive and the “reproductive” (Biesecker and Hofmeister 2010, 1707).
I have explored gender from a development perspective both historically and
institutionally. This section is dedicated to examining the driving force behind
development and gender dynamics, the economy. In current dominant discourse
and institutions, the productive and reproductive spheres in society are conceived
separately, however this separation is not universal to human history and culture
and probably will be short-lived. To date this separation is not an easily defined
task and the conciliation of these categories is currently one of the most
challenging issues in gender analysis. Activities of the population categorized as
productive and reproductive are decisive factors in the social, economic and
environmental dynamics of each territory. However, many studies and projects
limit their scope to activities deemed "productive" and especially to those more
institutionalized as formal employment or income-generating activities.
Here, I present a historical approach to the separation of reproductive and
productive spheres that includes historical, socio economic and natural factors.
This section is also dedicated to highlighting the importance of closing the gap
between productive and reproductive activities in order to advance the
reconstruction of positive gender dynamics that can support equitable and
sustainable territorial development.
4.4.1.
Historical roots of the dichotomies: nature/socio
economic system, production/reproduction
26
Economic activity has been clearly separated between productive and
reproductive, but what are the causes and origins of this separation? Economic
history is not clearly defined, and its complexity does not offer a clear and
thorough timeline of causes and consequences. However, it is possible to find
reference points, and for some this dichotomy can be attributed to the genesis of
the concept of productivity per se (Biesecker and Hofmeister 2010, 1703). Also
some feminist scholars argue that it dates from the rise of patriarchal, capitalist
systems (England and Lawson 2005, 78).
Biesecker and Hofmeister (2010) argue that since the 18th century ‘reproductive’
work performed in society has not been highlighted neither institutionally nor
discursively. They also state that the separation between reproductive and
productive activities is closely related to the current environmental crisis and they
postulate that the economic system drives this crisis. According to the authors
labor theory and value are the key to understanding this separation.
There are registers from Adam Smith’s labor theory and David Ricardo where
they only conceived ‘the productive’ powers of labor, here nature assumes the
form of commodity and reproductive work is not even considered, thus not
having a place in this economic rationale (Biesecker and Hofmeister 2010, 1704).
For
practical
purposes
I
start
the
reconstruction
of
the
separation
production/reproduction with Marx’s re-conceptualization of labor where he
addressed the metabolic process between man and nature involved in capitalism
although he didn’t express it in terms of “reproductive labor” (ibid, 1704). Some
traditions of feminists use Marx theory in order to build their critique, which
focuses on the reconsideration of the relationship between productive and
reproductive labor. Marxist-feminist’s also considered class hierarchies while
defining the social position of women and men (Escobar 2010,92). This was
followed by a conceptualization of gender as part of a productive system and as a
process that combines economic, political and ideological facets. A major
27
contribution of this approach was to locate the source of women’s subordination
in the separation between domestic and paid employment (Beneria 1995, 1841).
Neoclassic theory enhanced the economy based on maximization and competitive
markets in 1994. Under the framework of neoclassical economics, nature is seen
as constant and economy became an autonomous being, another critical point for
the division of reproductive and productive spheres (Biesecker and Hofmeister
2010, 1704).
Currently, gender mainstreaming encourages the consideration of reproductive
activities in development programs. However, some critics argue that these efforts
are shallow since they are operationalized in the context of predominant
neoclassical models. According to Bergeron (2006), the development of these
models including the addition of cultural and social factors came with a
multidisciplinary toolkit to help make sense of social factors in development while
retaining core of economic disciplines (Bergeron 2006, 128). The conscious analysis
of production and reproduction is critical for gender analysis, especially from a
human ecology perspective, since it draws attention to the relation amongst the
economic system, political categories, sustainability and conception of nature.
While neoclassical economics enhances public policies that institutionalize the
separation of productive and reproductive activities and the division of these
between men and women, it also separates productive use of natural resources
from the regeneration of natural resources and ecosystems.
Many critics of the impacts and limitations of neoclassic economy demand a
paradigm shift however not all the attempts become concrete proposals (Bergeron
2006,128). In regards to gender analysis, any institutional form of gender that
belongs to the current economic rationale is susceptible to being criticized for lack
of commitment or shallowness. However, Walby (2005) points out that the
situation can’t be seen in such a reductionist way. According to her “Gender
mainstreaming is constructed, articulated and transformed through discourse that
28
is clustered within frames that are extended and linked through struggle and
argumentation” (Walby 2005, 338)
Thus, in order to make fruitful praxis parallel to the conception of gender as
transversal it is necessary to keep inquiring about the role that men and women
play in the productive and reproductive spheres of their socio-ecological system.
Men and women need to play an active role in shaping the productivity and
reproductivity of nature, within the context defined by human economic processes
(Biesecker and Hofmeister 2010, 1706). Feminist economy is one of the disciplines
that have most often incurred in debates such as household work and lower
wages, incorporating masculinities strongly emphasizing social and cultural
factors (Beneria 1995, 1841). In addition to feminist economy there are alternative
analytical frameworks, such as the feminist political ecology and gender analysis
that integrate gender, development and natural resource use and management.
Thus, demonstrating the intersectionality of gender and its usefulness in the
creation of new narratives (Bernardette 2010, 83).
4.5.
Gender in geography: rural territorial approach
This section of gender and geography serves as an introduction to the case study
in El Salvador, and attempts to address local particularities in ways that challenge
global research assumptions in the study of gender dynamics. In this section I
will also utilize the relationship between gender and environment in order to
emphasize the social dynamics that affect and are affected by changes in
landscape contributing to the condition of particular ecosystems.
Gender has become a highly contested concept, partly because it is not an
empirical phenomena making it ambiguous and intangible (Paulson et al 2010, 3,
Bergeron 2006, 131). Studies similar to this thesis are essential because they show
how it is possible to analyze in a concise and systematic manner the roles that
men and women have in rural realities. For instance, authors such as Escobar
29
(1999) consider that understanding local practices and conceptualizations makes
possible a paradigm shift beyond the conventional economic logic, incorporating
cultural and technological alternatives appropriate to the local population
according to the structural and functional characteristic of an ecosystem (Escobar
1999, 268).
One option to go deeper in to the local sphere is by investigating gender roles in a
territory. This information functions as a complement to information given by
current indexes and economic tools that alone are not informative enough to
explain gender dynamics, especially since there are mayor shortcomings in the
way gender issues are conceptualized (or not) in the macroeconomic approaches
(Tzannatos 2006, 21). Theories of development often neglect national and regional
differences and most studies originally underestimate the impact of development
policies upon segments of the population, especially unintended or
secondary/chain reaction impacts (Fernandez 1994, 2). Another shortcoming is
that some instances of gender analysis replicate research categories that are not
informative enough. For example, mainstream definitions of work continue
ignoring or undervaluing domestic, informal and reproductive work.
The methodological constraints used to analyze productive and reproductive
activities neglect to address several social actors. For example, most national
accounting systems and official censuses ignore unpaid and reproductive labor
(England and Lawson 2005, 78). As mentioned later in the document (page 27),
the category of economically active population (EAP) leaves out young people,
students, women and elderly who are not considered as productive therefore
ignoring most of the activities that warrant the reproduction of society and nature
that are not encompassed in the classic categories of production (Fernandez 1994,
10).
The recognition and value for a wider range of productive and reproductive
activities from research and local institutional discourse can create space for
30
greater participation and respect for people who do not fall into the categories
traditionally supported and respected, but in the marginalized categories such as
"housewives" or "helpers.” Many women are label into the above categories, and
as those are not considered like productive activities, these women are not taken
into account in the territories.
Gender in territory discussion is crucial since global categories can be ambiguous
and the local ones can restrict the descriptions of global dynamics. As Escobar
states, regarding local economies, local should not mean place based (Escobar
1999, 269). There are other characteristics to take into account while considering
rural territories, which I will describe below regarding the case study of the
Northern River Bank of Cerrón Grande Wetlands in El Salvador.
The program, ’Dinámicas Territoriales Rurales” (DTR, RIMISP), adopted the
concept proposed by Lund’s gender group which understands gender as “a
sociocultural system that norms, structure and gives meaning to the roles and
relations of men and women in the territory. It influences the construction of
actors and social coalitions, the functioning and structure of the institutions, and
the development, distribution and use of tangible and intangible assets in the
territory” (Paulson et al 2010, 4). This definition of gender not only identifies
actors, it recognizes the assets or capitals of the territory including its social,
economic and environmental context. Using this definition of gender, the
territory of El Salvador is here described in terms of capitals. These capitals are
human capital, natural capital, social capital, financial capital and physical
capital, as defined by Prisma according to the information on sustainable
livelihoods of the Department for International Development UK (DFID 1999).
The human capital “represents the skills, knowledge, job skills and good health
that together enable people to engage in different strategies and achieve its
objectives regarding livelihoods” (DFID 1999, 11). Natural capital "makes
reference to items of natural resources resulting from the flow of resources and
31
useful services to livelihoods" (ibid. 15). The social capital "is understood as the
organizational capabilities and skills of local communities to ensure resources
(knowledge, collective action, market access, etc.)” (Kandel 2007, 9). The financial
capital “refers to financial resources that people use to achieve their intended
livelihoods" (DFID 1999, 23). Finally, physical capital includes "basic
infrastructure and production of goods needed to support livelihoods" (ibid, 12).
Besides considering a territory from a capitals framework, the 'success' of rural
development gender initiatives take into consideration the factors mentioned
previously, which include the social and political context of the territory. This
complex arrangement of factors, that varies depending on the territory, express
the complexity and the necessity to approach territorial gender dynamics from a
broad perspective. By using gender analysis, it is possible to identify the different
actors in the territory and their relationship with institutions and the
environment, facilitating the study of territorial dynamics.
Results and discussion
Results are presented according to the research questions including: how to make
gender dynamics visible, identifying what the particularities of dynamics in
production systems are and why they are relevant to territorial dynamics and
finalizing by analyzing options for the mobilization of knowledge of gender
dynamics in the territory.
5.1.
Visualization of territorial gender dynamics in investigation
The study of the territorial rural dynamics of the Cerrón Grande Wetland focuses on
agriculture, fishing and cattle farming, since these are the main activities that sustain
the economy of the territory according to the 2007 Census. The population Census is
an indispensable source of information for an analysis of livelihood, especially
regarding information concerning the economically active population (EAP).
However, this material includes gender biases as most national accounting systems
and official censuses usually ignore unpaid and reproductive labor, which falls
32
disproportionately on women in many contexts (England and Lawson 2005,78).
Thus, for the case study of El Salvador I identified the categories that limited
researchers’ ability to document productive and reproductive work and suggested
tools that allow the visualization of dynamics and actors of the territory that are not
represented in the Census as EAP.
My research identifies various types of both men's and women’s work that remains
invisible in the Census. The Census ignores persons who realize tasks of the home,
which are mostly women. These persons are gathered in the same category with
persons who are permanently disabled from work. Students and pensioners are also
considered a part of the Economically Inactive Population (EIP). This empirical
analysis reveals that there are a variety of important labors carried out by persons
registered in the EIP category besides the so-called "domestic chores" workers. These
actors are necessary to reproduce the labor force day after day (with attention of
food, of health, and rest), and to reproduce the labor force across the generations
(with pregnancy, upbringing, food supply, education, of the children). It is a
remarkable fact that the National Census represents the majority (66 %) of the
population of the territory of the northern riverbank of the wetland inside the EIP
category. Hence, it is essential to document the productive and reproductive roles
that many of these so-called “inactive” people actually carry out in the territory and
to challenge mainstream definitions of work in order to avoid ignoring or
undervaluing domestic, informal and reproductive work that is vital for the
development, and the sustainability of the territory.
In addition to ignoring a large portion of actors, the Census only allows every
individual to name one economic activity, consequently ignoring the secondary
activities of those people categorized as economically active. According to the EAP,
the percentage of persons dedicated to agriculture, fishing and cattle farming in the
territory is respectively 20.9%, 3.3 % and 3.4 %, while the results of the investigation
presented in this thesis demonstrates that this is an extreme underestimation. The
data discussed below, suggest that the number of active fishermen is much higher
33
than the estimation included in the census (3 %). Then, to register a trade (an activity)
for a person does not fulfill the intent to register the totality of the people involved in
the economic activities of the territory. Consequently, the Census does not surmise
the complex and diversified strategies of men and women in the territory.
Many inhabitants of the territory realize combined activities, for instance there is
stockbreeders who are also farmers that grow food for their cattle, farmers go fishing
and vice versa, persons who take care of the home and are also involves in
agricultural activities, fishing and raising animals. In spite of the importance that
these structures have for the territorial dynamics and relations with the environment,
they are not referenced in the Population Census of El Salvador.
The previously mentioned omissions limit the impact of some gender mainstreaming
attempts in research categories. Most National Censuses disaggregate information by
sex but they do not address questions that reveal the diverse structure of productive
and reproductive systems. For example, to find generalizations in the National
Census of El Salvador regarding land tenure, we can analyze the following question;
do you carry out agricultural activities on your own and own what you produce?
This question references an important omission since no information was collected
on an undetermined number of landowners who do not participate in agricultural
activities, such as those who hold land that is not utilized or "abandoned" land, or
annuitants who are not working their land and are only renting it. Since most of the
land in the wetlands (63%) is rented (Gómez and Cartagena 2011, 21) a lot of
essential information for the analysis of the dynamics in the territory is missing.
Thus, the conventional categories used in the 2007 Census of El Salvador resulted in
a broad and unspecific definition of the economically inactive population, the
omission of secondary activities and the greatly deficient register of land use and
tenure. Once we identified these omissions, together with my colleagues from
Prisma, we developed methodological and analytical tools to complement and to
correct the information provided by the Census.
34
5.2.
Gender dynamics in production systems in the northern river bank of
humedal Cerrón Grande
The livelihood workshops realized for cattle farming and fishing were an important
source of information about men and women involved in these activities in order to
complement the information provided by the Census. The findings from these
workshops are described below.
I will describe the different profiles of men and women in the territory and their
associated arrangement of productive activities in order to construct a gender role
framework. According to Lotsmart 2008, men and women’s roles and responsibilities
in the management of natural resources are determined by the traditional gendered
division of labor and cultural norms which tend to define along gender lines those
who benefit due to access to natural resources, credits, technology, knowledge,
amongst others (Lotsmart 2008, 463). For the Chalatenango case study I inquire about
the profiles of men and women in the territory and their associated activities in order
to avoid the inertia of classical categories of labor and actually generate an updated
and more thorough profile.
5.2.1.
Profile of people in cattle farming
Cattle farming activities are mostly carried out by men in the territory. These
activities include sowing crops for fodder, production of ensile, control of weed,
restitution of fences amongst other routine activities. The activities in which women’s
regular participation was identified include the processing of dairy products and the
sale of cattle. This information is a result of information attained through the
livelihood workshops, and it complies with the Census report where out of 3.1 % of
people dedicated to cattle farming, 97 % are men and 3 % are women.
Out of 30 participants that attended to the workshop, three women were single, and
they identified cattle farming as their principal activity followed by agriculture.
Nevertheless, none of these women named domestic work as their principal activity
35
or their secondary activity as cattle farming, a situation that is documented in the
territory. It is likely that women who realize domestic work are not socially
identified or recognized as cattle ranchers even though they complete activities
related to this productive activity. Two of the three women participating in the
workshop own from 20 to 30 heads of cattle, and they hire men to perform everyday
activities. One of the women, on the contrary, performs all the activities associated
with cattle farming and owns three animals. Women were not hired to carry out
routine cattle farming activities.
The information that indicates that the cattle farming imply activities associated with
masculine work suggest that the insertion of women to the cattle farming is not
trough formal contracting. In order to take part in the cattle farming women have to
own their own animals or "help" with cattle activities in an informal way. It is more
likely that a single woman recognize herself as cattle farmer according to information
gathered from the workshops. Bernardette 2010 suggests that it is not a matter of
masculine presence or absence, she says that in order for women to recognize
themselves as active participants and producers in cattle ranching activities it is a
result of the social capital that they generate from intra-household and outside
household networks and relationships (Bernardette 2010, 81).
The 27 men who participated in the workshop identified two main arrangements of
their productive activities. They either named cattle ranching as their primary
activity and agriculture as their secondary activity or vice versa. Some men have
been involved in cattle farming their whole lives, either as owners of the cattle or as
laborers, whereas others joined in the activity without any prior knowledge. For
example, in one case, a retiree decided to participate in cattle farming when he left
his previous occupation. This suggests that there are persons registered by the
Census as being part of the economically inactive population because they are wither
retired or are housewives, when in fact they take part in activities important to
territorial dynamics.
36
The women in the workshop expressed interest in receiving training in processing of
dairy products such as cheese production. The fact that women, and not men,
expressed interest in the production of dairy products might be due to the perception
of this as an extension of the labor of the home, even though it is a remunerated
activity. Furthermore, this remunerated activity is not seen as productive, but as a reexpansion of work or informal work even though this work can increase the
economic capital income of these women. According to Federici (2009), completing
work at home, is a consequence of not having a remunerate reproductive activity,
millions of women, men and children organize work on a home basis obeying to a
long term capitalist strategy that makes invisible work and workers, undermining
workers’ rights and keep wages at minimum (Federici 2009).
This information helps clarify how the discourse and practices of gender affect rural
territorial dynamics and how this affects gender roles. A territorial gender system
where activities executed by men are "productive work" and the activities carried out
mainly by women are considered "help", "domestic work " or " reproductive work ";
where the productive activity receives more recognition and official support than the
work of reproducing the conditions for labor, production, knowledge and repose;
and where the discursive and statistical representation tends to ignore the
participation of certain actors and activities, works to increase the visibility, the
influence and the impact of conventional investigation methods and analysis.
The visibility is also increased for some actors and decreased for others because of
the reproduction of dualistic concepts within the studies such as male-female,
economically active-inactive, and productive-reproductive amongst others. This
study provides a concrete example of the importance of differentiating within
categories. For instance, as in the case of cattle farming I found at least three profiles
of female stockbreeders and five profiles of men in the territory. These ‘categories’
are highly contextual since they depend on particular legal and cultural norms. The
El Salvador Census, as with many other conventional development studies, misses
this kind of differentiation by having a single category of cattle farming. The lack of
37
specificity practiced in some attempts of mainstreaming a gender perspective, such
as the World Bank (Schoenplug 2006, 120) disregards the fact that consequences of
polices differ greatly for each sub-group of men and women working in these
activity.
Development projects, the institutional support, and access to credits, technologies
and other key assets tend to be channeled to the visible actors which are in this case
certain groups of adult men, and to the activities associated with them. Thus,
resulting in an inequitable distribution of opportunities and assets, which in turn
tends to strengthen certain groups of actors contributing to the disempowerment,
impoverishment and marginalization of other actors and activities.
Furthermore, the "big" stockbreeders have considerably mayor economic capital and
access to land than the “small” ones (Gomez and Cartagena 2011,19) and this has an
influence over the landscape. This influence is remarkable, specially when
considering that cattle farmers have access to the majority of land in the territory in
spite of being just 3,4% of the PEA according to the census.
At the workshops, we found that there are two types of relationships between
agriculture and cattle farming. The "big" stockbreeders tend to grow grass to feed the
cattle, while the “small” stockbreeders and farmers whose secondary activity is cattle
farming tend to grow food. There are monocultures of forage or maize vs.
polycultures that are generally diversified by the incorporation of vegetables and
fruit trees. The "big" stockbreeders have considerably more economic capital and
access to land than the “small” ones (Gomez and Cartagena 2011,19) and this has an
influence on the landscape. This influence is remarkable, especially considering that
cattle farmers have access to the majority of land in the territory in spite of being just
3.4% of the PEA according to the census.
5.2.2.
Profile of people involved with fishery
38
For the Cerrón Grande Wetlands, the 2007 Census registers a total of 621 persons
involved in fishing. The local authorities of fishing regulation state that the number
of fishermen in the sector is four times bigger. Misael Chavarría, fishing inspector of
CENDEPESCA, talks about nearly 2,700 active fishermen in the territory, of which
only a third part (870) would be registered (information provided by Elías Escobar,
researcher from Prisma). This difference could be a result of the fact that the majority
of fishermen identified by CENDEPESCA are not necessarily identifying this activity
as their main one. The information of the Census comes from the following question
that only allows a single activity as response " what activity do you do or what do
you produce? " It is evident the big under estimation (caused by ignoring producer’s
multiple activities.
In the plenary of one workshop it was said that the activities related to fishing, such
as the process of fishing, the sale and processing of fish and the repair of equipment
are carried out both by men and women, and even the children accompany their
parents while fishing and on some occasions participate by collecting snails. The
equal participation of men and women in fishing is not reflected by the information
provided by the Census where out of 3.3 % of the EAP that have listed fishing as
their primary economic activity, 95.5 % are men and the remaining 4.5 % are women.
Women and men carry out almost all the activities of fishing equally, but there are
some tasks performed according to the sexes. For example, only men carry out
activities considered dangerous such as harpooning and women mainly participate
in administrative activities.
Out of the 12 women participating in the fishing workshop, only one said she goes
fishing daily and 11 said they performed activities in the administrative sector, as
members of fishing cooperatives, traders, or related to activities associated with
tourism at the Wetland. Despite the fact that women participate as members of
cooperatives, their participation is still small, as they constitute only 5 to 10 % of the
partners of the fishing cooperatives. When asked what they felt was the cause of the
39
low participation in the cooperatives, the women answered that it is commonly
believed in the territory that woman would not be able to look after their domestic
obligations if they did what is necessary to be a part of a cooperative.
There is one exception, and that is a cooperative that has 60 % feminine participation.
The participants in the workshop attributed such participation to the “snow ball”
effect generated by women when they spread the message about the opportunity
and advantages of belonging to this cooperative. This cooperative aims to establish a
processing plant of food for fish and to promote tourism activities. This cooperative
also involves young men and women in diverse activities related to fishing such as
commerce and tourism. Within tourism, the promotion of sports such as sailing, the
rental of boats for excursions and recreational fishing, seem to produce a powerful
incentive for young people. Unfortunately these activities are limited because of
contamination to the wetland.
Social networks act as social capital and sources for knowledge spreading. In the case
of the fisheries sector, cooperative organization provides access to technical advice,
and other assets to facilitate its operation as an ‘organized’ sector. Although the
fishery sector is important in the territory, it does not have special credit support like
the agriculture. A fisherman can access a loan through a cooperative or a family, but
there are no bank loans for fishermen. In contrast, a stockbreeder can obtain credit
via agriculture since there are entities such as the agricultural development bank and
a formal credit system for this sector.
Such conditions have an affect on the territory by encouraging people to recur to
agriculture in order to have access to credit. The same trend is encouraged through
technical assistance packages. For instance, it is more common to receive information
and materials associated with planting maize, grass, fruit or other crop than it is to
distribute hooks, nets and fishing information. There are not only economic
incentives to develop certain activities, technological and cognitive tools are also
polarized and this process affects the dynamics of the territory. It should be noted
40
that mainly men are the beneficiaries of access to credit, technical training and other
incentives. This can be seen in through participation in workshops where men
provide more information than women in terms of loans and technical assistance.
The incentive to increase agriculture in the territory might be partially explained by
the decrease of this activity in the last decade. When comparing data from the 1999 El
Salvador Census with the one in 2007 there is a 50% reduction in the EAP for
agriculture and an increment in the tertiary sector (Gómez and Cartagena 2011, 11).
This phenomena has to do with social and physical factors that generates adverse
production conditions such as land degradation, contamination of the wetland and
difficult access to land due to the lack of regulation over land use.
According to the results of the livelihood workshops, I found benefits that encourage
fishers to be organized as a formal sector. These benefits are related with territorial
dynamics such as land use, access to credit, access to technology and knowledge
amongst others.
5.2.3.
Diversification of activities and characteristics of the
territory
The diversification of productive activities in the wetland is crucial for the analysis of
territorial dynamics. Above I described the profiles of people involved with the main
productive activities of the territory and the following will present the arrangement
of these profiles and how they are influenced and influencing the physical and social
capital of the territory.
The riverbank dynamics of the Cerrón Grande Wetlands are highly related to the use
of the fluctuating lands that belong to the hydroelectric plant, CEL. The CEL rents
these lands when they are available without clear regulations. When the lands are
rented the beneficiaries sublet them in order to increase profits (Gómez, Cartagena
2011, 17). This situation establishes a hierarchy of access and price speculation
41
making access to land difficult for various persons. Farmers only have access to 25%
of these lands while rest is used mainly for cattle farming (ibid, 18).
The fluctuating lands are only temporarily available so people that have access to
them utilize the following two strategies; they either specialize in cattle farming or
develop combined short- term productive options such as cultivation of transitory
crops and cattle farming.
According to the profiles described above one can see that cattle farming and
agriculture is a more common arrangement than fishery and agriculture. Escobar et
al (2011) attribute this fact to the limited access to land that fishers have, limiting
their economic activity. An additional constraint is that farmers and fishers, as users
of the resources associated with wetlands, are affected by soil and water pollution,
which is a serious issue for the territory (Escobar et al 2011, 16). Furthermore,
agriculture is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change events that the
territory is exposed to (Gómez 2010). In contrast, cattle farming is not highly
vulnerable because it does not directly rely on water or soil quality. Also, extensive
stockbreeders have easier access to the lands because of their higher economic capital
(Escobar et al 2011, 6).
The situation in Chalatenango includes unfavorable conditions for agriculture and
fishery and for “small” stockbreeders and farmers whose main activity is to grow
food. This constitutes a major problem for the territory since a significant number of
people rely on fishery and agriculture for their subsistence. Additionally,
institutional support in the form of credits, knowledge and technology encourage
people to become farmers even though access to land is difficult and the current
physical conditions of the wetland are not optimal for agricultural activities.
The challenge for local and national authorities is to generate alternatives that
promote a more inclusive model of development considering the information
gathered respecting the livelihoods of the inhabitants of the territory, and the social,
42
economic and environmental features of Cerrón Grande. The alternative proposed by
local actors is to implement institutional arrangements that allow access to
fluctuating lands giving priority to farmer and fishermen organizations and residents
of coastal communities and municipalities. As Escobar 2010 points out, one strategy
to develop strong local economies in the territory would be to strengthen and
transform traditional productive systems, increasing collective access to land and
working to strengthen collective organizations and territorial governability (Escobar
2010,72). Additionally, generating and promoting productive activities that do not
alter anymore the ecological balance of the wetland (Escobar et al 2011, 26).
5.3.
Mobilization of knowledge in gender territorial dynamics: gender
and DTR in the local coalitions discourse.
In the department of Chalatenango, there are spaces for discussion, information and
decision-making where the inclusion of environmental dynamics, social and
economic conditions in the generation of sustainable alternatives for development is
encouraged. These spaces are an ideal platform to support and display the gender
dynamics that exist in the territory from a more specific empirical and analytical
perspective. Both the department Chalatenago and the wetland area have spaces for
negotiation, consultation and decision-making. These spaces are the environmental
committee of Chalatenago (CACH) and the Inter institutional committee of the
Cerrón Grande Wetlands (CIHCG), and they attempt to integrate all stakeholders
(NGOs, local authorities, companies involved in mega projects, in the area,
producers, etc.) as active agents in territorial transformation.
In this study, I conducted a survey about how gender is understood through these
coalitions. By exploring how gender is understood in these multi-actor spaces I
suggest how to strengthen the role of these spaces through spreading knowledge of
gender awareness. The survey results served as a guideline, to problematize, expand
and transform this discourse in order to move towards a more comprehensive
picture and more concrete actions related to gender. After analyzing the results of the
survey my main suggestions are: first, to promote the use of tools to facilitate the
43
inclusion of all actors of the territory in discussions about the development options in
the territory, and secondly, to incorporate in the discourse the importance that both
men and women have on Rural Territorial Dynamics.
The ideas obtained from the survey about gender contemplate the different roles that
men and women play in society. The fact that these roles are socially constructed
becomes apparent through some of the statements. In general, they recognize that
gender is present in all development issues, culture, environment and economy.
However, the gender discourse in Chalatenango committees, in spite of considering
gender as a central element of thinking and acting, has no explicit reference to how
gender roles influence society. This lack of specificity has practical importance in
terms of social justice in the realms of policy, research and practice (Hankivsky
2005,978).
Regarding the open meetings of the committees (CIHCG and CACH), respondents
identified different forms of participation and attendance by women and men and
found that there are limitations to these forums in terms of gender inclusion. Some
interviewees expressed that few women participate and Luis Enriquez said that for
the CIHCG, men participation is about 65% and woman participation is about 35%.
Additionally, Elias Escobar and Wilfredo Moran expressed that those who
participate the most are usually the "producers" (fishermen and farmers), who are
considered "key actors" in each territory, and especially employees of estatal
institutions and NGOs: CENDEPESCA, MARN, CEL, Prisma, and the City Hall. As
reflected in the survey data provided by the livelihood workshops at the Cerrón
Grande Wetland, most people who identify themselves as "producers" are men who
become the majority in these assemblies.
Neither of the committees discriminate based on gender however reproducing an
institutional practice that represents men and not women as "producers" and
"stakeholders" in the territory. This is a form of gender exclusion, thus contributing
44
to biases in representation, participation and decision-making that will undoubtedly
affect the vision and direction of local initiatives.
5.3.1.
actors
Considerations for the strengthening of processes and
Below are possible strategies that take into account gender considerations regarding
the productive and reproductive activities of the region and the discourse and
actions of various platforms of the local environmental committees.
In the case of fisheries, the territory shows favorable conditions for the incorporation
of actors who do not enjoy recognition or access to it. In the case of support and
resultant strengthening of women fishers, it is worth emphasizing the practice based
on gender solidarity that emerged in the territory. This could be done by recognizing
the cooperative that has 60% women and young people, inviting them to speak at a
meeting of CIHCG about their union, plans and projects. This initiative can move
forward with the formal recognition of this significant and positive effort in the
territory and may encourage other similar initiatives. Additionally, the recognition
that many women engage in fishing is fundamental in order to continue promoting
their formal participation in decision areas such as CIHCG by bonding through
cooperatives and specifying their invitations amongst others.
The promotion of female leadership in cattle farming could be, on the one hand,
encouraging women's entrepreneurship, or on the other hand recognizing other
productive and reproductive work related to cattle farming where women are
already involved. Prior to promoting such initiatives, it is necessary to reflect on the
conditions of access to assets, inheritance of land, knowledge, and technology
amongst others, which ultimately enable or disable the viability of alternative forms
of integration. In other words, do women and men have access to farmland,
economic capital or credit to purchase cattle, etc.? If not, changes in such conditions
will depend on structural changes within different institutions and the levels of
governance to make viable these initiatives in the territory.
45
Dynamics that promote greater inclusion and greater distribution of opportunities
and benefits in the territory are developed at different scales and at different times.
In the short term, the immediate support for training and institutional participation,
should be directed towards women, men, old and young, who themselves get
involved in cattle farming but are not counted or taken into account in the current
institutions and initiatives. Eventually, this may promote and facilitate the
incorporation of these actors into platforms of decision-making concerning
development in the territory such as the CACH and the CIHCG. A more diverse and
inclusive representation of the various actors in the territory can influence the
priorities, decisions and actions that influence regional dynamics.
The inclusive insertion of actors implies taking into account the cultural and
economic conditions of access to the initiatives generated in the territory. These
conditions usually leave beneficiaries with greater economic and social capital, as
those men and women tend to incorporate more "naturally " to different prevalent
networks of information and access to assets and power. The territory's natural
capital is also at stake since individuals or institutions with greater social and
economic capital have more control over use regulations and access to natural
resources.
Conclusions
New and exciting debates and critiques of development and gender theory are
changing existing frameworks and creating new ones. This thesis is an empirical and
theoretical contribution in terms of gender analysis to the “new rural development
framework” advanced by RIMISP/ DTR.
An approach that makes visible the gender dynamics in the territory, such as
proposed in this thesis, contributes to obtaining quality information about actors,
coalitions and institutions that will strengthen policies and programs. Keeping track
of changes in the distribution and access to assets among all actors in the territory
46
will allow for a more comprehensive understanding of historical processes. For the
case of Chalatenango, this is evident that the increase of commerce and the
diminution of agriculture according to and comparing the 1999 and 2007censuses.
These changes have been reflected in the territory by structuring the current
arrangement of productive and reproductive profiles of men and women. However,
just referencing the censuses does not make it possible to have a precise description
of how these roles have changed over time. This study is fundamental for future
research in the territory, since it carefully documents the current arrangement of
roles in agriculture, livestock farming and fishery, both with quantitative and
qualitative information, which can be used as a tool for comparative ends.
This research helps reveal how productive and reproductive roles arise and how they
contribute to shaping the territory. Furthermore, the analysis of actors and
institutions helps to understand how and to what extent men and women are
involved in or excluded from these activities and for what reasons (specifically,
access or absence of certain assets, access or exclusion to institutional dynamics or
social capital). Besides the contribution made by generating profiles of the main
economic activities which take place in the territory, this study had synergistic
interaction with local visions. This was achieved thanks to s the analysis of gender
discourse in the local committees. This generates attention for measures that
facilitates a more diverse and inclusive representation of the actors in the territory
and strengthens the articulation of informal social networks.
Furthermore, this analysis includes ecosystems of the territories by looking at
changes of use, natural capital, actors and endogenous and exogenous processes. For
the case of Chalatenango, the relation of actors and economic activities and how they
are affected by the degradation and contamination of the wetland stand out.
Additionally, the research tools and advocacy strategies suggested by this study,
such as paying more attention to the regulation over land tenure, will contribute to
shape inclusive production models that fit the socioeconomic and environmental
conditions of the territory.
47
The methodological tools and questions included in this study will hopefully trigger
a more dynamic awareness for gender researchers and practitioners, contributing to
the positive spread of deep and detailed gender analysis in the territories. The main
contribution of this thesis is to provide conceptually clear principles and
methodological tools without sacrificing the complexity of gender analysis.
According to this case study of the Chalatenango territory, the consideration of such
tools helped reveal factors that either limited or allowed for a more complete analysis
of the gender systems in the territory.
Through my research it became possible to identify weaknesses of conventional
research tools. For instance, it became clear that the categories of the Census such as
the PEI and PEA are too broadly and inaccurately defined. Moreover, secondary
activities had not been registered, and the PEA underestimated. The lack of
specificity in land tenure and land use information turned also out as limiting factor.
Once those constraints were identified they could be remediated by complementing
the Census with other primary data that included gender considerations.
Additionally, this research successfully visibilize the existence of distributional
networks of cultural and social capital. Those networks enhanced the participation of
local actors in productive and reproductive activities of the territory, such as in the
case of the fishery cooperative.
Furthermore, this study helped to strengthen an alternative gender discourse already
existent in the local councils, and suggested how to put that discourse into practice in
a local context.
My research might therefore also contribute in a larger context to understandings
and policies that can support more equitable and sustainable development in rural
territories.
48
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46
Appendices
Appendix No 1
Metodología para talleres de sondeo de los medios de vida.
1. Introducción. Se explica los objetivos del taller
2. Ejercicio en pleno para responder a la pregunta ¿de qué vivimos? Por medio de una lluvia de ideas se hace una lista de las
opciones de medios de vida y se prioriza los tres mas importantes.
3. Ejercicio grupal por municipios, para trabajar la matriz No.1, trabajando con hombres y mujeres por separado con las tres
opciones de medios de vida priorizadas en el ejercicio anterior
4. Ejercicio grupal por municipios, para contestar las siguientes preguntas:
¿Cuál es la influencia de los maestros, personal de las unidades de salud, extensionistas o promotores en el tipo de conocimientos
que existen en la comunidad?
¿Hay gente que se inventa nuevas cosas o formas de hacer el trabajo?
¿Siente la gente la falta de información que considera importante?
¿Conoce la comunidad sus derechos y las leyes o políticas, que se relacionan con sus medios de vida?
¿Hasta dónde llega ese conocimiento?
¿A quienes compran los insumos?
47
¿A
quién
vende
su
producto?
48
¿De
donde
son
Estimación de la infraestructura productiva ganadera presente en el municipio.
Establos
Rastros
Picadoras de zacate
Camiones
Pozos profundos
Plantas procesadoras de leche
Fabricas de concentrado
Tractores
Reservorios de agua
Sistemas de riego
.5 Ejercicio en pleno para elaborar un cronograma de las actividades relacionadas con la primera opción de medios de vida
(ganadería o pesca) utilizando la matriz No. 2.
Matriz N°1 Cada facilitador de grupo deberá llevar en pliegos de papel bond la matriz hecha para pegarla en la pared y llenarla a
medida que transcurre la discusión en el grupo.
Estrategia
de
medios
de vida
Tenencia de la
tierra
Ganaderí
a
Propia en x%
Arrendamient
o y%
Usurpación
z%, etc.
Como será
afectada por
la
construcció
n de la LN
Derecho
de uso del
agua
Fuentes de información o
apoyo técnico
Hombres
Mujeres
Conflicto
s
presentes
Amenaza
s
Positivo
porque …
Negativo
porque…
Uso libre
sin
regulació
n
Extensionistas
,
Otros
ganaderos,
Vendedores
de
Disputas
por
el
agua para
riego de
potreros
entre X y
Que entre
mucho
producto
de
Honduras
y
Vendedores
,
Familiares
en US…
48
Financiamiento
Propi
o
Crédit
o
X%
Y%
Observacione
s
Fuente
del
crédit
o
BFA
Algún
aspecto
importante
que sale en la
discusión que
no
está
agroservicios..
Y
Nicaragu
a y los
precios
bajen
hasta que
no
se
cubran
los costos
nacionale
s
cubierto
en
ninguna
de
las columnas
Matriz N°2 Estacionalidad. Calendario de producción y reproducción
Enero
Actividad
Feb
Mar
Abril
Mayo
Jun
Jul
Ago
Sep
Oct
------------------------------------- Fabricación de concentrado ------------------------------
Nov.
Dic.
Realizada por
Hombres de la familia
Hombres de la familia y
jornaleros contratados.
Elaboración de ensilaje
Mujeres de la familia
-----Elaboración de queso-----
Recursos y servicios
que se necesitan para
esa actividad
Maíz, sorgo, harina de
soya,
transporte,
molienda, suplementos
Picadora, zacate de
corte,
transporte,
plásticos…
Leche,
cuajo,
descremadora, moldes,
prensas, sal…
49
Appendix No 2
Gender Survey
1- Para usted ¿Que es género?
2-En el CACH ¿Cuáles temas se entienden como relacionados con género?
3-¿Cuales impactos ha tenido el CACH sobre estos temas relacionados con género?
4-¿Cuales son los espacios de deliberación y participación del CACH?
5-¿Quienes participan en los procesos de deliberación y participación generados por
el CACH?
6-¿Puede usted identificar una distinta participación por grupos de sexo (mujeres,
hombres) en los espacios de discusión, decisión y ejecución en el CACH?
7-¿Puede usted identificar distinta participación por grupos de edad en los espacios
de discusión, decisión y ejecución en el CACH?
8-¿Puede usted identificar distinta participación por grupos de actividad económica
(productores, empleados, comerciantes...) en los espacios de discusión, decisión y
ejecución en el CACH?
9-¿Cree que después de la creación del CACH hay mas participación de la población
en procesos decisivos en Chalatenango? , ¿Cual ha sido el aporte del CACH?
10-¿Porque cree que el CACH tiene o no éxito en facilitar procesos participativos?
Que cree que sobra y que falta?
11-¿Considera que la participación y las dinámicas de género han cambiado en los
últimos años dentro del CACH?
12-¿Considera que la participación y las dinámicas de género han cambiado en los
últimos años en el Dpto de Chalatenago?”
*Favor especificar si usted es también miembro del comité directivo del CIHCG
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