(

INgEBIil NEFONf

FOE A SIIDT OF II{COUE TSFTiIERJIIIIOII

AIII} ItrS EEEECTS

AI,l0IIC lf0lfig$rs CROIIPS

It{ mlrtts coAsilr PRovrl{cE

Hartin l{aLsh

subnitteal to l{orlcl Rlucation Inc.1

Bostonl Massaohusettsr U.SoA. 1

Jrrne 1986.

r.

(

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CONT$ITS-

P f g f a C g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o . . . . o - . . . i l

o v E R v l E 1 t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o . . . . . . . 1

AGI{IRATE WOMEI!$ CROI]P, DIANI LoCjUIION.... . . . . o... . .14

AI'KSssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssII WO!{mItS' GROIIPT JISANL LOCA$f0N... ....... .....{!

I{OMEUIS GROUPT Pol{GlilHIDrlfit LOC,!$rON.. ......77

3Ol,lAIfI lJOl'lBIrS G?OIIP, I'IACARINI LOC,![IIO]I.. .. . . . . .. . .109

I i lCOlj IE 6f, ]$IER.0SION AND fTS EEFECIS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lJZ

11

Preface

This report presentE tb€ prelioinarTr fincti.nge of an otFgping

proggarrno of r€search (1983- ) teing condusted on uome1ls grounts in

Kenyars Coast Provincs b6r lforlct ftlucation fnc. (Boston, Mass.) in

collaboratioa w'ith Tototo Eone Industrdes (Uorntasa). The flnclings

presented here are based prina,rily upon flelclwor{c rrnd.ertaken between

Augrr.st 1985 ana FebnurSr 1986 lcith 4 lototo-spoaeored gtoupso A

second perioct of fielclworltc is now undenragr. llhe results of eanlier

pbases of th,e reEeacch proglatme are aLso taken into account: lts

ftrll coaclrrslons shoulcl be ava.ilab}e soneti"ne in 1987; I:a wr{.ting

anrd researching this interim report the author ba.s enjoyed. the firll

support of aad. tenefited oonsiderably frorn clisctrssion rrl,th both tbe

Direstor and. sta,ff of tototo anil his colleagues (and. employe$) in -

tiorld. Bluca,tibno- So then arid tb.e viJ.lagers who received' liim so weLL1

special. thanks a.re d.us.

leartin ttalsh

Mombasa

June 1!86

1

o'lriRwll

lfomenr s groupE do. not operate in a soci.l v&ollllno Any analysis of iheir

roLe antl inpaet rmrst be situatecl in a,n. arlequate d'escription' of their wicler

sdcial a,ad ecoaonio envLronment. Soth pl'anners and researchers have failecl to

take srrffioient acaount of political economy a,t the looal level and, the

constraints lt inposee upoir the operation of tro.ment s grorlpsr The foI1ow5-rrg

reportl based. upon a. studly of sbnenrs groups a.nc[ their incoc're-generating

projeo'be ia K;WatE Coast Provincee renedies this situation"

In i-bs initial d.esi€rr. tlre study ran into sirdlar diffi@lties by. focusing

upon the. inpast of trogenrs gloup nembership arxcl inoome generation upon fertility

rel,ater1 variables. Sunregr d.ata; hor'reverl demonstrated. a negS-i$ibLe relation.

Ehis fjnding oaly becomes intelligible in temi of tbe interpretative

f r a , m e w o r k w h i c h t h e c o m p I e t e c L s t u d y 9 a n a 1 y s i n g i n d . e . b a i 1 t h e o p e r a i i o n o f � �

r.lonents itxcome-generating projects, provicles. This fra;rer'rork is surnmarised'

''be3.or.r1 arnplifiedl. aucl lllustrated. in ihe for:r case s'budies tririch foLlowe and-

related. systenatically to specific tqoios (incluiting attitrxles to fertility) in

the conclnd.ing section of the reporto This provicles a sor:nder basis than has

hithe:rto been avallable for the forrnuLation of pol.icy recornnendati.ons 'trith

regard to tromenrs groups a,nd. their incorne ganeration projects"

Ca,pi-Falism vs. household- economy.

The lcey to unrierstand.ing tire operation of liomell s gfo'Llps a,nd success or

othertrise of their income-generating projects is to be fouird. in the relation

between J.ocaL (indigenous) sociaL formations a,nil the foroes of .capital-ist

penetration r*rich are r.lorking to,tra,nsform therno lhe essential point is tirat

this transfornatj.on is far-fl:* conplete. Indigenous for"mations have been

rnod.ifiecl tnrt rarely oaptruecl outrigbt btrr capital. In marqr respects they

renain, strongly r4sistartt to capitalist penetrationo This is particuld,rLy

eviclent algnS the KAnyan,coast, where the .people

of.Idombasars hinterlancl

have.long been brancLecl tbacli:r.rarclr for their apparent relucte,nce eitirer to

engage in (nig3ant) wage labour on any scale or to arlopt motierrr nethod.s of

farmiag a.rrtl procluce for the narket. l{hile capita} prel-Is in one clirection,

the .stt:uotrrre*. of indigenous econony provid.e via.,bLe. alVem,atives for tbe

investncent of Labour and. cash and. continue to pu]l in another.

lleither of tb.ese forbes is monolithic. Differentl sometiroes com;etingl

. fraotions or' interests of capital can b.e identifiedL - inter:ra,'biona11 .national

' and. incligenous (iocaL); along r.ritb their varior:s agents - foreign conpanies'

and. lI.GOel. the stater ancl LooaL entrepren€'utrsr Indigenous social forrnationsl

alreacly no&ified in differing clegrees'by th,esa interests, vary coilsiclerably

1from one location to anotber.' They share in comnon the fac-l that procluction

, i" precl.oninantly organised. at the jbevoL of inctividr:.al household.s uhich retdin

a largg ilegree of control over the prinoipal means of production: 1an4 e.nd'

tbe'laborrr of their nemberso l'Iomen, vhether -#oop

menbers or not, are first

and foremost members of bousehold.s and as such are subject to tbe d.ecisionst \ I

taken rcithin then. tlomenrs g?oupsr tbeir income-generating proiects icl-ealIy

frrncti6ning l.!ke small capitalist'enterprises; ' stancl ai; the critical- ju:roture

of these oppo"ing forcesl oapitalist ancl household economyi and' rnay be

captur.ed. or e,t Least severe3.y constraineiL by one or. the other.

I

A d-evelornontal schena.

llhe operation of tb.ese cons-braints varj.es aocording to the stage of a,

(

grouprs (or projeotts) tlevelopment. [hree main stages ca.n be idsntifiecl.. \

t 1gbe first Ftager axperi,eqcerl in all casdsr is oharaoterisecl by lack of ma,jor \

fiucls ancl clomiaated..'-Uy tbe-search for these. llhe second.r pivotalrftog",

. wUicU maqr g?oups have yet to reachl .sees the acbpevenent of tbis goal tbrouSlr

( the injection of oa.pita,l from the outsid.el allowing tire establishnent of a

najor project. Depend.ing upon the nature of the pro'ject a group rna4r then

eitb,er revert io tne initial stage (tfris is particurlarl-y the case r,iith r'relfare

t proJeots) orr in cleveloping an income-generating project or enterprise, nove

on to tbe third, rrith all its aitenclant clifficuLties.

( Stage one. Fron their inoeptidn'groups a,re strongly irrfluenced ir\ their

organisation a,nd. goals by state cLefinecl H.eveloprnent obje.ctives a.nd- are fornal-I'y

tierl. to these W regiqtering with the I'Iinistry of 6\rLture and. Social Services.

t Ae it relates to the womenrs group prog?amne state. clefined d'evelopnent has a

doubLe aspect. First ln its emphasis upgn a basj.c needs approach a.nd- the

provision of soclal and uelfare services (includ.ing schoolsl nr:rserXr a.nd'

I adult ed.rlcation classes, roedi.caL facil-ities agd. adequate trater supplieS); -

.serrrices shioh arE not only conceivecl as being of general benefit but. are also

. recogr1{serl as having a ctireat effect upon the quality of womenrs Lives.

( . Seooritlllyl . ip the prornrirtion of incone-generating opportunities for tromenl

oppor-tunities seen to be most effectiveLy reeil,i,zed- theoug'h the agency of rlonents

groups, although e:actly hon-thi-s rill tatce pl-acd and. uith nhat effects is

( rarely spelt outo ,Itre major prcjects r'rhich ttornellrs.groups p?opose and. for

vhiih they receive offioial support and recognition invariabLy fall into one or

tbe other, sornetlnes bothl of thcse categories'(a water project inayl for

( insta.nce, provicte incone for a group theough the sale of uater to villagers)-.

4

. Almost all- groups are committed.r on paper or othertlise, to r.lelfare

projectsr l rhether or not -bhese const i iute their pr imary object ives.. I , ioreoverl

as registered self-help groupsr they are nobilised. at every possible opnortunitl '

by local officials to contribute labour a^nd funds to other commrmity developmenb

projects. l lomenrs.greoups are i lus ut i l ised. io the fuLI in rrhat may be vier;ed

as a:r r:nofficial- fo"T of taxation, its goal being to provid." urra maintain social

pervioes in the nra-1 areas. As the first of the case studies presented bel-olr

il lustrates, 'th-is

may constitute a significant drain upon group resources e^nd

banper tireir further d.evelopment. It is, hor.rever, a'situation r.rhich groups are

prepared to tolerate. First l because-g'rol :ps d.er i-ve._their legi i inat ion from.the

state and are prourl of the recognition uhich follows fron their contribution to

the comrnunity. Second, because ihey arel competing r,dth other g?oups for funds

dispensed W the state and- its personnel. And accessj to capital- fron these e.nci

other sources is the only nears, short of clissol-utione by vhich groups ca:r \

escape from th.e tlemand.s vhich thc state irnpoies upon therno

Tbe second. set of constraints operating upon groups at this as ue}l..as at

later stagEs stems'from.the conf igurat ion of household. economy. Groups

typicalLy enga.ge in a r,licle range of aciivitids over and above those direcied

'tor.rardp the achievement of thelf major projects. But no:re of these is capable

of provid.ing the large inputs of capital l 'rhioh both major r,relfare and inoome

g"n"toiion projects ""q.ri"".. I.{onetary contributions in ihe form of subsoriptions

or shares from gFoup memberg prove d.ifficuLt to s.ustain and. are generally Li'i;tle

rnore than'suff ic ient to cover basic expensesr including the costs of .cornmwrity

participation and tfr" eqpense of en-bertaining visitors rvlro arJ couried'as

potehtial allies in the quest for outsid.e fi:nd.so Collective agricultural

enterprises, while profiting from the advice of government ertension staffl

,/

suffer from lacl< of purchased. technical inputs a"nd. the high opportunity costs

.of labour. Contributions of cash aria laboui to groups are conditioned. icy the

more pressing clernand.s of the housdhold.s. to ubich'their mernbers belong ancl tend

to be measured a6ainst the possibility of ir.rnecliate as opposecl to long-terrn

returnso From tbis point of vier.l it is significant that more substantial

oontributions a.re often made togards aciivities\ rilr!ch promise a nore tan6'ibLe

benefit to metrbersr household.s ancl only incid.entally (in cases lrhere a cess is

imposed.) ad.d- to ,group

Jfuncls: hanclioraft production ancl various forns of

ind-ividual saving including rotating cred-it associations fall into this category.

Stpge trro. The only uay a group can escape (and. even so only partially) from

these constraints to develop a major r .rel fare or income-generat ing project is

by Securi[g access to capitalr material and other forms of support from outdide.

The main sources of such support are 'bhe statel 1'IGOs, gtate and liGO personneL

acting in b private capacityr' and to a l-esser ertent privabe companies. llot

surprisingly groups inve.st considerable resources and enerfJ in the firq'b stage

in rnaking alLies of theseo In margr cases necessary alliance r'riti:. the state and

its agents acts as. a springboard. to obta.ining the support of I{GOs, r';hose

' networkg of operation are often at a greaber remove fron the experience of

7 womenrs group members. The l{Gose both.Kenyen and internationall provide by

t1t the 1argest fortion of the capital and. befck-up serrices. trhich Stoups obtain.

Asid.e from aLl the gork-lrhich gnes in'bo securing.such aicl1 the mos'b iuiportant

contribgtion r.;hich groups melce to,..;ards the estc.blishnent of projeots is often

.in providing a:rd. organising necessary rrnsl:iIlecl and- semi-s!:j.11ec1 labour.

Oncc a.pioject has been established a group may readily find, itseLf back ai

sgua:.e one. 1'lis is particularly the case trith r'relfare-oriented- projects with

. a minimaL potential for,generating inoome. Their maintenance costs and

recurrent expenses are typical-ly highl reguiring continued support froniI

ggvernment staff gnd.r/or fi.urd.s from ,interested llGOs to keep them in operatioi:..

, , Groups in this position fwrction as localised. IIGOs supported. by larger ones

r..rorking together as ertensioni of the sta,ters eduiational or welfare serrrices.

: Ittco""---g"tterating projeots frequently require a sirnila.r continuity of. :

.- inputs, d.ependin€ upon the nature of the projectr althouglr only pla.ns for

, e:cpa^nsion arrd. diversification into othci pro'jects, or alternativeLy the threatI

. .of fail-ure; rnay riecessitate f\rther injections of e:rtezna.l capital. The

possibility of faih:re a^nd. reversal is never remote as a consideration of the

Droblems inherent in thelr further deveLopment und.erlines.( -

Stage. three. I.Ielfare pro jec'b's are relatively easy to d.efinel if not ah.rays

easy to maxrage. Their go?Is are unequivocal andr trhile the oonstraints

operating upon tlrenn may !e inperfeotly unclerstood (farrily planning protrammes,

discussed'1rt"t in this report 2 a;re a good. example of this), tbe forma.l

.. sector and voLrarta.ry agencies conce.rrred uith their execution have access to. the

r means .and. a d.eterminate iclea of the strategies reqt:-ired. for their attainnent.

Income generat ion is a very di f f""" \" t kett le of f ish. I ts.goals.- in this

'contert the creat ion of income-generat ing opportunlt ies for l {omen.as a means of

iroproving their cornparative status - rest ttno: t set of rxrtestecl assunp'bionst

and scant oonsideratiot..is 6iven of the optinal stra-beg'ies vilrich might be

purr,recl to attaln tlrese, the oons'bralnts r*hich opera,te upon tbernl ' a.ncl- uhat

their possibl-e consequenoes trigh'b be. l 'Brat is not realized is 'bln'b the ir:'cone-

, . , generat ing projeots estabLished. t6r uoments Sroups r i i th erberral assistanoe

fqnotionl or shorgrl fwrc'bion if they are to be suocessfull as.smaIl capita,list

;esr 1he tovernment agenoies cha,rgecl .trith assisting l'. 'omenls grolrps a]'centerpr ises.. . The 6ovenl

7

( -

\i1-I equipped- to d-ed,I rrittr this situe.tion a^ncl the IIGos, uhile more fLexible

better praced. to take appropria. te act ione have been slo ' to '

,. real ise al l of i ts impl icat ionso

once incone-genera.tinS projecis are seen in this lig-ht i-t is not clifficr{-t

to id-entify the constra.ints uirich operate upon 'ohem. As embryonic capi,.;e,Iist

enternrises they are first a,nd. foremost constrained by the localised. s-bruo-bgresq l L L e s w J u M

' of household. econoegr

-in uirich they a:.e embect-cled. l,Iha.t r.;omen pu.b in-to their

. e n t e r p r i s e s , h o r r t h e y o r g a n . i s e , u h e n , a n d - t d r a t t h u y n i - 1 . h t e : q l e c t . [ o 6 e t . o u . t o f

tb'em are conclitioned W their rolesl obLigations and- -e;-qpec-ta,tions

as nernbers i

of houseirolclso Resources investecl in a group a,re frequ-eirtly-resorlrces r,,' ithclra.r:r' i:from a houscholclo Pa,rticularlf rihgre surPlus la'bour .anc1 cash are no-b ree,clily i

availa.ble and- the gains from group inves'btrent are not ir:uoed-iately apparent, i

' househofd- ob)-igations are invariabl-y g"iven priori'Jy and col] ective en.berprise I

suffers accord.ingly" This point has already been touchecl upon. above. Groups,' their membership recruited on a volun'bary basis, typically lack the meags of

enforcing their d-ecisions (although naily e{perirnent, unsuccessf\r1lye gith

measure6 cl-irectecl tonards. this end.: for e:<arnBle by irrrposing fines fo3 non--

rf sepa.:.ation of -i;heir

members from.the household.s to trhich 'r;hey lelonA" Household-s, fr:src-bioning as

semi-a,utononous uni1;s of procluction, continue to provid-e inclividuaL rnernbers ..

il ith iireir princinal means of livelihood. a^nd. ihe La-bter reraa.in sirbject to the'decisions

takcn ,rrithin themo . (

The organise,i;ion of householcl-s ancr- lrouseholcl cnterprises a.l so ha,ve'a,n

' irDor'ua:r:i;, oi' i;en neg'a-i;ivep e1'fcct upou 'bire oi.ganica'bion of 6Toup en'berprises. i

. Tiris stents parbly from tire fact ihr,-b for most group merrbers, .'uhe rnejosit., of i

. a

r'ihon az'e uircclu.ce;bec1, these cotrs'bitui;e "cheir primary moclel of econonic anct

ray .be nroclellecL

c l o s e } y u p o n p l . e v a i l i n g p r a c t i c e s i n l r o r t s e l r o l . d e c o n o r . r y r . T r r e t h i r d . o f t l r e. lcase stu.liqs presen-bbd- belou, lfiere a;r eilbe-.,..prise was orga;rised uith

reference -bo trair-itioiral- normS of the cr'irri.s:-on of l.a,bour a,ud procl-uctt

il lustra-beg lro',;l disasi;rous tlre ooilse(lu-ences of tli is ca.n be" I' lore genera,lly

though it is 1e.ci< of e>qrerience, for .e::a::r::le

of collcci;ive ,leoisj-on-nel:ing

processesl uhich .cree.-bes ,probl-ens. Co;uilu:rity Developnent Officers jlrovide ,

groups uiih a ninj-na1 orga.nisa-i;iona1 s'b:uc'buie a;rd. help in opciring ba.n'k

aocouritsl 1irile iIGOs, iirere availe,bler n?;l assis'b 'tiien -';i'bh irr-r'oher ac1-'rice

e,::d -bra,in!ng1 for e::r,;:r';ie r,r lrool:-1:eepiir3" liorever, 'bi:!s is rarel-;r srtfficien'b

-i;o co;rpensa;'r;e 'ior ";1:.e ine:12oiiei:ce of gro.up iicnbers r;ho a,re iL1 prepa,racl 'bo

me,nage their en-'cercrises. The poor sta'be of r,rost Sroup accot':t 'bs ancl the

management and corrrrpiion vhich -i;iris fos'bers is one of 'bJre irlore obvj-ous effccts

of thiso this does not ,nean ihai aIL qroups arrcl tireil en'be::lriscs are 'bo'i;e,1-1-1r

ai; sea. A nun'i:er n',rrlc[e their ua.y tlrrougir arr.cl one of the most in'beres-bing

outcomes of the crises and,soirisras r.rhich'periodically affect i-eveloped- groups

is a tendency touards increa.sing rationalisation of their enterprises along

capi ia, l ist l ines.

[o the e:ctent tha'i; groups a]te abLe 'bo lr'or]c free of the constraints of

. housebold. econoq,r they are 1ii:e1y. to find. tbenselves ia confli,ct '.i ith

s-bronger capitalisro'in'Lerests, restricted by state con'tro1s .a.ncl- in oonpeti'bion

r i ih othere more eff ic ient ly n:r i oo,pi tal ist enterpr ises in 'bire pr ivate seotor '

The seriollsness of this problern clegencis u1:on the"by-?e of i;ror'-p'en'berpriseo

fte.Leri:rises sr1ch c.s bil:er.ies rntl chic!:cir/e3i; fr,::ns l';hich are replice'tec1 j'n the

prj.vate sec.bor fre.}ren-bly face stiff coi;rpetition ancl e'.re fur'bher lrc'r:r':er::c1- b;'

state regula*ed prioing of thair ma.jor in2uts a.nd the proclucts r'rhi'ch they

p'ovideo Eiterprises of this kind uhich l-ie outsid.e of l-ocal e:qrerience are

also rnore Aifficult to na.intaLn and require con''r;inued at'ben'bion fron

governnrent e-rbension ,Jrorkers or i{Go fieLd. staff r'iho may ther.rselves lack the

requisite e:perienceo From this poin't 6f vj-etr a'nd' in the Long;-term tlr'e

safest and arSuablr ao1l. successful enterprises run by groups are those r:hicir

falt.r.;e11 riithin locaL e:clerience a,nd' ta.p e:d.s-bing processes of incligenous

oapital acour,lula-tion. Eirese ba,ve proven vi.",bi1i'by1 a,re easier for group

members to n:n i;ithout exte:rral supportr a4cl 6ive tirem a Srea'ber measr'-re of

indepenclence fr.om outsid.e intcrference and- oonpetition. i ' ioreoverbhey lend"

g3ou?s arr active rol-e in transfornring the local conclitions - ahe stra":rg'1eho1d

of JroursehoLd econow - $hioil 'i;hreaten to cap'i;ure tiien in 'bu:n' Iihabever forra

their e[terprises 'bake, developbcl- Sroups may fin{ it clesira}le 'b9 keep ihe

state ab arnr s length, a,ruious to avoic'l- the burden of obligations. rihi ch lreig'hs

hea',rily upon groups in iheir fornativ: sta'geo It is for this reason that

2groups elser.rhere in Kerqra have'sought rleregistrabiono' G=oopu are less'l-ikelyt

thoug.ir, -uo uant 'bo sever ties gith iiGOsl their rna'in source of continuing

s u p p o r t l a l t l r o u g i r r e l . a t i o n s e a , s i l y b e c o r n e s t r a i n e d l r h e n t h i s s u p p o r . b f a i l s

or othenrise faLls short of ezpeotat ions'

Against -blris background of constraints it is not surprising tha't -re1a'tiveLy

felr groups suoceed ill developing a.nd naintaining profitable enterprises' of

those tha't clo only a sr,ra,Il proporLion clivid'e profits or otherrrise provicle

their members. nitir incone on a, 'regular

be,sis. Their te:rd.enc-ur to a,cct': 'tulate

- - - - - - - a ^ - - ^ . . a 6 ^ J - ^ n < O - n o i ' a i 1 ^ c 1 - 1 a F , i e n o e

noney in -bire bani< can be rela'i;cd. to a :rru.tber of .fac'l;ors.

one !s ine:;2eriencu

.in ne.ne.ging 3-a.rge su-ns of monge uhile the equitable clj 'vision of pro:iits

r e q u i r e s a c o m p l e : ' : o c r l c r ; i - a t i o i r o f r n e n l . . r e r s t c o n t r i b u t i o n s i n c a s h t l - a b o u r o r

tirne *rrich groups are ei{irer s-trc.boirerr 'bo gerfor'r or fi ':rc]- it cl-i:lficir-r'L io

reaoh consensus llpollo In sorne oases the accurnula'bion of capiial for fugbher

10

investnent e,nd. expa^nsion is rleribera;te1y preferrecl over the redisiribuiion

1.of funcLs to 1a.rge nr:nbers of grortp members.J llealthy barrk balanoes nra'y aLso

frrnction as synnbol-s of gfoup s'batus, conferring pres';ige u.Don a Srotrp and

hopefu-3-Iy at.bre.c.bin3 -i;ire atiention <if po-bential doirorso'

. l

I.lost itrcorne ubicil itoilen z'eceive tlrrougil their menber,ship of g:roups comes

not frorn -bhe clivisioir of profits but derives fron the proclncts of indivich:;-'1

labour lsing the resonroes uhj-ch a gloup provides' D:ampJ-es of this are

handicraf.b prod-uotion (ritrere tire pr-ocl-uc'i; is na.::lceied blirougir the 6loup) and'

incliviil-ua.l beJling (',rit"ro mc;rbers uiilize a 3?oup baxerXr to procluce loaves

l:hich tirey se1L for incliviclual pfofit) " fira.t ha.opens -i;o 'bhis incone depenc]-s

upon the s'bructure of the houseirolcls to uhich l'ronen belong anci the c'ecision-

nraking processes uitirin tlrese. s:cept r:here householc"s are heaced by group

. / .

m e m b e r s - i ; h e m s e L v e s r ' c l t e u s e s t o r ; i r i c h ' i ; h e i r i n c o n e i s p u t a r e c r ' e ' L e r r n i n e d ' b y. \

r. or in coljrrno'i;ion lri'bh thJir husbands or other ma'le i"Sn1 primarily with :

referenoe to ilre needs of ihe' househol.cis r';hich they rne,nage toge'i;her r'rith otl""o

r.rhich tbey have obliga,tions to w vigbue of ties of kinship or'resiclence"

llomen uho are freerbo clecid.e or are heads of their ot'nr..hottseholds are- no less

oonsirained. by householcl needs ancl obl.ige,tions. Female-hcaded llousehol-ds are

underrepresented in ,.;oncnls g?oups for tlris vecSr season: their inability to

sustain tlie level of contribuiions r'ilrich initial rnembership -bypica'1Ly '

requires. iJomenl g iircohe is irousehoLd incone a:ld as suoil d-oes not necessarily

, i n o r e a s e t t r e i r b a r 6 a i n i n - g - p o l i e r o r s t a t r . r s u i t h i n t i r e l r ' o u s e h o l d - ' s u c h f r e e d o n

i s m o r e L i l < e 1 f , ' b o b e f o u n d . r " ' h e r e o v e r a l l h o u s e h o l d i n c o n r e i s a l r c c ' d y i l ! ' 3 t r l f o r

ei:amp1e :.iher.ej ta irusba',i:C. hae :'eg:;Lar enrp).oyment close to homeo In general

.lwremployeilr vorrren Cirarac'i;erj.se';irei-r'lncone from group enc]' ot-lrel. sorl3ccs a'6

sma1l but he1-pfu1 contributions to 'bheir 1reusst1eJcl.sl par-bicularly importa'ni

11

sSoul-d. other income (for exa.rnpJ-e their husba.::dst) t" in short supply. These

con,oributions help to insulate households fron the demands placed upon them,

including thoser like'the recluirenients of eclucation, which impinge f,rom'

the outside, a^nd have the overall effect of strengthening household econor'\y.l

And not only are inclividua,l group members.d.eeply ennbshed in the horr-sehold

econory but also their g?oups and enterprises are constantly threatened. t6r

capture. The organisation of r.ronnenr s groups arortnd Eroups of closely related

kin ind affines - Honen related. through their husbands ancl household hearls -

ancl.qre likeiihood that cleoeased. group members r';i11 be roplaced by other

mernbers of thej-r househol-cls\ chosen by tlrese nlen are evidence of this fact.

Thc four case studies.

. , . fr" points raised in this overrriev are illustrated in greater d-etaiL in

the four case studies r'ihich follotr. Each of these' covers groups at different'

stages of tlevelopnont. - The firstl Agrriiaye, shows a group sith a r1ater /

project struggling to meet the demands placed. upon it by the state in a

situation r.rhere. househoLd 'econonry

is rapicll-y being transformed- by the effects

of oapitalist peuetration from the outside. The seconcl, Arirlreni; shor'rs'a

group uhich has received massive support from a donor agensy and- has used

this to establisir a wel-fare pro ject and.an enterprise r'thich ini;erl-ocks uith

existing processe6: of incligenous capiteJ accu,nulation'o The -bhirdl ltrcuirol

shogs a group rrhose main enterprise uas moclelled'.upon simiLar enterprises in

household- econoqy anil has conseqllent]y run int6 clifficltl-ties requiring furttrer

interverbions from exterrral donors. The'fourth ancl final s'ftt 't iy', Bonti*rie

describes a lon6-established gropp rrith a bakery r.ilrich illus-brates clearlyr'i;hc

different pressures acting upon colleotive capitalist enterprises and the

T 2

captlure by bousehold econony of the income r'rhich they provide.

Al-l-,four groups reoeive assis'banqe from Totoio Home Ind'ustriest a'

Idombasa-based ltrGoe which has vrorked. ui'bh {} r.romenr s groups in Coast Prorrince.

In this respect they are unrepresentative, ha,ving sudcessfully found an

'erternal al1y' al though this is not always ref lected' in the succesE oT

othenl ise of iheir enterpr ises- and. does not ' f ree' then frorn the constra. ints

(outl-ined above) uhich operate upon all groups. The four gnoups ltere

seLected for intensive study on the basis of their di f ferent stages of

developmente different types of enterprise a^nd (in ttrree cases) hi6lh income

gineration potentiall r.rith a vier'r to supplenen-bing ancl furthering the

analysis of ctata d.erived froro a baseline surqey of .13 To'boto-afifi l iated' gFoups

conducted in L!83. tno of the four SToups, Bomani a^nd'itr<rri-ro1 vtere

represenled. in this surveye the results of trhioh are incorporated' in the

a.nalysis of the ooncLuding sect ion of this reporbo Selec-bion of the four was

aLso made.with rdf"runce to their locat ion in very di f ferent bui interrelated

social a,:cd economic.zones in the hinterland of ldombasa' Each of thq. groups

hasl for exanplel a clifferent ethnic connposiiion. I'he stuclies illustrate

considerab]_e 1ocal v'ariation in the strr.rctu.re of horr-sehold- econor.ry and its

:

transforrnations ancl at th.e sane time provicle a souncl compara'tive basis for

'the anaLysis of its clominant characteristios as these impinge upon'the

operation of r*omenl s grouPso

I

iIo'i; c s .

- ^ r - ^ - l , ^ - L : -

L. Theorists a.re cl isagreed as to the precise charactel ' isa-bion of such pre-

or non-capital ist ionnat ions anci +"heir t ransfort i t i , 'b ioi ' . ; . The nost 'ages;! 'b1e

;;;;:-;;;;;"4 rJ c. Hyden in tse:,iond- Ilje.rnae. in ri.*:ltra.i,u+r1?rsles-elg-. man4 onil on ., lndnnl:rrl.ecl noa.sa.rrttry' (f,olitont itei:tetnarur, 19eO) and in i l is.i io

ment and an unce.ptur,e-q-pla.Es:rllt (Loncment and an unce.oturccl -goeE!:{fl[5 (il6-nc1on::::--::-::- . - ; " --ffiim r bousehold econoirly-r ]-nHeinemartnr 1983). This report

13

preference to l lyclenrs tpeasant mod.e of produot ionr. \

2. Personal comrnu:rication (L985) from Dr l{ariara- I'lbuguao

3. A sinj-Iar phenor:enonl ari'sing frorn the potential conflict betr'reencon-binrrin.g profitability a.nd benefit to membegsr. has been observed forcol leot ive vi l lage enterpr lses in Te'nzenia' see D' Hassett l rThe

Devel-opmeat of Vi lJ-age Co-operat ive Drterpr ise.. . t i4,R.G. Abra,hams (ed)

.Vi]-lagJrs, Vill-aael frrd ihe State in rnocle.rn Tanzania. (Cambridge: AfrioanS'budies Cenirel 19t i5) '

I4

AGI{rMYE l,IOl,tAI{'S cliotiP

. \

DIAIII LOCATION

Agwiraye vromenrs group is located 31 krn south tf l,Iombasa, just north

of the bustling oentre of Ukr:nda on the rnain highvray to Ta.nzania. Ad.min-

istratively it is in the village of Irlwamambi in Gombato sub-Ioca'bion, Diani

locationl part of the southern (I,lsambueni) d.ivision of Kwa1e -district.

The 1ocal population is predominantly l{us1im Digor swe}1ed. in recent years

by an influx of up-country immigrants attracted by ertensive tourist I

tlevelopment along Diani Beach, 3 km to the easto Settlement is comparatively

d.ense: +he 1979 census records a figure of 418 people per sq.km for Gombato

sub-Iocatione r.rith a total population of 111355 divid.ed amongst 11941 ,

householdso On paper there ate 22 lroinent s groups in the location, Agr,,liraye

being among the most developed" Fieldr.rork there r.ras conctucted in August and

September 1985.

TIIE ROLD OF THE STATE

The state provicles uomerlr s groups r.ri 'bh their primlry source of

Iegitimation. To exis'b they must submit.to its influence and acquiesce in

furthering its community development objectives. To survive ancl be

successful they rmrst malce effect ive-use of ' the connect ions which this ' ,

involvement supplies. The experience of Aguiraye d.emonstrates how d.emand.ing

a process this can be for " tg"olrp

in its formative stage.

Beg'innings

I

Agwiraye grer.l out o'f aAuft education and- nurse4r classes b,qgun blr a Loca1

man in 1982. These r^rere attended. by Digo r.romen ancl their children in the

neighbourhood of their founclert s homesteadl each pupil paying a lOsh

subscription per month for his teaching. After finding alternative

r 5

,employment the following year, he called a meeting to revive the classes

in his absence. A committee'was formed and a nelr teacher, a young wrmarried

womall, r.ras chosen to continue his vlorl:. This was in early 1984. ,

Shortly

aftervlartfs the chai:rvoman of the classes? committee took the initia.'bive to

form a womenr s group. A localIy-born r.rornalrr she rvas uelI qualified. for this

role. She had starbed attending adult ed.ucation classes in 1958 in Samburil

\rllear l,Iombasa, uhere her husband ,worked. Tlrenty years later she had joinecl a

new vloments group in Mvraroni (its project lras to build a nursery school) and.

subsequently serveil on its comrnittee. Her husband had. retired. to I,IuaronilI

nert'door to lrh.ramambil the year before. In late 1983 she ended. their rurhappy

marriage by n:.nningrurry to settle plone on her deceased fatherrs Iarld. in

llwamambi. Her fatherl who had arranged the marriage, had. prevented" such a,

separation while he was alive t6r threatening to d-isinherit her. She,

meanwhiler had bidetL her tim) r:ntil her ! sons 1{ere sufficiently inclepend-ent

before making the decisive break. Freecl at last from close family obligations

she was in a goocl^ if financially insecurer position to d.irect her enerry

amd experience towards the forrnation of a ttoments group. She Jecame the

To*pts chainroman ancl was joined by 5 other members of lfuamambirs aclu1t

education cIass, all close neighbours and. related by rnamiage. O'bher l,Iomen

hr€re sceptical of a groupts wiability and pood-poohed. the irLea.

Pgogressing in a cirol-q

ttre group bega^n, thenl as an indirect consequence of government policy

towar"d.s ed.ucation a,nd r.loments groups: un'bil, the ll80s most of the ttomen of

Idr,lamambi i_rarl enjoyed neither, in the fonner case because of the same paternal

dominanoe vrhich hatl fired the chairr.romants independ-enceo The subsequent

history of the group was very much a direct Ronsequence of iocat policies

designed. both to help and make fuIl use of vromenr " 6goop="

L 6

At first the group was litt1e more than an iclea: the women were at a

Ioss as to how they could raise money and r.rhat they cor::Ld. d.o r.rith it if and.

when they got it. A rotating ored.it association ofganiseil, tryr the Community

Development Assistarrt (CDA) for r.romenrF gtoups in the looation provicled. part

of the ansller. originally this vras to involve ! rvoments groupsl bub 2 d.id.

not last the course. Each grorip vras to contribute 22osh a month (zosrr to b'e

set asid.e in a fund. for official expenses), topped up by voh:'taryrfr ienr lshipt paymentsl the sum .being presented.during a harambee or

commwrity fund-raising event for the benefit of the group r.rhose .turn j-t wBSo

To signal their intention of joining in the l,lya.mambi r.romen sent an gosh

t friend'shipt payment to the first of these in April r9B4 ana in d.ue course

beoame the eighth and- last group- to benefit from the round.r in Febmary L985.

rn the processr d.ifficuLt as it turned out to be, Agniraye became an

establisheil woment s group.. tRaising this moneSr uith so fevr members lras not easy. 0n1y 3 r.romen

afford- to contributl on the first occasion, leaving a d.ebt to be paid.

second. The second time ror,md they raised. parb of the cash by serling

ma'lcut!1 roofing pieces mide from d.ried. coconut palm frond.s and an important

seasonal source of income for women. One r'loil&n1 the divorced. mother of their

adult ed'ucati-on teacher, for:nd herself in .such financial straits that she rvas

unable to contribute further and subsecluently aropped. out of the group.r

l'leanr*hile the husba.nds of tuo members offererl to help ruith their or,rn monetary

contributions ancl r^rere -bhus accepted. into the Sroupr bringing its active

membership up to J. One of them climbed palms to knock down froncls for lr.is

vrife and. defied. the 1ocal norms of gender*specifio labour by plaiting makuti

himself at night inside their house. ny this time the long rains vrere

rrnd-err'ray and the makuti-producing season drar..'i-ng to a close. For the third

could

on the

u

l

,l

;harambee 2 of llae l.romen vrere reduced to selling the printed. pattern cloths

that they wore to raise the money in time.

The third rogncl rvas followed by the month of nrnuntafr".n, ,rn"lt norr"ehold

resorlnces are traditionally diverted tovrards buying new clothes for the

family and food for the nigtrts anc] the feast of ldd-el-Fitr r'rhich brings it

to an end.. '

l,{wamambi womenr s groupr as it r.las then knortn, failed to give

anything at all in the next 2 rounils, leaving them rsith an even greater debt

and facing the possibility of having to drop out. Dismayecl by this prospect

the chaigwoman paid. a secret visit to the CDA anrL clidcussed. ways in which the

group could be enlarged, a move which her fellor.r membels were unenthusiastic \

about. The result was a neighbourhood meeting held by the CDA at which am

enlarged membership of 2J, not more than ) of nhom should be,men, was

proposeil. OnIy thus could the group pay its d.ebts ancl be in a position to

obtain fu-ll government recognition and support. The requisite number joined )

on the spotl including a third man, the husband. of another new member.

. This proved. a decisive turn in the for*r,ures of the SrouPr t' lhich was ':

cornpletel" "uorJgrised.. 2 experienoed and qualified sisters of the CDA joined,

one of them livi,ng on the plot r.lhich r.ras the groupr s meeting-pIace. The CDAr.s

young sister-in-1avr, a seconclary school leaver, replaced the first group

secretarXre a 30 year-olcL r.rith only 3 years of primary schooling who became

vioe-seoretary. i, ,r"" but uneclucated treasurer - the old.est trom€ul in the

group - was also chosen, along r.rith a vice-treasurer a,ncl oommittee oi 6,

2 of them original group members. A seventh, husband of one and' secret

makuti-proclucerl co-opted himself as self-declared I speaker masterr r a tit le -

which none of the other members claims to understa.,nd.. Following this

enlargement and. reorganisation the group tras eventually registered vith the

Irlinistry of Culture and Social Services, in January 1985. \

1 B

The groupr s fina^nces were nolt on a sowrcler footing. In recognition of

the various contributions rvhich the J earlier mernbers had alread.y made, it

was agreed. that the new members shoulcl pay off the tvro d.ebts as r.rell as the

next round in the. locat ion associat ion for t r-romenrs groups. Al l of the

members vrould pay for the seventh round, before it nas their or'm turn to

benef i t . Table l below shows Agr.r i rayets total contr ibut ions to the ? other

womenr: groups in the association. ,

'

TABLE 1 -

BEI{EFITING GROUP TOTAI AI'IOM.IT COLLEOTM

J. I'lbuwani

2. Magaoni

3. Bongwe

4. Kinond.o

J. l,lvindeni

6. shamu

l. Mwaroni

3OO sh

280 .^

230

?n2n232

240

including 60shspent ontransport

L 1 JB2sh

In all_ the group contributed lrl82sh tor.rards the locationts rotabing cred-it

association for uomenr s groups. At their or.nt ha.rambeel hel-d in February L985t

the group received 4r677sln. 1r085sh of this came from its ovrn members ancl a.n

estimated lr4oOsh from other womenrs groups. On paper the group had made a;

profit of 2r895str, or llBtOstr if its self-contribution is discounted, from

its earlier investmen'b in the association. The exeroise hadr howeverl proved

near fatal. Some of the other groups involved had even greater ctiffioulties

than Aguiraye. Of the 2 vrhich dropped 6ut one lras all but dead in 1985.

Another 2 groups gere left or'dn6 money to Aguiraye: oner Shamul had yet to \

1 q

repay i ts 232sh by September 1!8J.

it was hopecl that it wouLcl become a

it has noto

l'lhen the association was first conceived.

permanent firbure. .Hardly surprisinglyl

Payment for the location rorxrd. had continuing repercussions rrdthin the

group. Follorving Agrvirayets harambee the vice-secretary complained. that

individual members had. still contributed. rrneclually. The J original members

had. contributed. much more: they had paid. for the first 3 round.s of the

association whil-e payment for the nert 3 had. been shared. arnong the larger

nurnber of, new members. Although this ha.d. been done to even up their

contributions the result vras clearly stil l rurfairo lleanwhile ind.ivid.uals nere

falling behincL in their payment of a 2sh weekly subscription r.rhich had been

instituted. .follorving the'g"otrpts enLargement and reorganisation. sor with

the CDA| s hel-pe the total monetary contribution of each member to date r.ras

oalcrrlated. 3 original, members, the vice-secretary, her husband., and. the

uice-ohairttomanr had. g'iven close on 3OOsh. The rest had given rather 1ess,

some oomparatively littleo As a resul-t a 3oosh share *,"= ""t'. I,Iembers rvho/

had reachect this figure were henceforth exempted. from paying subscriptionsl

rvaiting for the rest to catch up. Subscriptions uere raised from 2sh to !sh,

but members were no longer obliged. to pay every l{eek. This r*as in Apri1 ;1g}11,.

By september most members r.rere stilL far from paying up their shares.

The price of suonont

. rThe group is subject to other, more direct, demands from the state, most

of tthich are oha.nneLed through the locaI chief I s office. Agr,riraye and other

groups in the location are mobilised at every possible opportunity, being

asked to contribute to harambeesl attentl meetings and. entertain at a variety

of official frrnctions. Often they have no choice and. must subject firemselves

to the whims of administrators trho are apt to keep them ilL-informed and. d.emand.

20

action at painfully short notice.' l lhero are consid.erable <l-emand.s upon

time, labor:r and oash. rn August 1!B! Agrdraye and. other groups in the

Iocation had to break off from the festivities of.Id.d.-e1-Haj to procure

and start preparing local dishes for a visit by the l,l inister of Cul.bure

a^rld Social Senrices, rrnexp€ctedly brouglrt fortrard a clay. During the visit

and speeches.the assembled women r^rere kept busy cooking the food r.ilrich they

then had. to serve up to the hwrg:y rnisitors ancl the loca1 men r.rho had. had. a

more leisureS-y time of it, f-istening ancl'r,ratching the entertainments

provid"ed. by school choirs and r,roments d.ance g?oups. This labour was unpaid,

arrd. Agr.riraw nanrdifficulty in squeezing patrrment'for thE- food. they had.

bought from the fi:ncl which they had. helped to establish vlith their

contributions to the rotating credit association for !.romenrs groups. Andr

hauing missecl the Ministerrs speech, they had to return another d.ay to hear

a.n elaboration of his message by the Diani chief. This r.ras not an isolated.

caseo The attitude of locaL officialdom is sumrned. up in tvro acts by the

c}l.|ef the following month.. One day he d.ecreed. that henceforth all the

vromenr s da^nce groups in the location should fotm into proper lromenr s group6:

th-ey were alreadlr subject to calLs to perforrn free at official meeti-ngs; this

d-eoree put them eyen more firmly und.er the control o{ the state a^nd promised. to

double the number of woment s. groups in the l-ocation overnight. On another day

the chief announoed that al-I the groups in the location r,rere to give him lOosh

each to take to a harambee in ltlal-indi vrhere he had been invited as the guest

of honour, a demand. not quite in keeping with the voluntary ethos of haram\ee.

As registerecL agents of the state they hacl no choice. From the point of rrier.r

of the state and its locaI. represen-ba.tives r.lomenr s groups are aJl important

instrtrment in implementing ancl disseminating its developmen'b objeotives. For

the womenrs groups thenselves r:udh pa.rticipation is both a source of pride and.

2T

the necessary price of obtaining much-neec1ecl support.

Examination of ind.ivid.ual monetary contributions to the group over the

18 months from April r9B4 to september 1!B! shorrs that over harf of ilre total

incluct ing the locat ionr s rotat ing crecl i t associat ion forr. lere for )rarambees,

l lomenr s groups. Table 2 is based. upon existing recorcls of ilrese contributions.

TA3DT_2

I'IB.BDR and.posi'bion

H+RAtrBEp nrTER-TAI}II}IG\i:tSITORS

a

GBOUP GROUP SAIJ:IN'GS.SUBS; ROTATI}IG CLUB

CREDIT. ASSOC.

mis6. : IOTAL

1 secretary2 rr ice-sec.*3 '4 vice-chair.lc-- J treasurer ,67 conlnittee *

'8 v ice- t r€asr! conrmittee10 (mare) xLLt 21"3 comrnitteeL4 committeeLl committee *L5 chainyoman *L7 committee18t920 CDA21 m. speaker *22 (nate)232425

.26 { j o ined . }9S5)2J ( jo ined 1985)28 ( le f t 1984) *2! ( left 1984)others

130255100225L24120zLO135115130r32

.LIoL25l . 20135r-30133Ll_o555

LI585

10575n

401 5362,2

3031222g23n1 B303 0 '362533332L237B

198B

t527

37

7o

66

36235933933131929828627727727o2682642fr24t2352342Lgt66t56148r_31_t27L23118TLz105n3o22.37

@670f r i&7oNn50L090

' 7 0306502010n?o

10

422B6t2453571064491028722533t 5LL23l_328

20

4 6 ' 6

6 , 1 44

40100

52

T 6

10

L2

66

10

I1 3l_o25L2

B

4

10n6 30

10530r530

3r109 629

3 r 7 3 8

'73256

* inclicates one of the

1'r100

Lr62.8

528 6 t t54

orlginal- members

a/-

The first. ancl second. columns in this table can be lumped. 'boge'bher as

representing investment vriththe ultimate aim of securing erbernal support,

finanoial or otherwise. l,lonetary contribution" ai"octly to the group are

reLatively smaIl. The fourth a^nd fifth columns, d.iscussed. in greater d"etail

belowe represent forms of individual saving through the group rather than

for i ts benef i t r hence the CDAIs contr ibut ion. I f these are r l iscounted as

being inoidental to the corporate frrnctioning of the groupl then externaL

investnent oan be seen to comprise over b/" of member3r record.ed. contributions.

TOTOTO IIOIT]I II.IDUSTruES AI'ID THE TIATER PROJECT.

Through its close links with the Cllt, Agr.rirayets investment was

beginning to pay offl and. it harl found an external aI1y. l'lhen the group was

enlarged. she had intimated. that this might increase their chanoes of being: - \

aclopted. by Tototol with vrhom she -'was in contact throu6$r her vror[,. The

pred.iotion was fuLfilled.r ma,king Aguiraye the enr4y of surrounding groupsl

all oompeting for similar attention. Agr'rirayers taunting nigo nane, uhich

loosely translates as I I Iold onto your orm! 'r1 ref lects this competi t ion (an

earlier name, implying rtl.lhat are you staring at?tt, r.ras reiec-becl by Tototo.

One of. Aguirayers competitors is similarly called Lolarakor rrl,ook after your

orrn! " ) o

. Tototo staff first visited- the group in 0ctober 1984 and in the lferv Tear

they ohose their educated secretary as 'bhe Tototo co-or^r.1ina,tor. In Febnrary

and litarch she rtent on a 3-l,reek training/course r.rith other new Tototo reonrits.

Among her new d.uties, for lrhich she r.ras paid 3OOsh a monthr l 'Iere to open

group meetings with the nonfonnal erluca-bj-on techniques promoted. by Tototo (and

ad.apted. from l;orld. ftLucabion) and to complete a r,reekly log of group meetings

23

and- act iv i t ies. These logs were submit 'bed. to 'one of Tototors 4 assistant

I field superrisors, who thereafter paid. regular visits to the group.

In the absence of a l i terate 'breasurer responsibi l i ty for f i l l ing in

the book o, ""to.*ts provid.ed. by Tototo also fell upon fho secretaryfco-

( ordinator. These were begun in April 1985 wittr l86sh in the petty cash ancl

nere onLy skefchilf completecl. ,In l,lay, ldth the onset of Ramaclhan, only

one entry r,tas mad.e anil in Jr:ne and July none at a$. In August they shoued

t a balance'of Z)Js]n, with lr48Osh in the banlc. The bank account had. been| ' - '

opened in April uith a cleposit of llIBOsh from the CDA r.rho had. earlier been

given 2y3OOsh from Aguirayers harambee for safekeeping. t'Ihat happened to

bhe other half of the money from tha ha:rarnbee is not recorded, ancl inI

September the CDA still- oue<l them '/OOsh of the half entnrsted. to her.

Ib April Tototo also introducecl a savings club for ind.ivid.ual group

( members. This is part of a scheme.'both 'bo encourage lromen t; save antl to :

enable them to d.o so: inctivid.uals are harrl pressed. to raise the JOOsh d.eposit

which is recluired. to open and maintain a bank savin55s account. A chair\'roman /

. ( the groupts vice-secretary), t reasurer and secretary rvere chosen to rrrn

this club. By September 13 group membe.rs plus the CDA had joinerl and.

d.epositect l28sh betw6en themo \ l

r The r.rater project

Under Tototots guidance the group chose i ts main project - the provision

ard. sale of pipecL water. Group members buy their r.rater,at 1O-1! cents a

I buckct from taps along the main pipeline uhich serrres Diani. This is S,cross | .,

the main road some {OO metrestfro* Agr'rirayets meeting-place ancl is something

of a^n inconvenience. For some r.romen'it is a r.lalk of over 1 km, thcre are

I long queues before the supply shuts dovnn in the early afternoon and. it

involves crossing the busy highr-rayl a cla"ngerons uhdertaking for gjrls given

24

the chore. Thus the group decid.ecl to 1ay i 'bs omr.extension

bringing this to their meeting-place from vrhere thcy l.rou1d.

10 cents a bucket.

to the mainl ine,

sell l.rate4 at

l

Plans,for this project r . rere dbar 'm up ui th rototors help, r"rorking r i i th

the group co-orclinator" It was estirnated that materials and labour for the

project r,rould cost some 30lOOOsh. In the first ferv months r,rork'progressed.

slowly but surely and. the r.romen began diggr4g a srnall trench in uhich to lay

the pipes. But by September nork on this ha.d. ground. to a hal-t. Il.rmours

vrere circulating that the government r..ras about to clriIl a series of boreholes

throughout the area as part of a project funcled. by SIDAT . thp Sl"red.ish

International nevelopment Agencyo If this lras t:rre it uould. render Aglvirayets

project red.undant: no one r.rould pay for r'rater uhich the;r could. get free

from a l'relI. A general d-isillusionment set inl exacerbated. by the inability

of the chiefrs office to give the group an unecluivocal response to their

questions. Some members pronounced. Agl'drayets r.la'ber p::ojec'b to be rursound.

arLy'valt't g'iven the irregularity of supply fron the mainline. Uncertainty

d.ragged. on -bhrough to early 1!86 r,rhen the r.rater project r.ras finally aba.ndonecl.

I{a^lcing mongrr r4sirlir frurcls

Another problem vrith the r^rater project had been in raising the necessar5r

fimds. A plan for gloup members to make money t6r ueauing table-mats out of

coconut fibre and. then selling'bhem to Tototors ha.nclicrafts shop in l,tombasa

.oamb to nothingl partly because the r.romen r.rere unable to copy the samples

brought by Tototo staff. I 'tore cons'bructive uas the help given @ Tototo in

organising Agr.r i rayets second. harambeel helc1 in Oitober 1985.. This raised

11r632sh. The major d.onors are shor.m in Table 3. Over 3If'" of the totaL

raised oame from vromeurs gl'oups, (f?73 from Agrriraye itseLfl L4'/, fron other

e from thegroups) and- zJf, from ltrGos. In effect over half of the money cam

rl volwrtary sector. This stil l left Aguiraye a 1on6 vray shorb of its project

- estimate, but members remained hopeful that it lrould be follor"red by a grantf - _ ,or loa^n from Tototo and r.lou-Ld also enable the group to seek funding from

iittrer sources such as their 1ocaI I,Ip and the beach hotelso

TABLE }-- :

CATEq.ORY DONORS COUTBIBUTIQ.N

t rtI

t .

l r

I !

}:- I i

f1tIit

'l.tot{E[I I sGROUPS

Agr.liraye members

other vromenr s groups

c . 2 r O O O s ha r660t r 6 6 r

/NG0s

( '

Tototo and staff

Y .W.C.A. r Coast Branch x

- l ro7or e<r 2t925L r v ) )

STATE

/ sEcToRChiefs

KAi'IU officials \-Councillor

3452006oo r'44D

I'linistry of Finance and. Plaruring 300

rl

PRIVATESECTOR

The Agrarian Suilding Society . 500 500'

Br5z5stt

* The Crr""t of Honour, chosen by Tototoe w?S the GeneralSecretary of this bramch.

' l l

COI'ISTRATIITS OF HOUSH{OLD ECONOI'ff.

The loca1 econongr'

To rrnderstand the constraints imposed. by looal household econorqf upon the

grouprs op.eration i!-.iS*nec-essary to beg{n-r.ri-th. q,.rerri_ew gf .r9ge4t developmentsO

(

26

in Diani locat ion.

I,lwamambi is surroundetl by alienated land. To the north and vrest are

ttrousanas of acres of farrnland. first alienated Uo"rrr* the colonial period".

One of these plantations, a few hundred metres inland of Agr.rirayers meeting-

place and known by the name of its present Inclian ot,rner, I(as1ak1 was the

scene of violent clashes in the early lito" vrhen a group of Kikr4ru land.

specrrJ-ators tried- to enforce the ="rorri. of loca1 Digo squatting and farming

ilLegal-Iy on La:rd which they stil l- clairir as theirs. But the most d.isnrptive

alienation in recent years, altering the entire character of the 1ocal I

econor{f; took place rrnder President Kenyatta in l)'12. This comprised. the

decision to oonvert the whole of the area betr,reen the main highway and the

beach into a tourist ..paradise-under the name of the Diani Complex. The

Complexr stretching some 1O km from Kongb to Kinondo, r^ras subd-ivid-ed. into

4 str ips or tbeachest. Beach 11 a 1 km lr id.e str ip along the shore, has

become the si te of more than 10 major hotels. Beach 2, f , km wide, comprises

an aocess road and. the services along this. Beaches 3 and. { cover the rest

of the ,La.nd inland to the main road. From here locals were to be resettled'

along'the road ancl to the uest on land designated as a Rese:lre, where most

of Aglvirayets members live and the group meets, Houever, d.evelopment on

beaches 3 and. 4 was stopped in 19?B by the neu President and Digo continue

to live and farm there. But the damage tras done. Localsalost land on

beaches 1 and 2, some selling and. some receiving compensation. Othenvise

considerable uncertainty remains over land rights in the area, and only some

Landol'rners have been issued. vrith title d.eec[s.

Before this d.evelopment the local Digo grew most of their grain crops

(especiall-y maize) ,g!igi,r or1 the rocl',y land. just inland of the sea, aued.

tended. coconut palms interspersed with other crops (including cassava a^ncl

rice) tjSgt r on the Land rising up from the main roacl. Young men sought

i;I

27

wage labour in lrlombasa and elsevrhere, eventnally settling dovrn to look

after their la^nd and d"erive some income from the sale of copral dried.

coconut kernelo This pa'btern has norv Seen tfrorougtity transformed. The .

beach hotels have brougi-tt an influx of. migrant r.rorkers from up-country,

Kikuyur Luos Lulya and Kambar spavrning the rapid grouth of se-btlement

a.nd. services along the main highwayr especially in lJkunda. ,DiSo have also

found. work in these hotels a.nd the sector r^rhich has grorrn up around. them.

ldanye a]1eadf suffering from land pressure, -

have sold their lancl to

imnigrant entrepreneurs, rvhile othersr morg canqlrl have built accomodation

to rent out t6 immigra^nt !,rorkers. The r-esrrlt is an incipient class

d.iwisione partiallyl but not en'bire1yr . along ethnic Iines.I

lhis has }naf- a furthere d.etrimentall effeot upon 1ocal ag:ricultureo

Beoause maqy menr yolrrg and old; are noll in paicl emplotrrment they have l-ittLe

time to d.evote to their fields. Consequently a fLt of land. between palms

whioh used to be uncler cultivation has rever*ed to bush: the women alone

cannot clear a.ntL cultivat" "ff of it. This r:ncultivatecl la.nd, including

large areas of alienated 1antl1 harbours wi}rl animals r.rhich are d.amaging to-

orops: 'monkeys, warthogs and l'.riId boaro \ It also encourage" tt. few looal

stock olm.ersr lrho would have once graded. theii a.nimals far inlande to

leave them to roarn in between the lromesteadso I'leanwhiJ-e men are. no longer

free to guard ttre cips at nightl while the culling of wild animals is

discouraged. by the government and prohibited. rvithout a l-icenoeo llomenl

,especia.lly those rtith smaLl shiLdrenl are urable to guard 'bhe crops 2

themselves. As a result a very high proportion of vromenrs agricultural

enterprises faill inoluding those right nerb to their homes, the crops

being eaten or trampled by a.nimals before thcy are rea.dy for harve"t)-ng.

Agviraye members were seriously afflictecl uith this problem. As TabLe

28

( .

{ showse most had. husba^nd.s l'rho were employed or otherr^rise absent, and. a

number d.itL not have husbancls at all.

rABr+r 4 _

]'IO.HUSBAND HUSBA},ID H,IPLOYM HUSBAND UI{N,TPLOYtrD| . .

- ' ' . ' t " ' . .

-- dxvorced/ dead in at Diani self_ retired. cultivating

separated. Iilombasa beach employed..

3 \ 2 5 l

. t ' '

Their agricultuial -enterprises

suffered. acdorilingly.' ,IabIe !1' shov;ing

35.f ieIds belonging to or othemise uorked, sometimes joint ly, by l -? grou{

members d.emonstrates this. Over half of ttre field.s rrere not cultivated in

l-985t in mar5r cases because of the threat from r.rild amima.lls. I,Iost of the

successfirl crops llere grol.tn by those fortrrnate enough to have fielcls chinj, 1'below

the main roacll where cultivation is more intensive (ttrere being few

palms) and. r.riId. animals """"tlpenetrateo

I fhe reiu1ti i" " vicious circle. Because such a high proportion ofr l

agricuLtural" enterprises fail. households are becoming increasingly

d.ependent for t-treir subsistence upon food staples pr:rchased from the local

( shopso Thus hou-sehold- members, partibularly men, are uncler increasing

pressure to find.ca.nd. remain in vrage ernploSnnent, one of the major causeb of

. 1o"4 agriculturaL deoline in the first placeo This has d somevrhat

I cLifferent effect upon gencler relations than the well- known scenario in which

.: women uith labour migrant husbands find. themselves bearing a much heavier

agricultural burden in order to stay aliveo In l.hramambi most of the r.rorking

I men continue to live at home and do the shopping themselves -bo feecl their

/

29

TABLE 5

LOCATIONof fieltl

CULTIVATMrN 1gB5?

I.I.AII{ CROP cuOPHARVESTD)?

COl,ll.llIN'IS

jlg/trome.juu/home

@ttom"chini.iuu/Kaslakt s.'luu/nomeiuu/Kaslakr sJffi/Kastakr sj3g/homechini

yes

yesyesyes

yes

yes

- yes

yesyes

nonono

nono

no

nono

nonono

nono

nonono

nono

cassava

co'hr-peasmai�zer ice

maize

rice

r ice

:maize

maizecassava

lr""cassara

maize

cassava

io.ir" '

yes

yes

yes

yesyes

yes

yes

no trarnpled by goats.guarclecL.eaten by lrild. boar.last crop spoi led.

guard.ed. but eaten t6rr.rild boar and. warthogs.

guard-ed- bub eaten t6rr,rild anirnals.

gua,rcled. but eaten bybirds ancl wild. animals"

d.iscouraged t6r amimals.

!

discouraged. by animals.

soil exhausted.

eaten by r'riId. boar andvrarthogs.

d.iscor-rraged. logr an:imals.discouraged t5r arrimals.d.iscouraged W animals.eaten by cattle anil boar.

dow-peas tra^rnPled t6rcat-ble in short rains.

d.iscou-raged- by animals.cow-peas d-rieil uP.

j31/Kas1akr s

1g/trome

Kibara.ni

114/trome

chini

@omeVukani

irlr,iuu/Kaslakr sj*?u/fastat<t s yesIdwakido.'luu;i_911/homechini

jg/Kas}akr s - yes

ohini yesiissjuujuu/home

- t -

Jllg/nomejsrchini

Idsambweni;1gg/ttom"chini

yesno

yes

yes

20

yes

1 q

30rh

-n-'-

\

households. The burden of agricultural la,bour upon their r.rives is recluced,

and in l-9B5 a few group members had abandoned cultivation altogethero But

r'Iomen rrithout working husbands are not so fortr.rnat!: a fact reflected, i"

we shaI1 see, in the d.ifficulty they experience in susta.ining membership of

the vlomenl s groupo.

tloTgn. household.s and income

I'lembers and their households. _ Ln september rl8l there.were 2d r,romen in

Agwirayer 3 of anhom were more or less inactive in the grbup. Tlhey r,rere agecl

between 23 (trre secretary/co-ordinator) and 53 (tire treasurer), vrith a.ri

average age of 38. ''

TASLE 6

.., AGE..I}I YuARs20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55_5g 60_64

1 1

:AI--of th"ese were Digo, Jt rot onu r"o* ti" co*st"f belt'betueen Dia^ni and

ldombasa where a single sub-d.ial-ect of ttre Digo language is spoken. B. rvere

born in Mwamambi itself, J elsewhere in Diani location arrd.6 calne from Tiwi.

On1y ! women hacl.reoeiivecl some primary eduoation and 2 gone on to second.ary

school. Most of them first married a^nd went to live vrith their husbancls when

they were in their mid. to Late teens. Over half of them have been d.ivorced"

and. married. again: Digo marriage is notoriousLy r:nstablerl while the social

a^nd. economic pressures acting upon divorcees are such that remarriage wi-bhin

a year or two is the normo fne cfritd.ren of a broken marria.ge often remain

vtith or are later claimed. by their father. The sample in Table 7 Jhous a1

average of { surviving child.rbnl rather fer.rer (a mean of 2.'l) remaining

31

TABLN 7

AGET9B5

IDUCATION St i'I- ' : - cl n. Hlnzn3rrtrP

20

23

25

29

30

30

31

35

3737

39

40

4447

4B

std.. B

Form 4

none

Form 4

Stcl" 4

none

none

std..2

s td .Bnone

none

none

none

none

none

D 1

l r l

lil 2

M 2

t d 2

11 2

l { 2

D 1

I

2

L+2

2+3

l+2

y 2

2+l

l+1+1+l-+1+1

I+1+2

10

O+3

B

510+O2+O

1 1

2 2

2 2

L 4 2 t r2 2

2 2

2 t

2 3 2 L

signerl-up but did notcontinue as member

secretary

vice-secretary

. , 1inactive and status ingroup rurc_ertairi'

vice-chairwoman

chairr.:oman

vice-treasurerI 4

1 1

D 1

I { 1

M 2

l d l

D 1

M 2

l { 2

32 7 3L 2 t

7 t

l 2

2 2

I

1 3 2 l

2

I2 1 1

1 . ,

Explanation of symboLs: St = marital status; II = nr:rnber of marriagesi C =. number of children by different partners (not all- marriecl) i C- = number of

these childrep non dead; H = number of these clilcLren stiLI in her .1householdt H; = of theser stilI pre-schoolq H- = at nursery school t H" =at schooL1 ]lT = post-school , unmarried, H/ = [a,!ried or separatedi &n =total number of adult children in fuIl-time emplotrrment (ie potential- sources-of remit tances).D = divorced. or separatecl; I = married.

Irlean number of marriages =1-o5; mean nr:rnber of chidren born = 4.?i mean numberstill alive = z!; mortality yate = 1{lbi meam number of dependent chiLdren

-(torn W the woman herself) = 2.7 i .me.an mrmber of ..child1en in fr:lL-timeemploymente ie able.to provide'support = O.2.

within their mothersr household.s. On the other hand. r.romen are liabIe to find.

themselves looking after children by their husbandst former vrives. pol-ygr\y

is practisetl, though mar\y r{omen are resista.nt to this and it is one of the

causes of divorce artd so of seriar polygamSr.. 5 group members are in\

I

I

3 2

polyrynous unions: 2 sets of co-resid.ent co-r.rives (one of uhom r.ras in the

process of leaving her husbancJ.) and one lrhose husband., a1 so a group memberl

Al.eo haal a r*ifq in a^nother location. ' '

I,larriage. is virilo9al_ and most wom,en Live and oultivate on 1and, ovmed. by

their-husbands- and husband.sr kin" Land is inherited. patril ineally:'. 'sons are

e-rpected. to rernain on their fatherts la^nd r,rhile d.augh-bers marry out, thus

forf"iting *n"r" right to inheri* ,* "*""n, *rdu" special circumsteunces, for

example lrhere there are no male heirs and a d.augh'ber is on lrand- to press n , ,

cIaim. This is what the grouprs chairuoman had doner moving onto her

cleoeased fatherrs land after leaving her husba.nd." Other l.Iomenr particularly,

divorceese &re f-ikeLy to return to live with their parents or brothers for

period.s. 3 group members, 2 divorcedr had returned to lancl managed. by their

' .: brothers, a,ncl one had moved ar.ray from her retired. husband- 'bo farm on her

. lfathgrrs lando One group member rtas living with her husband. (who hatl ]-and. :

and. another ldfe elsenhere) on land or'rned by her motherr s brotherr by viriue

of a right of access to land and properby novr severely weakened by Islamict -

rul-es of inhetitance and. the effects of land registrationo

HousehoLds and the larger residential rrnitd of r''rhich they Jre frecluently

. a part are' .ot t""porrd. ing1y complex in their composit ion. 'Table

8 gives a'

sufinary indication of this. Two thirds of group members live in extendecl

writs or comporrncls upon la,nd or.rned- and managecl jointly by groups of brothersl

, men through rvhom most of the lromen in the group are relatecl. 0f the

remaining, isolated. householdsr over ha1f, are similarly linked onLy

resid.entially dispersed; refieoi;ing fission of their original clonestic

(sibJ-ing) groapso Through their membership of such g?oupsr household

members are enmeshed. in'a web of obligations. Thc consequellces of this for

the group a.nd i'd's members are sufirnarisecl belolr.

33

TABLE B

RESIDBTTIAIur'rrTs/NXTDI'IDMHOUS]HOLDS

ltro. OF'GITOUPIilEl'IBIIRS

I {o. OFHOUSE-}IOLDS X

I

ADUTTF

male f enal-e

/CHILDRITI TOTAL

No. OFI,IEilIBtrIlS

L2

1

5

3I

I

I l _

1 1

1 1

. B (geographicallydispersed.)

3

5D , 3 5 6 1 6

E

4F 1 3

244- I L

H;

6

24

4

11

I

B

t

5

1 1

L 5

Ii (geographicallydispersed.)

1 2 4(

L 6 8

1 1

L 1

J (geographically' dispersed.)

L610K

x excluding accomod.ation rented out

90 4T 79 r49TOTALS 25 lo

34

Labour'. The organisation of labour in and. between households praces ,

, considerable d.emands upon r,romeno They are responsible for a long rist of

_ d.aillr horlsehold- chores, chilcl care, and. 'most

o, *nu agricultural workto be doneo Tlris includes clearinge plzurtingl r.reeding andi har,resting

d'uring both cuLtivating seasonsr the long and short rainso l,Ihile they canercpect to dravr upon the rabour of other members of ilreir immediate and_

extend'ed' househotd.s as well as that of other kin, most of this assistn'ce\is provid'ed' by other women. Tabre ! d.etails the assistance received by 11group members on their fierci.s d.uring the long rains of L!BJ.

TASLE O

I'IINiIBER FIELD SOURC]I OF ASSISTAI{CEhire$'Iebour men

I rromen no assistance

P some from mostly alone

entir.ely alonealone, stopped. blr

__ i r inessr L + t d ' -

Sr_her sistepin-lar.rl.ieedecl uith

labourerspaid. 796sh by husband.

7 - -r-"r-"[af

raFor:r6-r-- - -

paicl JOsh and tractorhired for 16Osh byhusband

help from 2 cultivated. r"rith -

her labour inputbro ther fs sons V, b ro ther fs restr icted by

bro-bherr s 2sons

U, husbemd.t ss is te rqultivated. r.rith co-r.iife ancl ad.ult<11

he1 sont s h'ifeto11 I LabourerTz- -

cross-cortsin-

Tr_ _ _ cross_cousinrJ cuftivatea-anal - - -uEe[eE

a-f6-n6guarded- by hrtsba^ncl(a group member)

35

- )uring the short rains of 1984 group members experimentecl by uortin/

colleotively upon one a^notherr s fiel.cls. 16 uomen to,ok parLo Tlr.e rest r.rere

ill or othe::vrise occupied, it being d-ifficult to co-ordinate collective

cultivation vrithr the agricultural time'bables of households all demanding

labour.at the same t ime. This r ' ias a ctegree of co-operat ion r .r i thoub precedent,

and. following the generally poor results of this season only 2 r,romen (R and S

in Table 9) who rni6;ht otherwise not have d.one'so continued to help one a^nother

d-uring the nerb season. A sirpilar fate befell the grouprs first collective

enterpr ise: the plant ing of a I$ acre f ie ld ( lent by the rspeaker maste?ts

father) uith corr-peasr also in the short rains of lpBz!. Group members

worked- on this fieltl at vreekends. Those, inclucling 2 employed. male members'

who d.id. not participate nere asked. to pay lsh in lieu oi their labour (ttrere

is no record. of horq many did.). But after lreeding in September the crop

shrivelled. in the sun and there vras nothing left to harvest. The enterprise

was not,repeatetl in L!8Je members preferring to concentrate on their

inclividuaL fields.

Coll-ective labour is not easy to enforce, cornpeting as it rloes vrith

household. clemanclso. l^lork on the grotrpts pipeline tre]ich-uas not r.re1l at'bend.ed.

and. one of the reason g-iven for not fining absentees rvas that this lrould. be '

too d.ifficult given the large number of goocl reasons, such as the illness of

a ohiltL or other householcl member, uhich might prevent a l.rgmall from taking

part. Attend.ance at group neetings, recorded in the rveekly logsr was

similarly affectcdr rarely exceedihg half of the membership. Sometimes the

logs give a^n explanation for cancellation or poor attendance: funerals,

oocasions mobilising the uidest netr.;ork of household-related. .obligations,

figure prominently. Among the persistent absentees, 2 r.rere in nrourning for

olose kinl 2 r.rere in the process of leauing their husbanrls, 1 r.ras afflicted.

tiI

36

by spi; i t possession, and 3 l{ere usually avray at vrork.

Sources of income. only 3 women in the group had paid. employment (see below).

main sources of spcncling money vrere from nal<uti procluction,

fooct arrd., g.iven the seaso nari,tyf ,r.*oil, .b'ese,

t6r their husband.so /

For the rest their

the sale of cooked.

cash given to them

The main season of malcuti prod"uction is before the long rains, October

through tiIl I'larchi, The clry palm frond.s from rvhich these roofing pieces are

made canr be gathered. at wili_1 though occasionally r.romen buy them for.5o cents

each from the ovmers of large plantations. One frond malces up to t$ rinisrrea

pieces, t'rhich in l"!B! were so1d. for Ish each. I.{ost bqyers are Loca}: makuti

roofs need replacing everTr 3-4 years. Al-most all Digo l,Iornen in the area make,

makutil usually in the afternoons uhile they chat li ith neighbours and. friends.

I0-2O pieces ca^n be made in a single day. The rnost energetic prod_ucers are

said- to be able to make 2rOOOsh in a sea;on (year)., Rut most v,omen average/ r

much lessr a.]rd group members reported., making an average df eOO malcubi each in

the L9B4-BJ seasonr ma^r\y of these d.estined. for their olrn roofs. others were

d-estined- for the groupr which turned to ma.rke'bing makuti betr.reen Jarruary and.

Idarch 1985. I,lembers were asl:ed. to bring 10 rnalcuti a r.reek to the r speaker

masterr vrho soLd -bhem from his home at the normal priceo For every l_ot sold

Jsh vlas taken by the group and. the rest returned to the producero l,lon-members

vrerb also invited. to sell their makuti through the group r.rhioh in this case

took a LO/" cttL from the proceeds. Records r.lere not kept of this enterprise,

but on all accounts it lras reasonably successful, making some loosh.

A large number of vtomen afso had experience of cooking ancl selting

d.ifferent kind.s of breacl and ca,l',es mede frorn rdreat and rice flour" These are

sold in and. outsid.e Jhe shops by the main roadl r'ihere regular traders fornn

their .or'rn rotating orcd.it associations, the set contributions varying

i l

37

aocord.ing to the profitability of the trad.e .bheir members pursue. In the\case of small bread- and cakes claily profits are usuarly in the range of 3_Bshr

90-248sir a month. The vrorlc is erLremely arduous and entails getting upbefore d'awn to slave over a hot and smolqy hearth every morning. As a resultfew women ca' sustain production for more than a fer.r ,orr.*no at a time. of thegroup members

.intenrier.recl only 3 r.rere currently engaged in this trad.e and on1Jfone belonged to a roadside "ot.t:.ng crecLit associati.ono Others had. given upfor the time being because of exhaustionl il lness and the need. to 1ook aftersmaII children' other forrns of smarr trading includ.e the sale of fresh fr'itand., in indiv:iclual cases, herrna d.ye, kerosene and. dried. shark meat, .bhelast two brought frcm lrlombasao AI1 of these lr""u .""oo, *rU conclucted fromthe home'without licenoes. rn september '!BJ one group mgnlberg praruring to

-- set herself up as a traditionaL d'octor, r*as mortified by the heavy ricencingfees which she had. to pay (450sh plus 2Jsh per month)

I{omen aiinost invariably descr:ibe income from these different souroes asd'oing ng more trran ,rrerping'at homere a d.escription r.ilrich they aLso apply tothe results of their agricultural labour: in no case, crid" the harvest ofstaple crops meet the subsistenoe requirements of the household fo4.more tlpna few monthso rn the main they.are d-ependent upon their husbanrrs for theprovision of cash and food. through much of the year. Liker,rise they arelargely d'ependent upon them for their contributions to the r^romenr s groupo

Those group members with empl0yed. husband.s, almost tr.ro-third.sr, are ina r'elatively fortunate position. IIen lvorking at the beach hotels, for examplelclraw wages $hich far exceed. anything their rrnemployecl wives might earns c.lrOOO-lt8oosh a month d'epencling upon the type of r.rork. Tlds inconle can be furthersupplementecl by sales of copra frorn the .pa,lms r.rhich men o]m anrcl manage, anenterprise- which recluires only period.ic labour inputs (no more 'ran 3_4 times

3B I

Il

j1 1

I

j; r; i' i

Iill

. lI ia year). At the other end of the scale those r.ritlrout husbands at all are

in a somer.rhat tLifficult position, particularly if they d-o not have gtown

children rvho are able to support them ( see Table J). In such cases it is

not easy to sustain group mernbership. Of 3 inactive members one, with 3

young children, had just separated from her husband; amother, al-so wj.th

3 chilclren to look after, nas divorced; ancl the thinl r{as a wid.or,rer with

little means of support beyond her membership of a dance group vrith its own

rottbing cred.it association. Of 'f r.romen who had left the group sjrortly after

joining it 4 r.rere divorcees with child.ren to supporb" ",phus the most

disa.d.van'baged category of women is effectively excluded from the g?oup.

Uses of income. The investments uhich households are prepared to make in the

. womenr s group are conditioned by the sum of d.emands upon housebold incomeo /

A rotati-ng cred-it association vrhich group members set up in April 1!Bl

provides a clear il l-ustration of 'this. Contributions t,rere set at lOsh per

week and. ind.ividual bene-faotorsr ohosen on the basis of their requests for

assistancee' received all of the money contributed. Table LO shows the

arnounts they received and the uses to nhich they put this money; -

TAsLE 10

DATE A]'TOUI'IT BINEtr'ACTOR AIID USE

1? April 2oosh ?::;:.*:;r:itT:3:"ffi:l ffiil:":;"":::"1":"*li:":H*come to 2lOOOsh plus). ,

2r Apnil lposh ffi;:l::":T?:; n::':1."fl:*""Lx"l:ir"1,xi:H:u'ilf""rest spent on foocl. -

9 Yl.aS l?Osh The vice-treasurer. Her son hacl been sent home fromschool for failing to bring a 2OOsh rbuildingl

contribution. The money vrent tovlards this.

16 I'Iay l4Osh To a vroman ulrose husbancl r'ras seriously ill ancl had notresponcled to hospital treatment. Spent on talcing himround. to traclitional d.octors (ire aiea shortly after).

iiil

39

TAstE 10 (cont)

23 li lay iroun The rrice-secretary. spent on banclages ancl med.icinefor ber sma,lI son lrho ryas in hospital j_n l,Iombasaaf ter breaking a leg.

5 rwre llosh :ffi*:f.:";"rf": ililiil;, ':Tjri: LHI*o:t'""'

special school in l.lombasa.

1 .August

loosh The secretary" Spen'b on treatment for her motherr s

iilHi:":; ulrli"lSl; ":l:",535ufl1""" in Likoni

- By the seventh rowrd, sepairated from the sirLh by a gap of g ueeks, "";

11 women were still contributing. Thus the associa,tiol l.ras wound. up a^nd

, members set a,bbut calcrrlating what they or.red. one anothero Given the d.ifficultyt

whioh they,were'having in paying their or' 'dinary grgup subscriptions it is

hardLy surprising that this should have turned into a rotating d.ebit

association. In effeot it failed. because of the problem it was d.esigned. tol

alleviate: the consid.erable pressure placed upon household. inoome.

Some houseir6ttl expenseg are recurrent, others irregular and. unpredicta6le.'

. Some derive from the structure of households ancl the obligations between them,I

others from .the d.emand.s imposecl directly arrd inclirectly upon household-s by the

state. The constraints placed. upon food procluction have already been outlingd.

A significant proportion of the household budget has to be d.iverted. touarclsl - ) e

securing lasib subsistence. A vroma.n living alone estimated that she needed J-lsh

\- a dayr.450sh a, month, to-spend on food; adding a further 3O-45sh a mon'bh for

' vrater. For a couple the montlrly food. bill ca^n rise to ?50sh a month, 9OO-

lle2oOsh if they have small chil-dren. These figures can be compared with the

wage levels citecl aboveo

l'lon-recurrent expenses are manifold. A number of these appear in f'able 10.

A 4-roomed house built largely of local materials can cost llOOOsh to build;

40

a ooral and. cement house uprrards of lOrOOOsh. Illness is not only a drain

upon labor:r but also upon the financial resources of a householdl especially

when (government) hospitals require patients to buy their,or^rn medicines anrtl

other mater ials. Spir i t posseSsion const i tutes a special case. This can

partly be rrnd.erstootl as a mechanism through nhich attention anil cash are

transfenecl from intlifferent husband.s to their long-suffering vrives. 4 group

members hacl been ttrus afflicted, 2 in l)BJ (one of rvhom had a co-r.rife vrho had

opted. to quit her husband instea,cl). Burial ancl .funerals can cost arorrnd.

lsOOOsh; the ceremony r'rhich conolud.es the long peniod of mourning 1O-2O1OOOsh,

coll-eoted from a rvide range of kin. Bridevealth paSrments are in the range of

2-{rOOOsh and a wed&ing/dowry carr cost relatives arq;thing between lrJOOsh for

a plain do and Z5rOOOsfr for a.n el'.borate event (only one group member, the

sedretaryr 'had been treated. thus).

. Bridewealth palrnents tend to correlate with the Ievel of a briders

eduoationr in reoognition of her parentsr investment i.n her sohooling

Secondary school fees average 2lOOOsh per &nJlurno fnimlry ed.ucation is in

tlreory free. In practice parents are asked to make frequegt contributions

tor,rards the maintenance of school bui}dings and the purchase of educational

materials on threat of having their children bamecl from the olassroon.

These dema"nds vary from schooL to schooL and. parents may find,themselves

paying JOOsh a year for each of their childrep at primary schooL. This pLaces

a oonsiderable burden upon most householdsr' and one r.rhich is particrrlarly

wrwelcome because it appears as a forrn of taxBtion. Group menrbers suffer

acconlingly. Only a sma,lI proportionl those lrith ltorking child.ren (mainl1r,-

sons) who can send them remittances, are in a position to benefit from the

ent l results-of the educat ional process (see Tab)-e J a.bove).

ri

:iii tl

4 T

GM'IDtrR. DI}"FARNITIATIOI.T AI'ID COIITITOL OF lTItr CIIOUP

Not all group members faI1 into'

employed and some orrrn their own lemd.

importa^nt role in 'blre conbrol of the

the pa,ttern described. ibove. Some are

in I'lrvamambie playing a corresponclingly

groupo

The 3 men in the group are less pbr.rerful than migh'b be ertrrected. The 2

nho are employetlr one a rvaiter and. the other a tailor, are largely inactive

for this very readdh: neither has the time to invest in the group. The self-

declared t speaker mastert e a farmer and agitator for local, 1a.nd. riglrts in

the 1ocal branch of KAIW, is rather more active in group affairs. Although

he tend.s to be very vocal when present in group meetingr an:l is clrdck 'bo act

as its spokesman in front of visitors he is easily shouted dor'm or ou'b-voted

when oocasion requires. IIe lives vrith 3 other group members: ltis rrife, his

fatherts sisterrs daughter (tne vice-secretary) and her husbando All rvere

early memberg of the group and nhile the l-atter ma.ll d.id. suspiciouslq welL out

of the shift from subsoriptions to shares (engineered W his rdfe) their role

as an impor*ant faction in the group d.iminished. upon its enlargement a3d

reorganisation. Othenrise the group has not suffered d.irectly from male

interferenceo The vilIag. oio*"hairmanl trusia,nrl of one of the members,

dispenses usefirL advioe. In private he is patronising ancl scepticaL of

woments ability to organise enterprises alone2r a:r attitude shared. by the

I speaker masterr: but in praotice he continuesr l-ike other husbands, to

supporb his r,rifets involvement in the group. '

lrlore pouerfrrl is a smalL core of relatecl r.romen r.rho have succeed.ed in.

esoaping the domina^nt pattern of gencler relatj.ons" AII but o'ne, Agtrirayers

chainromanl &re members of the CDA! s farnilyr her 2 yotrnger sis'ters a^ncl her

younger brotherrs r,rife, the group seore'bary. The CDA ancl her junior

siblings jointly own and. manage 5 plots of la:rrl inherited from their father.

42

/

As vrel-L as living'and. cultivating on this land. they sell coconuts from the

palms whioh grow there and nou! 2 houses rented out by the room for a to.bal-

of some 115OOsh per monthr an income they planned to increase by build.ing

*:=:. A11 3 sj-sters r.rere educated through their fatlrerrs foresight, and ,

although they moved. away from home 'bheir overlapping histories of employment

and 'the

ind.elend.ence this has brought have enabled them. to returrr to Ir1r^ramarnbi

and. their f,atherrs lando AJ-l 3 worked successively as adult ecluoation

teachers at ldsambrven:i. The CDA returned. to l,luamambi after taking up her

present job: her husba^nd, now dead, .

r{as a Tanza.nian a^nd so absent for. much

of the yearr The seconcl sister was teach:ing in l,Isambr+eni uhen her class

beoarne one of the first experimental r.romenr s groups in Kenya, ulder the Special

Rura1 Development Programmu'irr 197I.3 She left to become a nu?se (she sti11

is) a^nd. met her current partner, a clinical officer and. Giriama vrho lives

eLsewhere. Tlie thirdr half-sister steppecl into her teaching post, before

transferring_to.$himoni a^nd laterbo Mwaroni r.rhere-she is now a fuLl--time aduJ-t

education teacrr-er ear:ring c.leoOosh a month. She is also secre*ary of aLl the

lromenrs groups in the logation, a^nd. secretary of Agwirayets sawings clubo

Her second. husband. vrorks and rents accomodation in l,tombasa and. manages a farm

in l{sarnbwenie his home" The brother a^nd husbanrl of Agr,rirayers secretary also

r'rorks in Mombasa. His r.rife is paicl 30osh a month as the To'boto co-ordinator

and in September 1985 began receiving l5osh a month as Agrrirayers part-time

adrot ed.uoation teacher. The role of the CDA in the groupts d.evelopment has

aLready been dooumented: in sum her family exercises considerable influence

within the groupl &n influenoe r'rhich rui1l probably grow overLimeo

The chainromar, also a relative of the CDAr - accluired control of her

fatherrs 2 fields by taking advantage of the l-a.nd reg'istration r:l:,ich began in

Ivlwarnambi in L9'lB-79" fhere rrere no male heir: "rrd she iook the opportunity to

lod.ge a claim by herself a.ncl her elcler sister (norr rlead) in'Utre absence of her

a

I

i

I

43

l l

i

./

hal-f-sisters who had. a1L married outside the areao This lrmcl provicles her

vrith a small income from sales of frrrit, casher.mubs a^nd coconuts (less than

J-lOOOsh a year) which is macle up by remittances from her 2 vrorking sorlsl who

send the money (a tota"1 of 3OOsh plus per mon'bh) uithou'b their fatherts

lcrol&edgeo She cloes not pleur to remarrTr, currl in September IIBJ lras building

a house with 4 rooms to rentl malcing the most of her ner.fly inrlepenclent

'status. this is a route to capital- acoumuLation vhich the group itself has_ 1

now decided. to follow: after the failure of its water project Agr,rira.ye set

about acquiring a roadside p3-ot to build rlpon, at the same time opening a

smalL kiosk (shop) near aits meeting-pIace.-

In a double sense, tine6, the group is witness to an emergent procqss of

d.ifferentiation. First, in, its internal compositiorr- a^nd leadershipl

favouring a potential class of accu.rrntators: though argr conflict this rnight

engend.er has yet to come out into the openo Secondr in its virbua.l- exclusion

of. the most vuLnerable househoLds, those hea.decL t6r women,w"ith/yor:ng children.

\

Notes

I. See Roger Gonunr rHarlots and Bachelors: marital instability arnong theooastal Digo of Kergrar , I,IAI[, VT't (t972).

\

2. rrWomen are muoh stronger than u) men'rl he once d.eclared, trbut they havenotsense.tr Lhis statement legitimises r.romenrs role in performing thegrbater burd.en of househoLd. l-abour ancl menr s in making the most importa^rrtd.ecisionsr '

3. See A.O.Pa3-a1 ld.H,Wal-Lits a^nd J.E.ReJrnoIds: rThe uoments groups prog?amne '

in the Special RuraLTevelopment Progranune (SRDP) t , in A.O.Pa1al T.Aworiancl A.Krysta11 (ed.s) The Parlicipation of llomen in I(en"va Socie'by (Uairobi:Kenya Litera'bure Bureaul 197t3) "

A A

N'KTXII. WOI,In.IIS, CROUP. JIBA]'IA LOCATIOI.I

Arkeni uomenrs g?oup meets by Chilulu primary school in rolling palm-

coverecl countryside 3 km north of Kalo]eni. This is in Chi1ulu-Tsagr,ra sub-,

locat ionl J ibana (nombo) locat ion, parL of the Kaloleni c l iv is ion of Ki l i f i

district' I,lombasa, to the south, is 5O km away by netallecl ancl rrnnretalled

roado Ln 1979 the total popr:lation of the. sub-locatiort r.ras 5fl41, r;i-bh a

d-ensity of 312 people per sq.km liwing in B4B households scatterecl throu;hout

- the ?r€&o Jiba^na predominate !:-tfrough many tromen are Chorgri follotring a

pattern of intermarriage betr.reen these two neiglrbouring and verl' closely

related ethnic group6. A third related Sroupr Giriama, is steaclil-rr

encroaching upon lancl on the sou'bher:r border of Chilulu, a stonets thror.r

an'ray from the primary schoolo Arnlceni, 'rAwaken!", was the first uomenrs

group to be formed in the location. It had been joined W 1{ others by

Octoben-l{ovember L9B5t uhgn research was oonrtuctecl in ChiluJ-u.

TTIE CIIII]ULU AI.KU{I PROJECT

( rAmkenitis distingu:ished. by having early found a verXr committe{ a1ly -

I{orld Vision International - allowing it to pursue a d"azzli.,ng amay of

. successfr8 enterprises under {he thrrrsting }eadership of its d.ynanric and(

, por.rerfi:l chairrroma:ro Its first year, honeverr was not u:rtypical for a group

in its formative .Flage, with littJ-e prospect of assistance except that

provided. by the stateo

(The group r.ras formed on 2 Ja.nuary 1981. This'followed a public meeting

held the previous month by the area CDA after consrrltation rdth the chief and

the groupr s future clrairwomanr then chain^roman of Chilttlur s small Anglican' l(

congregation and a member of the Looa.l school obmmittce. 29 lromen paid 5oslr

45

each'co join the gloup, r^rhich uas registered vrith the I'l inistry of Cul"ture

a.trcl Social Seruices later that month" They r.lere cluick to choose a vrater

pro ject, reaironing that c lomest ic hygiene (t t rus health) and. otber projects

:;uch as rearing stoci; first required a good supply of-natero Before they

cor.tcl be consiclerecl for a grant the Social Serrrices advised them to continue

l . - \

coll-ecting subscriptions, set by the group at 2sh per r'reek r+ith a yearly

p;yment of losh -bo rener.r:nembershipo In l-981 members al-so tried to raise

rnoney by cookint and selling chapatie and ctttivated a.borror^led. fielcl--with

rita.ize, neither uith any great successo

Chilulu Arnkeni Proiect and ita ogga.nisation

The big break came in l-982, engineered through the initiative of Amkenits

chainroman. Her elclest daughter r,ras then r+orking for tlorld Vision in Nairobi

as ilreir: project co-ordinator for South ltryaxrza. pitfr her encouragement the

chir.in;orcan rrrote to the I'Ipirobi office requesting assistance. The Coast region

co-orrlinator visited. Chilulu and discussed local- problems uith the l'romenrs

f,'Toupe As a result of his report the Chilu1u Amkeni Project was botnr one of

a 1a.rge nurnber of Kenyan projeots run by llorl-d Vision in conjr:action uith the

C,P.Ii., Chur'ch of -bhe Province of Kenyao

The Project uas clesignerl to help the local commwtityr lrorking primariJ-y

uith Chilu}u sotrool- and. Amlceni r.romenr s groupo A committee l.tas set up, chairett

by an Anglican pastor (tiving ln ldombasa) a,nd inclucting B AmXeni members, their

rnail job being to revien the Project and its accor:nts and report to llairobi.

evet1r nonth. A yorurg man from the area nas appointed. Project manager anct the

groupt s chainroman ta.lcen on as its social r'rorker. In Late 1!82 they were

joi-ned by a Project r.rorker, a recently marriecl Jibana man from Chilulu. In

J;r.nna.r7 l9B4 a Chonyi secondary school leaver r+as ta.lcen on as the Projectrs

i'-grj-cultrrril extension r.iorlcer and. the team r,ias completed in Jrrne of that year

4 6:

1

I

with the appointment 1f

a book-keeperr also Chorllri a]Id unmarried' In 1a'te

I9B4 the Projeot manager had to qr:-it after making one of the Projectrs

sponsoretl schoolchildren, the d.aughter of a gToup member, pregnant t

behaviour inconsistent rrith llorlcl Vision and C.P.K. e-bhics (l1ortcl Visiou

elvelopes are hea.ded.tr$ar ing for people Ir i th the Compassion of Cl l r ist") ' The

book-keeper took over his duties. In October 1985 they uere being pa'id the

follordng monthly salaries: book-keeperfmanager IlOgOsh; Project rrorl:er

lOOsh; sooia] r.rorker BtOstr; agricrrltural extension uorker 6lOsh; attd r';ere

shorbly due to receive fl/o taj.ses. Their office is a' corrugatecl-iron sled

rented from the husba.nd of oile of Arnkenirs members' The Project itself has a-

large yearly budget: 36orlzosh in 1!B{, 33or26osh in } !8! '

Pro j ect. contslrnitlr. group

O n e o f t h e p r o j e c t t s s t a t e d a i m s i s ' b o s e e t h a t r ' S r O O O p e o p l e a r e :

evaneelised arrd spiritualLy nurtured by organising evanSelism canpaigrsr bible t

study gpoups a3d training 10 mothers a^nnua'I1y on evangelism, equipping them

rritlr Christia.n literature and other facilities for sprea'ding the Gospel'"1 To

d - a t e o r r J . y B h $ ' m n b o o k s l a p r a y e r b o o k a r r d a b i b l e h a v e b e e n b o u g h t a n d t h e

Project has conoentrated instea.d upon more vlorldly gpals' This' as l'te shall

s€er, has been much to the benefit of the t^romenrs group and not alvrays in line

with llorld Visionr s explicit wishes'

Iduch of World Visionts funding comes from overseas sponsorships of

individuar. schoorchildren. Tn'chilrrlu the r'rork this entairs is handrecl by the

projeotrs g?and.ioseLy titled sponsor Relations Departmentr 'bhe- responsibility

of its Projeot Horkero children from the most needy homes are selectedt

photog:raphed., arrd reportecl upon every year. 686 local- child'renr most of

them at Chil*Iu primary school (lrhictr has,-ar8lo pupils), are sponso::ccl, ma'inly

b y f a m i } i e s i n t h e U . S . l A u s t r a l i a a r r d ] I e r . l Z e a l a " r r c l . 1 5 3 a t t e n c l o t } r e r s c h o o } s

4 7

in Jiba.na, Chonyi and. Kaloleni Locationsl r^rhi1e Ir having graduated from

ChiLr:J-u primary schooll attend various secondary and technical schools. For

the latter sponsorship rneans that their fees are paid; for the rest it rneans

receiving the occasional Letter and. sma1l gift a^nd-, more importan'bly1 beiug

provicled. with schoo]- uniforms. In l-984 the Project paid 2rBSOsh to an Inclian

firm in l,Iombasa to have r:niforms made. Follovring this Amkeni clecitled -bo get

in upon the same act. In December the Project paid. 6rBOOsh for 2 Singer

serring machines, duly installed in the chairuomanrrs house. In l ' lovember I)BJ

the group held a hararnbee a^nd raised. Tr5O8sh to pa,y a young ldomarl to teacl:

members to ser^r. By April 1!86 Anrtceni was reported to be cloing a roaring tr;v-l.e

in ser.ling school uniforrnso I

The Projeotrs agricultural extension worker is detailed to help 5-n'uroduce

mod.erzr farnring techn-iques into the commr.rnitye explai1ing efficient nethods of

cultivation a,nd storagel the use of fertil izer and pesticiclesr ancl encourag'ing

the plantation of sma-11 vegetable g::,rdens. To this end he visi'bs local farmerst

mainly group members, amcl works vlith LocaL vromenrs g?oupsr Amlceni in

part icuJ-ar, on their col . lect ive f ie ldsr d.5-spensing advice, vegeiable seed,

sprayiing lrith p""ticia"6 a,nd grving fertilizer to those ruho cau affor.d to bll]'

it. As a result most Amkeni members have suitched from trarlitio:ra1 prac'Lice

and- begqn bta^nting in linesr, gpd most have vegetable gardens. iloreovcr in

1984. ana 1985 indiviCual group members r,rere allocated substantial surns from

Project funds to pay casual labourers to cultivate and rreed their fielcls. I:r

l lBJ alone.bire bi l l for this came to 2L1lOOsh, to be divic ' l -er l arnong 4l tnembers"

3y llovember L9B5 the agricultural ertension worker harl

rioment s gToups in the area and ltas planning to worlc r'tith a

received the most clirect benefit. Table 11 shons sales of

coll-ective fields betr,reen 1982 and late 1!Blo The Projcct

vis i ted- 4 other

fifth. Bui Anl'leni

crops [tror.al on i bs

has brou.glrt a

/,t)

TASLE }1

CROP t982 1gB3 rgB4 L9B5

bea.ns

maize

vegptables

1 r 3 9 1

1,7oo 2r620

548

r,ols500

1r3g r 1r?oo 3r158 5r 538sh

x J!'fsh spent lry the group on seed a.nd tractor ldre

demonstrable improvement, d.efraying e:penses, eq"rartding the acreage r':ncler

crrltivation (see later) a^nd impioving yield.s through the use of modern techniques

a.nd cheraical inputs.2 The harvested orops are stored. at the chainromanrs home,

ghere storage r,ras built for the frurpose, and a small portion of each harvest is

r e d i s t r i b u t e d . a j n o n g g r o u p m e m b e r s . I r r N o v e m b e r . ] . g 8 5 e a c l r m e m b e r r e c e i v e c l a s m a l l

measune of bea^ns (r :nd.er 1kg) from the latest harwestr in recognit ion of the-

l-abour they had contributed"

The project a1"J ho" plarrs to introduce grade dairy caitle, but has ha'rl

difficul-ty in acquiring a suitable plot: zer:o-grazirLg, the preferrecl methoclt

requi ees Z acres of 1and. in an area r*here watcr is read-ily available a'ncl-

consta't supe:rrision at hand.. rn Laie 1985 tire chilulu sub-chief offered- io sell-

his pregna.nt gra.de cor^r to the woments group for IOlOQOsh proviclin3 theSr coulC'

ernploy a herrlsma' ad iending them his shed a"nd. la,ird u'til thel' ssultl build

their orm (at a cost of some lrOOOsh). The offer remained to be put i :e i 'ore

l'lorld Vision.

The pro ject has also initiated- a scheme to build small hou,ges. for reccntly

bereaved r.rid.or.rs1 arguing that they are often unable to maintain tJre 1e'r3er

d.r.rellings left b,y their husbaldso The work is done by loca^l builclers and so

far 3 people, 2 of them Amkeni membersl have benef i ted ' '

49

t-

The water pro,'isct

ChiLulu Arnkeni Projectts most ambitious venture has bcen in organising

a.nd financing the groupts water project. This has 3 pha.ses. The firsil uhich

was completecl in August l994t rvas to bring piped vrater from the mainline b;r

the Kaloleni-Kilifi road to the area around. Chilulu school t 2-3 krn a.r'ray. Tho

second phase, stil1 awaiting the appcararce of llater Department surv'eyorst

entails taking this water west to Swere; a.ncl the third phase rri11 take it east

from Ghilrrlu to llurima l,Ikulu. Project accounts record a:r erpense of sqme

2!2rOOOsh on the rvater project between I'Iay L9B3 a.ncl September 1!811 over half

of its cost to d.ate. lluch of the rest has been made up by the governmeirt.

$re sources of fr:nding and other aid are shor'nr in firll in Table 1?.

TASLE 12

SOIIRCE A1,l0UI'IT cor,[,InrTS

t982

l-gB3-B4

1984

10 eOOO sh

\

273 rooo stt(183,2?4)

" r {2 ,000sh

g'iven to Am]:cni ttomenr s group inOctober; cleposited and kept inthe grouprs bank account. -

alLocated. in the form of ma. 'bcr ials;B9r726ih r.ras not usecl ancl tal:enbaclc by the I'l inistry (balancegiven in bracke-bs).

much of -bhis money appears to ha.vebeen embezzle& by one of I Peace

.Corps volunteers rvho he1pecl otr thepro ject. The Dnbassy also prorriclecla soLar punping machine and PVCpipes in Jr:ne 193/,.

provided., in Ju1yl in the forn ofBO 1#' PVC pipes. Anlcenits chair=lloman co-pplqins that the gra"nt lrasfor the purchase of metal pipes;the pLastic ones they got ob''riousl-ycost rntrch less.

Idinistry of Gultureand Social Senrices

I,linistry of l.laterDevelopment

\U. S. Dnbassy

f9B5 ldinistry of liealth 10 ;OOOsh

50

TABLE L2 (cont)

1gB3-8,

llorlcl VisionInternationaL

2!2r000sh ( see above) Isal-aries and

exclucling Projecto ther cos ts .

TOTAL

Amkeni members alcl others in the conrnun5.ty contributecl labor:r for the fj-rst

phase of the project, d.igging the main pipeline trench between l{ovcmJler L)82

and Febnrary the follorring f,€&ro 0n1y one of three successive Peace Corps

volunteers r.rho he1-ped. i,s considered 'bo have made a positive contributiot-".. I'luch

of the work has been overseen by the Project vrorker, an experienced plumber.'

When the first phase was comptretedl he turned to the worlc of maintenancer -b]re

lafing of individual ertensions and fittingsl and the cons-Lruction of r'rater

kio.sks and storage jai.s, al-L for the benefit of Amkeni a.ncl its memberso 4

kiosks vrere bui]-t asrd. fitted. for the sal-e of vater in August-September 1985.

Tbe sales of water from these are to go to the rvoments gtcoupr and in late 1!8!

they r.lere r,raiting foybhe installation of meters and a licence before beginning

their tra.de. I'Iork on individual ertensions begari the year before: by Oc-bobcr

lg15 L7 group members living near Chilulu primary schooL had s'ba.ndpipes ou'bside

their homes. They l{erer ,no""orrJ., d.rawing 'ater free of charge in the

absence of a'y meterso ,Oilrer residents uithout access to 'biris lra'Lcr continuerl

to coll-ect gater from the Local springs, l- }3n or so from tlre school" tlor'l: tra"s

also in progress to provide group members uith concrete storage jars, each r;itb

a capacity of c.36O l i t res, to col lect and. hoJ-d:-a{nuater from-bheir roofs

as a precaution against failure of the piped. supply. The'first of -bhese riere

built in october L9B5 by a mason from Kaloleni.

62'f rO00sh$x rzl.q)

the 'total in bracicets ca:rfurther correc'bed to tal<eof unused al locat ions.

h o

accorrnt

a l

SATIS}TING T}IE STATE I'lAl'lI PULATII{G I'l G0s

Rrblic image

A:'lheni is no less subject than other groups to dema^nds from the staJe.

In July llBJ group members uorked on repairing the dirt road vhich serves

Chilulu at the request of the loca1 sub-chief. In October they cool:ed. bananas

and. took them to KaloLeni for a meeting celebratj-ng World Food Dal'. 4 cla.ys

later they treldced to the diwisional headcluarters to sing beforc the guests at

wr all-day assembly marking Kerlyatta Day, Over the past year the group had.

spent 314?0sh on matching dresses and headscarwes to.vlear on such occasions.

Earlier in the month they ha.d been held. behind at a village meeting by iireir

sub-chief to be toltl how to present food for visitors and hoir to courbsey a.:rcl

s ing before themo At th- is meetlng z) ls.n frad teln t 'a ised. for the Ker,yatta Day

celebrationso On the day itself they queued for food r.rhile honoured officials

gOrged. themselves and sr,rilfetl their free beer: failing to get any the lrornen

returned t_o Chilulu hulgzTr,

One of the speakers at this assembly was Amlcenirs chain'Ioman. She r'ras

later calLed upon by the area I'lP to tour all of its sub-locations in the first

half of 1!85 to press for the forrnat ion of more l romenrs g1'oups. This is some

measure of the ertent t,o whigh 4mkenir bolstered by llorld Visionr ha.s

succeeded in l.lorking liithin the framer.rork of state obli8ations" The r'rater

project is direct ly in- I ine l r i th state development object ives, a fact ref lecLecl

in the considerable government funding it has received. Amlceni ha.s also

proposetl a variety of other community projec'bs: the building of a nulserX'

schooJl a d-ispensary, and prorrision of a market for women. In llebruary ).!8!

the chairwoman wrote to a bus company in I' lombasar asking that its serrrice be

ertended to ChiluLu. The first bus came the follor.ring month. The bus come:i

every ni$tt its conductor is accornodated in a house olrned W the chair',roma'nrs

52

husbancl and it leaves for l,lombasa at d.ar'rnr t[e chairrtomam is nolr pressing

i'or a mor.e regular senrj-ce. The Projeot itsel-f has paid. for the building of

a roof for Chilulu pri-rnary school-rs ne\,I Standard B classroom, while its

agricul-r,ura1 prograrnrne is matched. ,perfectly trith the message most frecluently

relayecl at rallies and meelings in Kalo1enio

In August l9B5 the Projectts committee was changet l to ref lect thi-s role

a:rd "bring d.evelopment to the vi]Iage" rrith greater haste. 3 Amkeni members

r.iere clropped. and ! state employees taken on: the sub-chidfl the CDA, the

loca1 agricultural technical assistantl the headmaster of a looa.l Oti*oO

sclr.oole and the headnnaster of ChiLulu prirnary schooll aJ-so a church eldero

The goverrgnen'b agriarl-tural- assistant novr works closeJ'y with the Projecbrs

ag:ricr:-Itural ertension r.rorker, uho has begun attending fortnigttly seminars for

agriculturaJ- officers in l(alo1eni" In Septembdr he vras introduced by h:is

goverrunent colleague to Umoja r.roments group in llurima I'ikulu and sprayed- their

seseuTle and cor,;-pea crops vlitlr pesticide. In October they visited. the sesame

fielcl of l\inani lrornenf s g?oup in neart6r Tsakarolornr and he was asked to do the

sa1ne: :lesar1e seed. has been prorricled free by the governrnent to encourage its

pro<luction ancl on llorld Food Day-Amani wls presented with a certifioate

corrnetlding its efforts in this d-irection.- Uleanwhile the Rrojectrs agricultr:ral

r:oricer has been a.dvised- to rnalce more use of fertil izers: there is no shorbage

of (i.lortd Vision) funds r'rith r,rhich to br5r them. In this and other respects

1he project has been appropriated. by the state as an ertension of i ts ovm

cleveJ-oprnelt ef'fortsl vrhile through its commwtity progfamme a.nd schooL

sponsorships it helps insulate local- households ftpm the clemand-s which the

sta'be i r ;poses upon themo )

furiceni, rneanr:hi-1e, is rel-ievua of the greater burclen of state d.emands

i:lrrough the support and- fr.inding it receives from I'lor1d Vision. Other t'romenr E

groups in 'Lhe locat ion are not so fortunate. At Amkenits harambeer held on

/

53

TASLE 13

CATOCCIIY DOITORS COI'ITRISUTION

t ioi i luir sGITOUPS

Anheni members

11 other ltomenils Sroups

21000

1 1 1 3 13,L 31

i lGOs Toto'bo arrd staff

tlorld. ftLucation visitors

600

4001,OO0

STAT]'S]'CTOR

agricultural officer

councillor

CDA

chief

22L

31

100

n

OTIIIIR, i /

guest of honour

ex-Chilu1u PuPil

col lect ion macle W the'husba:rd of a.n Amlceni rnember

11000

500

200

,,r10

ri lreaclmistress of a secondary school

in l ia loleni

6ro52sn

2 ltovenbey :19}5t l.romenrs gToups'nrovid-ed-r 4ir% of the J1508sh raised (26'1" fron

a,rnlieni itself , 15i; from other groups). Adding the contribution from IIGOS,

54,,. of the total came from voluntary orga.nisations. State personnell who did'

nost of the ta3-hj-ng, contribut ed- a mere J/0. The GDA complained that some

lro*ent s rJroups are formed so that they ca"n get grants3: instea'd they must

help thcmselves first. Notidthstanding this, marly of the groups which sang

and da:rced before ilre guests sang about their problems and presented- thinly-

veiled requests for aid. In contrast vrith Amkeni the state is their only aIly'

l . ia l : inn the most of f r iencls

As Table 13 inclicates, Amkeni has securetl another ally besides World

54

Vi,sion: Toto'bo llome Industries. Hot^reverl much to Tototors a^nnoyance,

they have had to operate in the shadolr of their international cousin. Amkeni

r.ras taken on by Tototo, then unar.Iare of Uorld Visionrs involvement, in

early 1983. The Chilu1u Amlceni Project marager vras chosen by the group as

its Tototo co-ordinator. But frorn the start *Yry did not go well. I,ecL ty

their chainroman the group hatl hoped. that Tototo yrould. gr-ve them money and

,l.Iere not interested in the training given to their co-ordinator. Frustrated-

in irX,'1ng -bo explain Tototors purpose, the co-ordinator gave up to concentrate

on his more l-ucrative Project job. In 1984 a young grcup member was chosen to

succeed him: initial-Iy the chairr^roman had wa^nted the position for herself.

\Her st/Ie of leadership is anathema to Tototor md on occasion theSr have:

consiclered uithclrarring from Arnkeni al-together. The chai::r'romarr mea^nvrhil-e1

coltinues to l-oolc upon Tototo as a possible source of funds. 1n August 1985

Tototo pro-rir)-ed. some ma'Lerial for the groupt s sewing machines. In October the

chi'.igionran r.ras busy pu.rsuing Tototots direotor for help in securing a banl< loa.n

.bo buy a tractor ( see later). In the garne month Tototo introduced. a savings

club for Anr]:eni members: 31 'nomen joined. a.nd deposited 442sh betneen them.

The f'ollordng month 49Osh uas deposited: its acoounts, hor'rever, r'rere in a

cornplete sharnbles follorring the chairvromanrs reoeipt of palrments outside of

schecluf- ecl meet ings "

]tal-rns. coDra a.ni l:omen

chain.lornanr s rnost spec'bacu1-ar mani.pulation has been of l,lorld. Vision

Sone instrulces of this have already been cited. It is nowhere more

iiran in the establishment of Arnkenits main enterprise: the production

of copra.

The

i L ; e 1 f .

eviclent

a.rrtl sal e

Irt

- c i" Lher

early years

cult ivate or

i-L s

L o

Arnl,,cni had considerabl-e clifficulty in obtaining land

j:uild a mee'bing-place upono Different fields were

bomowed for short periods. One, just below Chilulu primary schoolr had

I to be aba^ndoned by the group because of a dispute betueen its Jibana or.tler

. a:rcl Giriarna cLaimants. In L9B4 the grcup cultivated ^ E acre fiel-d at

Kizingol € tm awailr and lent for just one season. In the same yehrtire

I group also bega.n cr:-Itivating a * acre field. at Forirrie or.rned. by the locaI

church and rented- by Amkerri fort5osh a year. Then, in August I984t 'blie I

group and. Project embarked- upon a nelr trackr accluiring assets in land., na.Ins

( a^nd- tree produce using tlre consid.erfble financial resources at the Projectrs

disposalo Over-the nert few months 3lr680sh r,ras paicl out for this p' l rnose,

mostLy to local landor.nrers compelled. to raise mortgages on 'Lheir prcnert;i

( through pressure of financiaL circumstaJrces. Thts separate transactions are

d.etai led in Table 14 belou"

TA3Ltr 14

t

DATE PAYI.TM{T NATURE OF TNANSACTION ltIl'1iltssB5

August/ 2rJOOsh lO coconut palms pledged to (r) the chairrrome.nrsllovember in 2 Amlceni for a period of I years claughter a.nd 13 yearL9B4 payments by an or,rner r'rho wanted. to raise olcl son, e.nd a loce.l

the money to send his daughter ma:r. (t) 2 menl one'bo secondarXr school. the husband of Anl:enits

sccretary.

September 4r040sh lJ orange and tangerine trees the ProjecL nanager,l9B4 iw 2 together r.rith 'coconut .paIms t:orl<er, and

payments pledged for a period. of I years. agricul'bural e:t-bensio:rTo enable the or-mer to send his lrorkeroson to secondary schoolo

September 1r2O0sh to be re-burned to Amkeni in the rlr4oform of 2r4DO coconuts valuedat 9 cents each. So that theol.mer cor:J-d pa,y his sonrssecondary school fees.t -

1984

56

T.I$LE 14 (cont)

DATtr PAYi:i]-{.lT NATURN OF TRAIISACTIO}T tI.ITIfESStrS

Sep'Lember 1 lz l {Q5[1984

4? pal-ros pJ-ed.ged. to Arnkeni foran indefinite period. Theoriner (now dead.) did this toredeem his debt on the samepalms to a previous morf6ag'ee.The present nr<.rrtgage must nowbe redeemed. by his sonso

.tho Pro ject r,rorker a.ndagricultural ertensionr.rorker, the chainlomanr shusband and. his youngerbrother.

0ctoberr9e4

5r 5O0shL n 2palnnent s

100 palms pledged. to Arnkenifor a periotl of 10 years. fl: 'eol{nert s d.aughter had left herhusband and returned. to herfather: he needed the noneyto return her bridewealth"

the Project managertbook-keeper and r.rorker.

0ctobe-cl9Bri

!1O0Osh 10O palms pleclged. to Amkeni' (per iod . no t s ta ted) by the

Chilu1u sub-chief so thdt hecould buy cattle for zeto-gtazi,ng"

I I r 3o

Oc-bobcrL9 'd4

!O0sh to be repaid to Amlceni as11000 coconuts valued a+ n

' cents each. To enable theotrner to send'iris d.aughter toI(aloleni village poltrrtechnio.

the chain"lonanr shusbanrd.

Oc'r ,obcrT9B4

5r 5OOsh purchase outright of 2 acres oflarmland (r.rithout palms) atI{izingo. Solci by a young Jibanarna.n to pay brider*ealth for hisr'rif e-to-be.

the seller agreed. to goto Kilifi r'iith Arnkenirepresentat ives to changethe nane on the t i t led.eed. from that of hiscleceased father to thelioment s g?oup.

December 6rOOOsht9B4/ in 2Selrternber PaYmentstg85

1f; acres of farmlancl lrith pal-msat Vuga, pleclged- to the Projectfor a period of ) yeard so thatthe Jibana or.rner oor.rLd repay

brider"realth received- for hisdaughter, nou separated fromher husband.

(a) tfre Project book-keeper a^nd agricuJ-tura1bxtension worker plus 1LArnkeni members trnd thehusb:rnd of one of them.(t) 2 men.

31 I 6Bo sh

jI

Three types of t ra^nsact ion are represented in this l ist . First l ouir i6ht

purchase of lancl (t case). Secondl the mortgaging of palm produce, the loan

to be redeemed upbn the collection oI*a fixed. nurnber of coconuts by the

mortgagee (.O,rntceni) r the fruit valued at a price loruer than the going ma.rl:ct

rate (2 cases). Third, the mortgageng of l-and and/or palms to be recleened

upon repalrment of the originaL Ioa^n r'rithin a fixed (4 cases) or inclcfini'bc

period. (2 cases). Failure to recle:m may be avoicled. by'bra^nsfer of the nnorbgr.ge

to another mortgageer or settled. by outright sale of the land.

Thus, by acting as a mortgagee, l,mkeni/the Projec'b has acquired i-bs ? rirain

f ields, one purchased outr iglr t , and a hos'b of r igtr ts in trees, especial ly

pa1ms, ancl their produce. This couId. not lr.ave been achieved r'rith.oub the

filr.ding unrrittingly provid.ed. by I'Iorld. Vision. The iclea to start acqrriring palns

orig'inated w:ith Arnkenirs chaizvoman a^nd rras approved bythe Project cornrnittee.

Ilor.revere r.ilren repori of this reached. World Visionrs headquarters in l{airobi

they ord.ered pa6rments to stopo fho reasons were given. First; because tiris,

enterprise clearl-y d-id- not benefit the commr:nity as a rihole. Second, because

it ma.cle the chr.:rch look Like a iinancia.l- institution. This r,ras in Decernber 1984.

l' ieed.less to say it was too late. A large number of patr'men-bs had- alreacltr' been

rnade from Project funds ingolving long-term committments of up to 1O ;;ears.

tr\rture d.ealings lrere shifted ffom Project to gr-oup accouuts. Until Janua4' 1!8!

these ha.d been kept by Project staff; hencef,or-bh 'bhey r'rere entrrrstecl io the

group secretary. Procluction and sale of tcopra. as ltell as fruit f rom the trecs

pJ-ecl.ged. to the group vlent aheade sorn€ entered into tlre group accounts a.ncl sone

going j-nto a clrurdestine savings accor:nt1 free from llorld. Vision scrutiiryl

opened. by Project staff for the purpose. It r.ras agreed that thj-s and- va.rious

rrritten agreements r.lould be passed on to the r', 'omenrs group in the event of the

Project being r.ror:nd up (at tl/e moment Project staff are on I year contracts).

'sli

The enterprise

m6ans to continue

Recorried. saLes of

in Table I j .

TASLE Iq

I.iOIi'III

has proved. trery successful; provid-ing Amkeni rdth the

its investments trithout Project a^nd l'iorld Vision frrncls.

corrra and fmit in the first B rnonths of 1985 are shor,n

I

TYPE OT PRODUCtr SOLD I]i00i.lt

Ja.nuary

Febn:.ary

Ivlarch

April

May

June

August

copra

oranges and tangerines

copra

oranges

copra

copra

copra

copra

oopra

4 r 1 3 3 s h

2n

1 , 8 1 4

300

3r/ioo

2 r?no

2r4O0

4 r lOO

700

TOTAI, 19 r 897 sh

Labour costs in collecting cocorruts are rninimal - in Jairuz'E7 r'|tc 8roup

. ' l

spent 2O2s:n on having coconuts felled. a.ncl in building s'Lorage - anc]" rnuch of

the' laboux in preparingfhe kertrels for dryi i rg is provicled' by 6Toup;nernbels

themselves. Amkeni sold i'bs copra for 4sh 8O cents per }:ilo io tlte Cltilul-u

bra.nch of the Jib:r.na C6-opcrative Society. It uas, hottevcr, air erratic

-Dayer, a1d. the group r.ras pla.nning to talce future !6rvests to Indian bqyers

in lriornbasa (vrhere the offered price r^ras 6sh) in defiance of l3ovelnrnent

direct ives.

59

I:r September 1!Bl Amlceni had a healthy bank balance of 2!r8!Osh and

';he che"in,ornan lrar,s se'btinga"" sights on a.nother'enterpris.e: purchase of a

tr:ictor to hire out to farrners in Chilulu ancl furthef afieId" Given a clemancl

far in ezcess of the meagre supply she estimated that tiris coultl bring in an

income of l-OrOOOsh in 2 nsnlhtr ploughing "*,jryun p"" r.""". A tractor a^nd

its i :ccessorj .es nas costed, at 286rO00sh:, 23OlOOOsh for the tractor l 30lOOQsh

for a pLough; 2)rOOOsh for a harrowl anr l c.LrOOOsh for the f i rst yearrs

insurauce. This i'roul-d require i loan" To this end. the chainroman tal}:ed. to

chulch officiaLs in ltrairobil visited banks in l.Iombasa vrith Tototor and- r.rcote

Le-i;ters to the area councillor, d.ivisional officere ohief and. CDA. Nottring

had been fixed. up by early 1986. I{ea^nrihiLe the grsup ha.cl embarketL upon yBt

another enterprise, opening a shop in a builcling or.rned.by the chai:r.romanrs

lrusband"

i ts acr luis i t ion of palms and other assets Amkeni has acted. as a

corpora.te en-breprene-ur" This represents a novel variation upon the process

clescr.iirecl'by Darvid- Parl:in in ]ris Palms. ll ine. ancl tlitnessesl a stud.y based

upon resee.rch among the Girianra of Tsalcarolornr in t966-57.4 Parkin fowrd. that

irrd-iviJLual Giriarna entrepreneurs tlere obliged. to cultivate locaL networks of

j-nforlrr.tion anrl secure the approval of local el-cters a"nd household- heads in

ord er to pursue and. val idate'bheir t ransact ions. At the same t ime some

r;ucc,:sr.jf!r1 entrer.,reneurs achieved. pei,rtial release from the redistributionaL

uetnr::rds of irou;ehoId economy by converting to Islamo .Among the Jibana of

neiglrl;ouring Chilulu conversion 'bo salvationist Christianity pla6rs a simiLar

role, rc leasing conver*s frornthe obl igat ion to d.r ink pal-rn r ,r ine rdth their

treighbours a:rrl clivert cash tor.rards the meat-sharing ceremonies which are

clurll+c'ber"ir:tic of i 'rurerals and other ritual oocasioqs. Among converts both of

these precLi-ces are strongly cl isapprovod. They are also disapproved W the

:; t ; r 'Lc. In ) .979 ' t ,he col . lcc ' t ion of palm uine, which rendors coconuts useless

50

t

as ,a

source of copra, was bau:ncd. by the governrnent., Eouever, its

consrulption continues, although less openly aJrd on a muoh reducecl scaleo -

At func;rals a.nd. sinrilar gatherings purchase of a 2Osh permit from the police

scsull'etj irirplicit approval for the open consumption of patm rrine a^nd it is on

snch occasiotrs that friction be'bvreen Christians and. trad.itionalists can be

r:ros-b conu:ronly obselr/ed. . ' '-

As a corporate entrepreneur legitimated. by the state Amkeni is spared.

cornrrrerltia.l obligations: its involvement in comrnuhity d.evelopment fulfils a{

parallel purpose. I'b has rel-atively little need to cultivate locaL contacts;

inore i-rnpor-bant are the nider netr"rorks of inforrnation whj.ch haie secured. access

to outsicle funds. Its possession of thqe anct high profile in the community

ar'e sufi' icient to rirav lanclor.nrers in need of loans tcvlards it. The pattern

of these ireecis, rneanuhi lel has changed, p.r i ty as a resuf-t of increasing

sbi.,Je in'Lerventiono llhere Parkin for:ncl that brid-ewealth demand.s and. to a

l-esser e:,:tent sickncss and d.eath prompted- the majority of Tsalcarolorm

'Lransac-bions in lanc1 and pe"Ims, tire small- Amlceni sample, for r.rhat it is

'.:ot'i it, shor:s a strilcingly different patterno 4 out of t lc,utdotrners gave

school fees as 'blreir main rnotive for mortgaging property, nhile only 3 cited-

br ic leueal- th e:rpenses ( in 2 oases the return of br idewealth for a d.aughter: see

Table 1{.). One ma.n, -bhe local sub-chief , needed a l-oan for investment in

I

air alterrrative enterprise: the establishment of zero-grazing forr daiqg

nrorluction (it is not recorrled. rvhy he subsequently offered- to dispose of this

-bo Arni :eni) . State interwent ion in the form.of land registrat ion has also

reciuced- the role of elders as ui t i resses to tra^nsact ions. One of the Project

uorl:crs obserwed that any Kenya^n is nor.l .entitled. to aot as a r^litness, a claim

born6-out in tlre contracts clrar,rl up for Amkenirs transactions. Project staff

t iere anong the ui tnesses to a number of theger oi l one occasion along r. l i th 11

Aml:cni mcnt l)erc. ' f l tc rnost crtreme instance of this shi f t in the reauirements

6r

o1' 1 egi-bimation r.ras

year-o1cl son"

the inclusion in one contract of the chain+oma^nrs 13

Boosted by i lor ld- Vision fundsr Amkeni is beginning to outstr ip i ts loca1

cot:tpetito:"s. One accrunulator o{ palms in Chilulu is the husba.nd of 2 group

members. Another is his son by the first of t!es9 tromen, and it vras from

hirn thrr.t one landoirner sr'ritchecL his d.ebt to Amkeni (see Table 14). This son

a. lso orms a sl : .op. His brother, a son by the,second- r .r i fe, is the or.rner of

uhat r'ras untiL recently Chilululs only otherlretail outlet, a smaIl kiosk.

These 2 stores nor,r face competition from Anlcenirs ner.il-y opened. shop. None of

these relatecl men can match the scale a^nd. d.iversity of Aml;enits enterprises.

iThe ner.r tailoring business poses a chal-Ienge to Chiluluts 2 ind.ependent tailors,

a r:riul ard a r'Iomo]1o The r.rater project will bring Aml.ceni a monopoly on sales of

r'iater, rilri le plans to expand- into dairy prod.ubtion ancl tractor hire rrould, if

acirievecl, put the group r^relI beyond- the "u..fr of its rivals. Oil'renrise it is\

lef'L to enterpri-sing individ.uals to mal<e the most of their corurections lrith the

iir.oup. 'fhis is t,iha-b the sub-chief has done, his mother and younger brotherrs

tdfe bo'tir nembers of Amkeni. One memberrs husba^nd., rrho runs a smalI tea-shop,

has rented the shed l.rhich used. to house tlie vill-agers only grincling machine to

-Lhe Project to use as i'bs office, and it r.ras he r,rho coll-ected. 20Osh for

funkenits ha.rambee in l lovember 1985 (see Table 13).

This pattern of competi t ion and uneasy al l iance is reproduced in Amkenits

rela'Lrons rr i th other groups in the areao One of these, thc Bid- i i Coconut

Business Self-Iie1p Group, based- in Jiba^na Tsakarolovu, was founded. btrr the

husbanrl of funlcenif s chainroman in late 1!B{. To put it mild}y they do not see

eye to eye. Unlike his vrife Bidiits chairrnan is only a nominal- Christian, all

irrveterate boozer of palm rrine and. a fail-ed entrepreneur. A retired schoo11

teacher he tror.r rents the buil-ding uhich once housetl his oror slrop to Arnkeni-,

62

-bhe Projec'brs agrisu-ltura} e:rtension lrorker and the bus oonductor. Bidii

meets on Sunclay rnorningsl when al-I self-respecting Christians are at chr:rcho

It rrn,s registered in April 1985 r.rith the aim of prod.ucing and. sell-ing copra.

In October i t paid out 33!sh for.6?0 coconuts, dr ied. and solt l as copra to the

local co-operative for l8Jsh. By itrovember it had. ano'bher 31J1O coconutsl -

pledg'ed. to i* by 1oca1 landormers and rias hoping to buiId the on1-y drying hut

j-n tlre ii.rea to procluce first and. second. grad.e oopra rrhioh could then be sold

fot'a higl..er price than the j-nferior grade oopra which Amkeni ancL other local-

entreprcneurs procluce" C,overnment agricultural- officers had. promised. to g'ive

adrrice on the constrarction of this facility and Bidiirs chairmax/vas on the

lookout for a loan for this purposel complaining that Amkeni (his lrife) wou1d.

not g'ive him any help and access to its or.nr channels of information.

lrollor:ing-bhe untimely d-eath of Bid.iirs male secretary (who had. earlier turr:ed

clorm the position of Chilulu Amlceni Pro ject manager: he had a kiosk to rrrn),

he asl:ed his rrife if he conld borror+ the Projectts agricrrltural- ertension

rior'l:cr rulli l another literate member could be taken on" She replied. by

advisrng him to d-o the job h:imself , relinqu5-shing the chair for someone el-se.

Bicl i i ts t reasurer is also a man, but l -4 of i ts 2/ t members are nomen ancl i t is

the oity r,rixed group of its lcind- in the area. 11 of these rlomen have also

bccornc rrrernl)ers of Urafiki r.romenr s group in l,lr.randaza, formed in August 1985.

Urafilri mernbers had- started- selling rnalcuti and had rented a fieLcl at 3o0sh for

'/- ycttr:. i idiits chairmar l,Ias, rrnderstandablyl rvorried that this uouJ-d.

d-etract frorn their committment to 'bhe gruup and. in November r.ras busily

exJrorting the lromen to pay up thei:: 3OOsh Sidii shares before sribsoribing to

Urafiki.

Also in the Jiba:ra part of tJakarolovu, a short r.raIk from Bidiirs meeting-

pIace, is the sesame field qultivated. t6r Amani vornents group. This and 2

o l , l t r - - t ' l ' i . r - ' l 11s r rc l rc l c r lb ' l ,o 'L l rc g ronp by a locn l J ib r rna e l t l c r ; nn accumula tor

63

of palms anrl, Ii l:e his Giriama counterpartsr a l'{uslim convert. d I' luslim

riientbers of his family nere also members of Amani" Bidiits chairrnan r'las not

on 6oocl terr,rs r'ri-th himl the resu-Lt of a past dispute over the mortgaging and

orrncrship of palms. Amanirs members, meanrrhil-er .wef@

"d'isparaging about the

overi; Christianity of Anrkenj. and its chairr'roman: the group had been forrned.t -

after its fou4d.er mernbers trere denied entrance to Amkeni. Allied. through their

comtTlon obeisautoe to the state a^nd the agricultural- assistance which Worl-d

Vision provides, the different r.roments groups in the area are also competing

I

for the funds r"ilrich such bodies can supply. To date only Amkeni has succeed.edt

amd nonel uith the partial exception of Bidilr has startecl investing in

pa1ms, not to mention the host of other.enterprises which Amkeni has embarked

unotlc The rest remain more cl-ose1y tied to ggvernment objectives: their

producti-on of sesame, a ner"r and wrtried cash crop in the localityr being one

e:rarnple of thj-so '-

l lCUi.i l i l lCLlS Gi{IDER AlfD DIIIFEREITTIATI ON

Cor.porl,.te. entrepreneurs do not automatically confer the same status upon

1:eir ipdiviclual members, especially vrhen these individualsr are llomen and the

fruits of entreprenerlrship are not divid-ed. among them; Most Amkeni members -

are l.ockeri in a patter.n of gender relations and clifferentiation from uhich the

gr.oup has yet to extricate thern.

j , iembe' 's i rnr l 'bh.e i r househol-ds

In late l_985 Ankeni had {.! members, aLI of thern uomen. Irlost were Chonyi

ancl Ji-ba:ra l{omen t'iho had married into the area: of 43 surweyecl 23 were Jibanal

18 Chonyi a.nct 2 Giria.ma. I.,lost l-ivecl near Chilulu primary schooLl 11 at

Kizirr3o a"ncl one, a daugirter of Amlccnirs chaintomanr in llombasa. A number

ita,i- rccei-vecl sorne p"irnoJ eclucationl but ve'ry fer'r liere literate. The yorrngest

6nT

rnember vas 1! and a sample of over' half of the group members sholls an age

distribution uhich refiects the chain'romanrs recruitment of her age peers

to6;etlier vi'ttr junior lromen from the same extend.ed. households.

IAI]L]I 16

T5-L9 1V- t t l .

AGE III YUARS . I-

zj-29 3o-i4 3j-39 4D-44 4>49 n-54 5i-r9 (f,-6q

Table 1? prowides further information on the 28 nomen in this sampleo

The stnrcture of households a^nc1 residence is broadl-y similar to that found

in Diani. one large extendetl compound, the home of the man who owns ilre

Projectts off icel housed p 6roup mernbers, whi le.a fur*he" 4 io"=. c lose kin

l iu ing elsetr i rerei in al l over * of the groupts' total- membership. The

rela.tionshi.p between these r.ronen is shor.nr diagramatioally in Tabl-e lB. There

arer houever, tuo important points of contrast r.dth Dianil a d.ifference in

the s'Lrrciure of gend.er relations _reflecting

the d.egree a.nd- form of capital

pene'bra-tion in Jibana"

irirstl Lhe rate of divorce and separation is ertremely low: alnong Sroup

t;rem'i:':r's i 'b is non-existento 35 mernbers were mamied and 10 were r.ridons: the

large tnunber of r.ddows reflecting the higlr propor.bion of olcler members ernd a

lor'l rate of remarriageo 0n1y one l'roman had been married more thah once, after

being l.ridorrecl by her first husband. This can be taken as a measure of tbe

resilience of hortsehoLd. econor{r in the &!€&r hrt another r{ay, r^romen in and

erounc]- Chi1u1u remain more firmly uncler the controL of men a^nd divorce ls not a

verl' viallle option. i ' lonen themselves rationalise this by saying that even if

thcir lmL:'uancls are ubter clrwrkarrls-ttrey feel obliged- to remain at home to look

65

Tial,ti l-7,a \.

AcE iiAitrral, Tor/il, tlo. oF I{uliBANDts IIER PosrrroN rl't GR0UP

STA'IUs IiO. OF TIii'SE Tfi,iPLOYI.I]il'iT I'IIPLOUIIEI{T AI{D PROJUCTCI|ILDRN'I T)IuD

)-g I'1 1 I'lbmbasa(

?3 I.1 2 IooaIIy nelt treasurert Project(= rrojuct

t- comrnittee tnernberr'lorl:er)

27 i.I 1 lJombasa

t 2 8 i l 52 8 l i 4

2 g i i 3

2g i,i 6

2 g r r 3

31 I,1 4

32 I,I 9 ^' Ioca11Y

-r r. i1 t{) ) i r u I.lornbasa

3 5 r i 6 t

3 6 i i 3 t . I i a l o l e n i

4 0 I 1 7 1 l o c a l 1 Y!,5 tl 6+O 2 -

t 7 1 1 9 I l - o c a l } Y

!,9 1.i 10 1 -

, L I I B l,lombasa

1oca1Iy

I,Iombasa sec. sbhool Prn ject oonm.treasllterteaoher

Idombasa

I.lombasa

Garissa

ex-Project comfn.lemb

vice-chair-tIoR?rI1 e:c-

Project comrn.member

vice-treasurerr Pro jectcomrn. secretary

52 ': 11 2 - l::i:i*,,""o", lliil;;Sil#l

Pro ject

S 2 I i g r o u p c o r r r n . m e m b e t

5tt I.i 10 ?

55 l'l 3 1 group comm'member

5 6 1 , 1 : - . 2 2 - o L d t r e a s u r e r

56 II 9 <- g:roup comrn'member

56 l l 11 6 - Project comm.member

& i l 5 2

60 II I 1 Project comri 'member

6'.2 u 10 6

66

TA3Ltr 18

rIIIIII

J

t]II

I

IIIL

-l

IIL

L-1

I

IIL

H

t-I

IIIIt 'I

IIIIIL

EIIIIIIII

IIII

J

| ^ rA-s l,_ _ _ J

key: A = m a l e 4 ' A ' = m a r r i a g eQ = female -f-.,

^l o = cleceased A A= :ilil';3i, :1.

residcn'bs of ihe sa,mecompotucL arc sjro::rencloserl ui'i;hin -l;ire

brol:en Ii-ne -

the above

X.= o1-Ir€r of the Projeo'Lrs off ice. A - I ' l = Amkeni memberct one deceascd:

A - group rrice-chai"rlro*rn and ex-mernber of the Project cornmittec; B = ev--neml)er

of i l re Projec-b committeei D = group vice-secretary; F = cl ied in 1!Bl, her

position in the group inheri.bed-ty iu; G = group secretary, Tototo co-ordina,''cor

and member of thE pro ject committle;' Ir = a primary scirool teacher at zia.ni.i K,

L arrd. I,1 joined the group in 1983.

67

af'ber il ieir chilrlren rather than nrnning auay, rdriLe they ascribe the higtl

rate of ciivoice arnong the Digo to Islarn and" the greate_1 d.egree of economio

freeCorn rdtich Digo r'rornen enjoy. If a r.;oman runs ar.ray from her husband- then

her father must return her brirlewealth: a reversaL of fortrures which fathers

are not very hapoy to entertain, as it rnay plunge them into debt (tirus the 2. l -

cases in Tab1e 14)" Bz' ideuealth payments are d.ouble those-in Dia.ni - 6rooosh

can be asl:-ecl for a d.aughter uhether ed.ucated or not - another mark of the

conpe.rative strength of househeld. €conorrgo I,IaIe household. control ertends to

8?oup membersirip: the inherit*rl" of a d.eceased r,Iomant s membership and.

subscrip-bions by her sont s r.rife in lp8! was deterrnined. tpr her husba^nd-. In

funlcenirs seconcl sarrings cLub meeting women e:qpressed. fears that tbeir accowrts

tniglit be inherited. by child.ren other than their orrrro The meek submission of

Sroup netnbcrs to their chairvrornanr s dominance is part and- pa"rcel of the same

synclrorrte: rnost rrere not prepared. by 'Lheir erpOrienoe at home for ar5r other

ro le . r

Tjre seconiL cont;-ast r.ii ' i;h Diani is in the nJture of male employment and

ac'',;i.rity. A l-arge number of men find and. remain in employment rrntil

re-Lj-r'enen'L: 75"i in the sample of group membersr husbands shor.m in Tabl-e 1!.

qla rtT. ; l ' l o

ilO i{Uii31ilil),. i i-,, ior: ecL

IIUSl]AI[D- t

l_n i . lomDase/el serrhere

lu,rplorm1ocaI1y

TIUSBAI.ID UIIU,IPI OYuDretired no riork

B4I 610

11=4.4

,Secause of th.e clistances involved men r.rorking in

acco:nodation in tor.m, returning to 0hih:J.u only

iitr ot-li i i 'Lionlrl rlr.in upcX'L'cir incomel aIt'ough

l,lombasa usr:a1Ly irave to rent

at neekends. This provid.es

they are at least regtrlar

68

TANL]I 20

GiTOUP }Iu.IBER SI.IBIJCRTPTIONS PAID HUSBAI{D I S OCCUPATIOItr

1 \

2

A

5 .6. conr.r i i tee

626sh60B6q6oo)yo596

none, accumulatornone, accumulaiorl' lornbasa, or.rner ofnoneno huebandno husband.

of palms tof palmsPro jec t o f f i ce

l . vice-secretaryB. cha.irltoman9. secretary1 0 .11. vice-chainroman12. cornrli-ttee1 3 .I4.. corrunitteeL5 .I O o

L' l .1 8 .L9 "20. old. t=.easurcr

) o lt r t rQ

5582)o542534q ? 2

5305265265235r7qno

t | Y o

I'[ombasanone, retired.Itlombasano husba^nd.1ocalI(alo1eni'nonenoneI,lombasano rhusbancLloca1localLocal .none

. )1- ) - o

2 2 .2 3. rri ce-treasrr-:rer. ) i

25. cor ' . rni 'btee2 6 .1 1 .

28.2c l

J U r

3 1 .

47o4.64

4.474364134.134 0 3395) A A) v +

218

I'iombasanonel,lombasal'lombasanone, ret i redno husba^nc1no husba^nclnone, ret i red.i'Iombasa]10neno husband

vrsi'Lops 'bo 'bheir hornes, not migrant laboJers in the fulr sense. orry a

fetr rttvest in palms otherbhan their or,n:r. arrd ther.e is consiclerable ind.ividual

variaiion in the arnount of financiaL help they give to their lrives. This

varia-bion is ref l -ected. in 'bheir r . r ivest contr ibut ions to the group. Table 20

recorcls the totar subscriptions paid betr.reen r!81 and. 19g5 by the 31 rvomen r.rho

joined- -i;)re gpoup in its first year. The 3 most regular contributors ha.d.

inir ;bi ' " rrr l I u l ' ro can l tc cl assccl as accumulators. .Othenl ise men l iv ing at home

69

are liable to d-ivert what income they have torra$s the consump'bion of palm

lri:te. l{idovrs are not necessa.rily-r,rorse off than their married neighbours,

especially if they have no children to support but ones r.rho car. suppbrt ihem

in turn" Others, houever, are_not so fortrrnate. Thus the rioman at -bhe

bottom of Table 20, a vridow with a d.aughtcr in seconclary school e.nd a

dauglrter (divorced-) o,nd grandchild. at home to support.

Hornenl s income cu]tivation ancl d.ifferentiation

AparLrfrom the cash suppl-ied by their husband.s or childrenr ntost ',;onen

have access to comparatively little income. There is no market in ChiLulu arrcl

little d.ema^nd- for cooked food" Some women seII bananas a.nd other fru.it from

their homes on a casual basis" tlomen, child.rene and. to a lesser ed;ent ncn

make roofing g$[!e sold at .a much Iol'ler price tha,n in Diani. During tire

production season the price can drop to 30 cpnts per piece, rising to '[O cen'bs

in Jgly and August, and it is difficult for even the most energetic proclucers

to malce' l -rOOOsh in a year. One eld.er l-y r .romarr able to make only J 'pieces a

dayr obserrred that it took her 4 deys to earn the price of a 2 i:g bag of

rnai_ze flor:r._ Othervrise marly r'romen keep small herds of not morc than 10 goa'bst

often bought t6r their husbandso These are kept for meat-sharing rituals or- sold

nhen occasion demands. I,larried r.lomen generally look to their 1115!3.nds for heln

in paying -bheir group subscriptionso

Idost r.ronen cultivate field.s or'rned by their husba^ncls and husbanr4sr }:in anc1-

perform tire bulk of agri c6tural labouro Group members rnalce considcra"ble use

of oasual l-abour on their fields, as a :rrl-e employing other l 'tomen' Ta"blc 21

d-etails the agricultural enterprises of I group members in thc long rains of.

1985" Some, but not a111 of the casual labourers employecl by tlrese lromen

were paid from Project funds. Group members ,*"" *torted eur avcrage of 4OOsh

each in L9B4 and 5o0sh each in 1985 for this purpose, .plth.ough some lrorien

70

TA]]Ltr 21

I'Ie Fi OINJDR AIIDACULT.INACIIES

LASOURATIDCOSTS

CROPSi iIARTESIOFSTAPLE

c0t[,im{Ts

T 1 husband. 2+ prepared by tractor maizefor lOOsh from Proj. (8).money arrd most of bdanscultivation done by (+)a pcrmanent labourerpaid c.500sh a montht6r her.

no palms on thisfield. and" enoughmai-ze gr-own to lasta1I year.

good

U 2

?

husband.

husband 1o fpara11e1cousin -l:orror.led

r.reed.ed. W 4 Jibanar,romen paid by her.

N- acre cuLtivateclby labourers usingProj. money, therest herself.

rice $ sacksmaize. poor

mar-ze poor(g)

beans(+)

onJ-y errough for afer.r months, byl{ovember buyingmaize flor.rr fromthe shops.

V 4. husband

husl:and 1+

4 r'romen paid. a total-o f l2Osh tocuJ-tivate; lleed.ed.herself .

3 uomen and one ma"npaid a total of 360sh to prepare thefiel-d. J }abourerspaid loOsh from Proj.money to weedo

maize goodcassava

maize v.goodcassavaCOl,J-peaS

fert i l izer andpest ic id.e used. (herhusband. is the Prpj.r.rorken). IArougirma,ize to last formore than a year.

lJ 6 husband

husba^nd

2 Duruma and. 2Jibana tiomenernployed, adcling or.,rnnoney to Proj. grarrt.

(as above)

rnaize 3 sacks insufficient forcassava the year.

maize 1 basket crop shad,ed b'y

, glosely growiug) palms.

X B elderbrother

3 Jibhna women paid ricea to 'baL of 2{Osh;also r,iorked. herselfand 6;uarcled, r,rith herchi ldren.

l- sack '

poor, too margrweeds.

?r

TARLII 21 (cont)

I.ie Fi OiNIDR LA!OUR CNOPS IiARVtrS[ COI.[,Ifr.{TS

Y q irusbancl cul-tivated hersel-f rritfr2 Dunrma a:rd 2 Jibanar.Jomen parid 35osh.lieed.ed. for lJosh (rnoneyfrorn the Pro ject) .

maize f sack buying maize flourfrom the shops.

IC lci.3hbour- renteclfor 20Oshe) year

11 husba.:rdI sp;:.ternaJ.uncle

I+ ! Jiba^na r.romen paid atotal of 20Osh tocultivate and 1!Osh torleed. I acre. Other $acre r^rorl:ed herself.

1+ uorked- unaided.

maize 10 saclcscassava

t

maize 2 sackscassava

field at Kizingor'rith good. soi-l.Ilarrrested. enoughmaize on bothfield.s to last allf ,e&fr

'Z 12 hu-sbandt sfat l rer

-1-3 l rusbanclIsfuther

r.iorked r.rith husbandr srnother.

crrltivateil by 7Jibana arld J Durtunal'romen for loOsh fromProj. money. I' leed-ed.r.rith husbandr s r,rothen.

maj'ze 16 saclcrCassava

maize 2 sackscassavabeansCO1,l-peaS

enough maize tofeed. the house-hol-d. all Jrearround.3

ile = lll,i.BilR, Fi = flt}llD.tlt = &:rl:ctti!s ciralin'tomanr V = thq nevr treasurer, X = group committee member.

claimecl rnuch less ancl- others received- more - one is recortlecl as having used

Ir62osir frorn Projec-b firncl.s over the 2 years. Large though';lr.ey are, these sums

are not sui'ficient to cover all of the r.Ioments recltrirements in agricultural

labour ancl nnany acl-ded'bheir or.rn fabour and-for money to complete r.lork on their

fields. I,ioreover, this assistance did. not tnansl-ate directly into agricultural

Procluc-bivityr rilrich l.ras more closely linked to soil qualityl use of chemical-

inputsr and. presence or absen'ce of paIms. It is ironic that one of the most

successful crops in the sample rras grol.rn t6r a member r.rorking alone rdth her

rnother-in-IatrJ.

7z

. i l i-rwes'bs of -Llre rnain staple - a loca1 purplish variety of maize called_

Jibua - exhibi t a rr j .de,rat lge of var iat ion betr.reen lrcuseholds. 3 of the l

r;rrmrrlecl I'e1I r.lay short of subsistence reouirements.and rrere forced. to rely

upotr ma'ize flour purchased. from the shops. others prod-uoed. sufficient maize

for hone consurnption, and one proCuced a surpluso ltronel hor"rever, rras

plairning to offer maize for saIe. Iilaize, like,-bther.crops g'otm by lromen,

is cuJ-'Liva-becl almost exclusively for subsistence purposeg: only one 6roup

ntember, r"iife of the gl'rner of the Projectts officel r,I&s fou:ed. to be selling

surplus rnaizeo 3 group members - the chai::woma.rr, her sister.-in-J-ar.l, and.

tlre vi-ce-secre'bary - hirecl tractors to s*ltivate in ]r9}5t rirril_e 2 others _

the vice-cl'raj-::r'rotnan and the rvife of her |rusband-rs brother - used. anr ox-drarsn

plough. The rest r.rorked. their fields W hand," Accorcling to the projectrs

agricultural extension trorker this rnirrored pr:actice in the conrnrrnity as a

t'iholer r';here agricultural enterprises r'rere subject tcj the same range of

vl l r ia ' i ; ion

Gr:oup rner:ibers have, hor'rever, received. a degree of assistance denied. to I

their ueighbours" -AJthough this is not r6f lected. direct ly in i l re success oJ

othcn; ise of ' their ef forts to secure subsistence i t d.oes point to a pattern of

tiiff 'crcntiation t':hich increasingly favours Amkeni members. First, through'Lhcir dr i l i ty to enploy casual labourers. The sample in fable 2I incLicates

the e; ' :s 'bence of a pool of such labourers outsid-e of the group, most of them

lcca1 r"olilcll, mlLny rritlr child.ren to support and l.iithout lrusband.s to support'thcit' Tal:l e 22 shotrs tlte provenarlce and- sex of 18 paid cultivators r"drose na,nes

:!re recorded in Projec,o accountsr OnLy 2 members are recorded- as having been

pa'irl to d'o suchl'torl:, both on one-of the grouprs fields. one r.ras a r+idor.r ' lr.o

r'lori:od' i 'or' 2oosh1 the o'Lher a yourq lrornan uho r.rorlced for rloosh in Ausust I9B5

&i"ber lr::vi:r5 l;-!'olr11 t:nougJrlo feetl lrcr or'rn ]rousehold earlier in the year (f in'r'airle 2I). ()-Liier Jloup mcrrl;ers intervier.recl only actmitted- -bo having perforned

7 3

such irorl.: in 'bhe Pirst.

TAlI,ll 22

JIRAl{A CIIOIffI TOTAT

f,ti.iALIl

TOTAL

l lSecond, although 6roup rnpmbers d.o not receive a,:ny cash income frorn

A r n j < e n i l t h e a s s i s t a n c e g i v e n t o t h e m . b h r o u g h t h e P r o j e c t h e l p s t o r e ] . e a s e

incorne fr.orrr other sources r.rhich would othenrise tb tiea to the sane tasksc

Conpl'.ri-son betr.ieen A6riiraye a.:rtL Arnl',eni shorls that in general Arnkeni members

have r;ruch l-ess difficuJ-ty in meeting group subsdriptions and palrments,

r;hile in 2 months they cleposited almost tr.rice as muoh in their savings club

as A5.drrr3le rnembers clid over a period of 6 monthso Amkenirs chai::t'Iomall

conpla.ins that sorne of the l.rorse subscribers can l"reLl afford to Pail uPr but

fa.i1 .Lo do so clespite the threat of expr:J-sion from the group. This threat

las 1ot lteen ci1r.riecl out: none is f-ikely to give up the va.rious benefits

r;'; '. i nl, +la 'r^1r11 and Project provide tlithout a figlrt. The Pro ject r'lasr / r r I v : r

p.:.{::. '}r ' l i ,-rtrpr' l trrr l.{61lf,. Vision l l i th a vier' l to helping the whole connrunity. In' , j ! v q | J . '

. : r rn l . nrqnon-rq- par t icu lar ly through i ts SpOnsorship programmer i t hasl r L ' L

e r Y ! g ! 4 - - d

hclperi to insulate l-ocal- households frorn demands made t6r the state; But-this

bencfit !s equally distribu'ted among Amkeni membersr who have reaped maqy

o'bher rerrards fronr the Project besiri-es. Through Arnkenirs calculateil

apprropriation of the Projectl l{orld Vision has become the r:nrritting sponsor

of cconoriric cliffcrcntiaLion in the commwrity: a differen'bie"tj.on mo.st clearly

oisp1.;ri,cc1 in i\nl:c1its accu,Tulation of palms anrl its membersr emplofment of

a5ricuItulal I a.bour.

L2

: oz /

74

m.""i t " "tr"i",.t

The architect of 'bhis appropriat ion has been Anrkenirs chainroman, a

na,"sccni.; entrepreneur in her or'm right. I'b was trcr deLision not to divide

-bhe profits of ^A.,,nl:enirs enterprises, but to plough them back into further

venturesr argrting that to do o'bhenrise vrou1d., d.iminish the groupts capital

ancl only prowicle small short-terrn benefits, to1t" members. Askect if she

r:ould divide profits from a tractorr she replied. that she thought instead

that it coul-d. be hired out to g?oup members at ha1f the norrnaL rateo As the

Projectts social r.rorker she already has a regular income of her ovrn, enabling

herbo ernploy a full-tilne labotrerr a Giriarna man r.rho earlier worked. for the

or,mer of the Project office. A rborn-againt Christian since l-956t she has

progressively clistanced herself from her palm wine-drinking husba^nd.;' assumi-ng

li role in tire household, then the groupl rflore generally rese:rred for men.

Leadership of tire group has brought further status ancl recognition" She is nolr

vice-chilinronaJr of the sub-location d.eveLopment committeer vioe-chairr.roman of

r lorrents i i roups in Kaloleni div is ion, s i ts on the committee for r . roments

clevelopment in Kj. l i f i d. istr ict l and inr late 1985 was appointed. nomenrs

representa.t ive on the distr ict development committee"

By contrast most Amkeni members are ill iterate, do not go to church, and.

]rave no paicl employment" ,t" a mle they submit to the chairwomancs dorninance-

oi' the gi:oup: it hasr after a111 brought them a number of benefits. [here

are, hor:ever, elements of a passive resistancer rooted in their posi t ion as

mernbers of less progressively oriented householtts. Attenda^4ce has proved.

clifficul'b to enforce: betrveen I'Iay 1984 and August 1985 an averag€ of 21 t{omen

r{ere present at group meetings and. only 21. members attended. more than half of

thcse" In 1984 the chain^roman rro'be a set of rules threatening expulsion to

poor subscribers and persistent absenteesr ar ld had these typed. out and

clis-Lributed- to 6Toup mernbers. Bu-L no action r.ras taken i:nd the chainroman later

7 5

confirled that she r'ras afraid- of the consequences shouLd. she try.

I f a locus of opposit ion can be ident i f ied. l then i t is to be for:nd. arnong

the 13 riternbers associated. uith the extencled. household shor.rn in Table 18, the

vice-'c\irirlJornan anrl ihe secretary.of the group among them" l.lhen the Project

cornr:ritiee uas reor8anisecl in August 1985 the vioe-chairr.Ioman and- her co-yifer -

r;ere clropped. Other appointments shovl the chairvloman strengthening her hand.

The 'breasurer of the Project committee, vrho also became a group member in 3_t8l ,

is her 2) year old daughterl a secondary school teadher living in ldpmbasa" The

secretary of the corunittee is her nextdoor neigh.bour, another committed-

Christian, often cal1ed. upbn to reacl the pra1rer at the start of Amkenirs

meetiugs" In 1-!86the 2l year olcl r ' r i fe of the Project worker (she joined. the

group in 1984) r,ras d.ue to take over as the'grouprs treasurer from the chainlomants

fat i rerrs sister, rrho had ear ' l ier replaced- a member of the vioe-chai: :vromanls

e:ttentieci househ.old. In lTovember 1985 stre was locked in dispute r,rith the group

secrc'bary (the vice-cirain.romants daughten-in-law) over palrment of a baby-sitter

ihey hird- shared. vrhile attend.ing a Tototo savings club seminar. Her husband.,

al-so ernbarking upon a career as an accumulatob of pa1ms, remainsl like other

Project staff , f i rmly at the chainromanrs beck and cal l_o

Tlte signi f icance of this exbendsrbeyond mere patronageo As a result of

these rnanoeuvres a nunber of educated. r.romen have moved into key positions vrithin

'Li're g::oup. This eviribits a patterrr common to the clevelopment of marly uomenl s

groups, as t,hey corae increasingly under tire control of members more qualified.

to rtur their enterprises and less likely to submit to the j-nfluence of household.

econolny. I

l l o t e s

A't:cni liot:tct'r.r s Group a.nc1 Chilulu Aml<eni .Project'. tlntervievr r.rith the above

r; i ( : ) l r , : r .ono(r i ; r 'or,rp anrl | r 'o. icc 'b 1ty l i t r . r ; jo Voivoorn rrnd l - istcr Kl"dzu of ' the Trainingl o

I U

I

Projeob in Pedoloey, I I th October 1984. ' 5pp. typescript c lated l iovember

,- 1984r avai labLe in the Projectrs Chi l rr lu off iceo

4 r

| 2. Early improvement is documented in the repor* cited above"

3. One r"romenr s group in Tsalcarolornr is saitl to have been formed. at the promptingof memberst husba^nds, hoping to sesure aid forbhc constnrction of a 1oca1d.ispensary. Personal comrnunication from I'I,onica Udvardy (f 995).

, 4. David Parkin, Palms, l{ine, anrl Witnesses: zuUfic Snirit anA p"lvlffi'in an Africa^n Farr,ring Commr.:nity (London: Intertext Booksr f972). This

;mH-t5"T;t-tz"::*i;-"l:H"f householcl economv and inclisenous capit'a'

_ /

a

7 7

I , [ . : i ; i ro uonie]rrs SToup is base' j in thef is ir ing vi l iage oi ' I ' I : r : - i ro on i ' lasini

islandl .lZ kn souil: oi l,iornbasa alrcl Ii; l.rn offsho::e of ibe Shinotli peirinsula.

I . [ :uirn is a conpact set i lement of sone 5o house]rol . isr r : i ih a total popuiat ion

of about 4OC. Its iDhibitari' i;s clescribe t}:enselves as Shira.zi and speal: a

cl.iaLect of Suar-ril i calleci Cl}ffunii; also spol;en on !'.:-:lzi islancf i;o the nortir'

ancl in a fer.; villages on the nearby coast. It:r' iro has its ornr sub-C-ialeb-b of

Cirifurrdil refleci;ing a higtr c'i.eg:ree of in'terrriarriage r:iihin tlic village. Tire

an1 r:. n-i,her. rri ' l lage on 'uhe is3-andl tiasini, is populaiedr by Vurnba, speal;ers ofv r s J

a ver?r di f fereir-b Sr. ;a1i l - i c l ia1ect. There is a histor l- of coni l ic i betr :eetr ' , ;he

2 peoples, and i lasini bas i ts ot 'n l - :omeitrs g?oui lo Tl :e is land as a r ' ;ho1e is

ac'i_rninistere.i f:.oi:: the naiiil-a,rrd. as pa.rt of Sli.inioiii-ii'a.sitri s't-b-l-ocai:ionr Potr3r.'e-

r1i A. i r . r l naa=i nn, in t i :e l isanbi;eni c l iv is icn of i i r ' :a l-e disir ic 'L . Researcl l t i lereI \ l - V - J l l l J ! V v c ! v I v

r.'irs coticiuciei. in January a-nC' Feb=crary L)86"

FCIJ:;DAT]ClIS:

I,X:l:i:.o l.roriletlrs gToup r'las fouriried. on 2i \',eq[ 1979t follor'i ing the e:lanple set

by Shirrioni o1 iire rirainla:rci. | ' l:r:irors 1^ias tl:e firsi 6r'oup olt "he isla:ido It

r,,-as forsecr on ilie initiative of 2 loca1 neir, one of -blier' matr?+er of the South

Coast Frsheries co-opera-bive in Silinoni a:rcl- nor.: Ii.frlIU chairuan for the locatiotr"

i i is e1der. s ister, the: l in her late 20s;, becane the g:roupts i i rs i chairr ' :onan'

Slre renaine,i in the post rrntil 'uhe follor:ing yeart r:hen slie stepped cior':r a:rd

r. :as succeedeci by her younger sister. Uucler i i reir lear iership the group macle i ts

f i rst forays into incone gel lerat ion and chose i ts f i rs i projec'b, securing a

gpvernnent grant for tire Dlrllpose'

l ,cnbers l :erc reo.uire ' f to

subscript ion, l -ater sPPecl to

pa.y a. lOsh cirira:ce fee auc1- a 5C cents l:eelil-1r

Ish. A dozen or so l;onelr joi-ned- r"herr the Group

l o

uas found-eci anci mer,tbership grev in a steady tricl:Ie rrntilr bf, 1"984, it

haci reacired. 63. Uncicr the first chairrronall group menbers started making

oor.'rie sJreLl trecl:I aces after 2 itinerarrt entreprelleurs, a naJr anci a l..:onan

frorn Kualer lr.ad prornised. to fincl a market for them. 3ut the couple fail-ed

to return a"nd members r.rcre left trying to selI their neclllaces to tourists

at Sirinoni" liauy rrere solri to the chailr^,'o::ranfs father, one of I shop ol-nrers

in i'[ci.:iro. At 2sh per neclclace the return to the proclucers L'as too 1or.r ancl

the enterprise r.ras subseouently aba:"icloneiro

Undr-er tl:e second cha.inrorno,rr ?, rior€ pronj-sing trad-e r.las fou:nc1. This

fol-l-oi.ied. a visit froni the chairr:on:an and. co-o:'dinator of Shimoni',;rorTlcllfs group.

Sirinoni hacl begun r.;or.I:ing uith Toioto ilonte In,iusiries in 197E1 producirrg r.;overr.

handicrafts -bo be r;arkeieC. throug'h Tototots shop in l.lonbasa. The co-ordinatorl

a youns rilan, suggested" ihat ihrliro do the sa-:ne, bringing its gooi.s to ihe

mai i tand- to be coi lected by Tototo. This t i rey bcgan to do, in 1980. ( fne

hisrr ,orX; ' of t i r is enterpr ise is exa:, : ined. in ctetai l i r i a later seci ion). In early

1982 the gfoup v, 'as adopted. bi 'To'boto. The f i rst co-ord. inator, a troman of 181

proveC r:apopular uith otlrer inembers and quit the post in liovember. Unrie111

slie later dropped- ou'r of the grrcrtp, Her place l.;as talcen in 1983 bJ'the grouprs

first secreta.ry, then 20, anci another Jroutlg secretar-'r,- rias appointed.

I . ieairr ;hj- l -er the group hld cirosen a projec' ' ; : corrstr t tct ion of a rnuJ-t i -

purpose bui lc l ing to act as a kiosi- , (sr ia1L sirop), i lursery scirool , of f ice and

rneetJ-ng-place for the groupo In August 19BO the g:roup was reg5-stered. r.,' ith the

Iii-tristry of Culture anii- Social Ser'r5-ces audr helped. b3r the CDA' opened a banl:

account in l,lsanbr'reni r.rith the nnininunr d.eposit of loOsir. In Oc'i;ober the grolrp

rias g:iven IrOOOsh for its project by the l,l inistry. I{orlc on tbe building

progressed slot:ly: by Scnternber 1981 the group harl bought 2 tons of cenent,

4OO coral- blocksr ar1d. had paid a bui lder 11OOOsh. I lor:ever, no sooner haC.

79

uorlc begun on the fou:rd.ations than a local man informecl the group of his

or.rnership of the p3-ot they r+ere builcl-ing upono !'oIlor.{ng his refusal to come

to terrns r.ror}: carne to a halt. The project was not abaircroned, but it was not

until December lpBJ that another pl-ot was fowrdr on land belonging io l 'Ii:r' i iro

primarX' school.

SUCCUI.TBING TO TRADITIOTI

Choosin8 another project

Follouin.g its adoption i4r Totoiol the group l{as encouraged. to choose

another project. I' lenbers d.ivicled over 2 alter::a'bives: const:ruction of a r,rater

resevoir or purchase of a. boat. Bo' i ; i r of these ref lected l , I l* i i rors is lanci

isolai ion" A boat co'ul- i r be usecl to fer-r1' passengers and their l -oads bctr . ;eeu

i.i:r-.' i-ro arril- the mainland at Shinoni, site of the nearest ciispensarnr a"rrd teriinus

fora bus r.ihich travels tjrrj-ce C.ailJ' to l,lsarrbi;eni a:rd ldonbasa. I.,iost of the

poientiel passetlgers r.rere l.Iomen airci il:eir snal-1 children trho othen,-ise ha.d to

rely upon the irregular servj-ce provided by local fisherrnene charging lsh per

adult for each crossing. The srnall hand.-padd.1ec1 ciugouts usually useir for this-

purpose tal;e tl:e best paz.t of an hbur to cornplete ti:e crossingl a ris$ venture

r.:hen seas are rougho A motor-driven boat rrrn by tire group r.:ould cut dorrn ihe

crossirrg to 1!-20 n: inutes, calr l ' n lore passel l€iersr md reduce the long hours

of r.;aitil,1g o11 the shor.e for a fisl:er,iran r.:j-l-lirrg to riclle the trip. Cotrstnrction

of a vater resevoirr olt tire other hand. I uottJ-ii- sern-e arr equa1l1r pressin6 n.eeci"

Apart fror: raintraber Hasini island lias no natura.l, resenres of fresh l;ater. For

over half of the year villagers are denendeirt u-pon r';ater ferried. across frorit

the nainland: d.uring the rains rainr,iater is charuelleC. dor',n cot-rcrete slipways

into ccucrete-I ined. pi ts and drar.n from these. In i i : r : i ro there are a smaL]

nurnber of privately-oinied. resevoirs and o:re bel-onging io the rfioIe village frorrt

r . ;hic ir r iater is sold for as long as i t is avai lable. A resevoir or ' , :necl by the

BO

6:roup riould oonsidLerab}tr' inprove the loccJ suppIy of r.;ater. arra help reduce

i.coendcnce upon thc e>:pensive inports from Sjrinoni"

The r.:ater pr-o jec'u r.ras pr\cposed i4r the ge.oupr s ner.r chainloma,nr its

treasurcr, ancl- a conrmittee r,rember, thc mother of the first 2 cltain;ometl.

[iris fanily fourrecf i;he core of r:]la.t can bc iresigirateci as o D]o!'r.cssive faciioir

t:itirin the group. Their irnneciiaie rclationships are shor.rr in Table 23. Unlike

nost lkuiro vi l lagers thetr 'are Sajuni (G\ur} 'a) f ron the Lanu area on Kenvats

norther:r Sr:ahili coast an:.d- have continued to marry outsid.e of as r.rel] as

inside the local Shirazi cor:r.nulity. Their r,iobility l-ec1- to tire first 2 cirair-

lrorTietl relinquishing the post, subsequently tal:en bt'a Ioce"l uor:ten r;l:.o put

i:erself fon;ard ancl- vas accepted. td,- the i:hol-e 8-r,'oup. To6ether tirey pressei. for.

co:tstluction of a t';ater resevoir, argu-i-rr3 that this l.rouJ-d. be easy io nai.ntain

alrri rlur, pror,'ici-ing a" seasona1 souJcc of incor:re a:rd- r.tater to irelc l.'lonen rr-itl:

tireir hous;ehol-d choreso A boatl the;' argneci-" 1a,1' too far ouisicLe of

t;onienl s erperience: to opcrate ani. nain';ain the enterprise they r.roril-d be

heavily d-epencl-ent upon rnen, uldle tlre naintenailce costs of a boat a:rd en6'inc

r';oulci- be much higher tiran ti:ose of a ruater resevoir once ii hari been built.

A boate hor. iever, pz.onised a nore.reg-:J-ar incorne as rrel l as easier access to

tlre nainla,ni. a.trct all its facilitj-es. Suppo:'ters of a r.rater prcject r"rere

ouitl.u.::ibered a"nd.'Lhc group cirose to inyesi in a boe*. In the eve1t, the

rrro.-T,esisi' i rrn f:'n*i orr nr.orinrl irrsruified. in its fearc. Thc l1e1i c11.r,efp::ise, nruclr.j - - " 1 r 4 v r L , j r y r v v \ ? r r J u : J u r r + v r , . r t t J 9 p I

to i ts detr i rnent, l ras mociel l -ed closely upon i ts courrtcrparts j -n a nnale-

doninateC- rlornain. Control of the group, mearwhile, slipped out of the

ha:ri]-s of the nrogressive faction alrd into the arms of traditiorr"

An enternr ise at sea

Tototors i . i - rec'cor begam sol ic j- t ing ai i . for l ,ncuirols ner; project in l jB2

secu:reci ti:e support of i,lAlCil, a Canaaian donor. After ilr.e ctistrictanC

81

TAtsLril 23

Shirazi/t'l:rdro

Sajuri

Penr'ba(Tanzania)

Bajuni

Bajuni

sli.op-ormerin I'l:r:j.ro

Vurnba

Vr:-r,rba

Shirazi/l'l:r.;iro

born and marrieoin Larnu before movingto l,[',rriro

A ,

iu l,ionrbasa

Shirazi

/tii:r.iroSirirazif ii;rtiro

In l.ionbasa

Segeju (Tanzenia)

l iey as in Table L8: shor:s ci ivorce

I.!',iriro r.rer,rbers A-D: A = corrnit'fee r:cnber, supportr,er of r:ater llro ject; 3 =

frrst chairr ;oman, lef t the posi because i t r , rade i t di f f icul t for her to

travel ar:c1 stai ' eI ser;herei C = second chair i :onan, appoiutecl not electcda

left the post and- trr.oup ltpotl rer.rarriage in l,iombasa; D = collccior of

subsoriptions for I'[cua;itur5- uari..E = i rr i t ia ' 'cor of the vlonents gToup, forner manager of Souih Coast Fisheriesco-operative and 1or.r }',AlU chairman for Pongr;e-Iiidimu locatioir.

BZ

corin'r:rrii;y develop::ien'i; officer ha.c1 6jven Tototo aJr assurarrce that -t,hc r.ronen

l'iere capable of managiug this en'bernrise, the group t;as .presel-becl r.:igr a

cheoue for 35ro0Osh. Tlr- is t ' ras rn August 1983. Group nembers themselves

raiseci j r loCsir rr i*h a losh subscrip 'c ion. This covered the cost of a neu

eug:itrel bou3i:t tor 2{r5t18sh iu l,ionbasa, but r.;as not enoug}r for the boat as

r;e111 Friced a'o 20rOO0sh. This hari been Locatecl in Lil:oni bj, tlte j,kr:iro

rril-lage clia:inlan a:rd. ihc CDi\ from iisanbr:eni. Ti:e Digo sel-Ier agreed. to talce

I3rO0osjr ai ld gave-bhe Sroup 3 r ' reei :s to pai ' . t i re remaining ?rOOosh. After tal : ing

ciel ivery of the boa'b the group ask-ecl Totoio for a loan of 5rooosh io help meet

t h i c n c r ; : r a r *u.r!- ,Jsit,rerlu. The loan rlas gra:rted, ',o b€ repaid. b;r g:.oup nenbers j-n nioiii irly

itrstr.Llnreir.ts of 3l_0sh"

I ' ln i i rors boat wen.r, into oirerai ; ion oi i 8 Ociober 1!831 plying betr, :een

lQ:r:i:. 'o and- Shirnoni" A rdriverr, tire ]msba:ri of a group rnenber, r^ras ernplcjrecl

to rrur the boat and. bu;' peirol fror,r ui:turd-a. for iis en5ine. Group rnenlers

thentselves tool: it in turns of 3 d.ais eacir to r.rorl: as 'ch.e boai t s t couductorr ,

collectiirg passengerst lsh fares and- ilre varying amorrl.ts char.geci for their

Ioads. Apari from occasional interruniions the boat ra:r everl' ciay of the rreeic,

betneen about 6 otcroci ; in i l re nolf i ing anc 4, in the aftenlooric

Fron the outset the enterprise t{as 6sir-g.l:t in ilre tran r.;hich i;he progressive

fact ion had r;arnei. agai i rst . FoI lor: i i r3: the pract iqe of local- f ishemen incone

from tire boat r.;as C.ivi' j.ed. into rougirly equal por;ions. In ilre case of fisi:ing

boats these vary in num'ber according to 'uhe coinirosi t ion of labour. , the relat ion

bett leet l am. olmer and his crstr ' ( i f not the same person)r aJld ihe techl ical

requlrernents of a part icuJ-ar enterpr ise. In other r ,rords thej-r shape is

d'etermined- by the relations and means of proiuction as, these varlr from boat to

boato The o'.'ner of an outrigger ca^rroe ndglite for examplel set aside a

port ion for hinself , one for the crerr, ano a t i r rrd for t i te purch.asq, of bai t .

The ot.'::er of a notor-por.,'ered. loat night mal:e further provision for ihe rurchase

R: '

of peirol anC maintenarce of the boat an<i

the nornent s group bega::. by dividing their

for the d.r iverr one for petrol , anld. one

generaL. Later, nJren the enterpr ise ra:r

cleated a fourth, separate, port ion for

i ts engine. Copying this model-

boat irrcone into 3 port ions: one

for the €Foup a^rrcl expenses in

into teclrnical dif f icult ies they

maintena,nie of the englneo

Tz'anrsfereci to the groupr s enterpr ise this pract ice had a number of

unfortu:rate effects. First , i t . rneant that the boatrs dr iver reoeived a f ixed

proport ion of the boatrs inoorne: ol1e third in the f i rst per ioC of i ts

operatione much more tiran if he had been paid a set monthl-v r.rage (see Table

2r', be1,or';). Secorrd, and to conp.orlrd ma';ters, group rnembers liorhi-ng as the

boatrs conducrr,or lr,€re paid ai the srna11 fixecl rate of lOsh per clay: conCuctors,

least of al-l- l{orflen, are no-b a nolnal feature of boat crer'rs. Sor r^ilrere a rnal-e

driver cor:J.d average 1r?OOsh a rnonth, 'r,he r,,oneu thcrnselves nade litFIe rnore

ihan 3OOshe rnucj: less indi',ridtr.al1yo Profiis fron tire boat r.;ere not othenrise

i.ivid.edL arTion6 group members- a"nd by follorring the rnodel of menrs fishing

enterpr ises 'bhey effeci ively overpaici their dr ivers and. exploi ted their olrn

labour. Third, ihe praci ice of c i . iv ic l ing their income into port ions had a

d. isastrous effect upon,the enterpr isers accouniso In the records r ' : l i ich the

group kept the ciifference berr,ueeil bud.geted- incorne - the portion set asid.e for

a particular purDose - and actual exlenditure is'rrot ah'tays c1 ear. Over time

the accou:rts becane prosressively rnore confused, a confusion ' ; . :h ic l i r ias to cost

-r,he group dearo

The appropriatror: of the enterpr ise to traci i t ional pract ice r ' ras conf irnecl

in uneqrrivocal fasirion by an ear1y action orr the pari of some rnembers of the

g.roupr s connittee. Acting riithout the lqior.iledge of other nembers they bought

a piece of blacl: cloth ancl, a chicken with group funcls and tool: these to a

traci i t iona1 i .ocior o11 the mainland io provicle the boat rdth protect ive meci ic ine"

Againl this rras in keeping ui th t l :e prac-bice of local f ishernenr or at Jeast

the

the

Q Ae+

nnore trai i t iona. l l -y-or iented- of thern" Fol lorqing this act conf-I ic i with

procTessive fact ion came incleasingl l 'out into t t te openo

Tlie first victim was another committee nernber, the rno'Lh6r of i,lkrrirors

first 2 chairi^:oilero The corn-nittee had agreecl to carry bo]:es of maize flor:r

d-estined- for the shop she ran r.,' j-th her husbancl ai half the norrrral rate, n

cents instead- of lsjr per boxo Hor.:ever, after loacl.ing a consig,rt:rent oirto the

boat at Shimorri the d.river, r:orl:ing as conductor as r.relI, refused. to accept

hal-f pa;'r',rent aud ordered. -r,hen turloaded. (this r.ras the second. d.river em.oloyed. by

tire group, the husbancl of a cor,rnittee rnenber and- also of l,&trvirors first co-

ordinator.). The argu-nrent r^:hich ensued r,;as oi-ilJr seitled b1i the inte:rrerrtion of

l'kr', ' j-rols village chalr'rnan: the red.uced rate 1.;as accepted ancl ',,l ie flour

transporteC. 'co l0lr i rol though -r ,he dz' i r rer refused to assist her in carrX' i1g i - t ,

f ron ihe boat to the shoreo The fol io i : ing aftenroon she refusei io help o. i ;her

merabers prrll the boat ashore for the night, arg:dLng tliai thj-s rras the rlriverrs

iob - hc had. left it to a young boy r'i lro r.ras forced- to call- for assistance frorn

the vill-age. The next d.ay the d,river again refused to help her r;nload. a

consignment of fl-our for the shopo Angered. by ihese incidentvs she r.;ent to the

chain':ornan an.1 c.emand-ed. that he be'suspendeil fron his d.uties. But the rest of

the comnit i ;ee refused, tel l ing her not i ;o be fool- ish. Fol1or: ing this she

quii her post on the conrlii iee and stonped- pl3"y!ng an aciive role in the gfoup,

to the e::tent tirat she C,-id- not make use of tjre boat age,in and transferred her

i rade to o ther vesse lso

The cr is is that r tas brer ing carne to a head nhen the boatrs eng-ine was stolen

after exact ly J rnonths of operat ion, on the night of ' / I , iay 1984" I .b ua= on.

of J engines to d.isappear frorn the area over a short period, probably the r+ork

of thieves from Tauzaniao !Iad. it been insured. by alr insurance comDaily rather

than a local medicine-rnan then much of the trouble vhich follol.red night have

been avoiclecl. As it tur.necl out the group couJd not afford another nel.' eni;ine

85

arrcl in the storn r.:hich follor.red. slippedr further into the clebt of men a.nc1

the clutches of t radi t ion"

FoLlor.;ing the theft the village chair:nan took it ui-ron himsel-f to

organise a search for the stolen engine" l l i th pol ice consent enquir ies were

made as far afielci as Diani and the north Ta:rza;rian. coasto llhen these met

t'i ith no success he turned. to the tasll of finclin.3 a" replacer:'r€nto To this cnd

he visited the sub-chief at Shirnoni and ri:r.ote to the d-irrisiorra:l officer in

Iisanbr,'enio It was tirere thai an engine r,ras found, being sold by a Digo man,

r.;hose orrn boat l ' ias no'longer seavorthy, for 12rl0Osh. It r.ias bougbi by the

group uj"th BrOOOsh fron its ba"iil: accoturi anc'|. a foan si A.tloosh fron the

village che.irrra.nr and r':ent iirto operation in Sep'i;ember 1984.

In his zesi to sectLre recont)ense for his senrices and paynreni for 'uhe

seccno-hairci engine ti:e chairr.' iat: scrutinised the grouprs acco'ulrtso I1 fact jre

ha'.rt been l:eeping his ornr recorci of these chuinr< L9B4t nnal<ing a copy of boa.t

receipts every afiernoono Accorcli:ig to this record j-ncorne ftor.r ihe boat

betr+een JanuarX' and llay anor:::' i;ed to just over 16r488shi 6tS6osh after expenses

had been subtracted.o Present ing thcse f igrres to t l :e treasl ' - rer and- secretary-

he asl.:ecl if i i iey agreecl riith his cil-crtations. Thelr s1i6o l.luch to his disrnal',

hot':ever, tltey had. no noneJr to shor; for ito Ass.uring that ihis had been lost

or stolen he contacted officials in I' isanbr.;eni anci Tototo in ],;onbasa" Su'itsec'.Le,nt

el1r-rtt.iries provec incoitclusiveo Tl:e chairr.ra:ll s arg',:,rent cioes not tal:e accor::ri of

Brl6Jsh r:hicl: the group had in the barrli and used to pai'. for the seconcl eng'ine,

morley tirich thc group apparently ciid not have r:hen tlie enterprise began. Sti11,

marly group menbers al-lege that large srrms of rTroney rrere taken by their treasurer

vho, nonetheless, , renains in off ice" The grouprs or.n accor:nts are not very

helpful in, resolving this issue. Tirey r , :erc lcept, most ly in ey-ercise books, by

the secreta:Xr and. the ,treasurer. Unforirurl.tely thel' are inconr:l ete and d-o not

B6

IASLE 2/l

].!0ilfil SCURCE IIiCOI,EF�TOII BOAT

DRf VEITI SPOIITIOi:

CTi]]IRE,,(PN;SES/ n r u ' - r u\ r1:ll.itulr tCOilDUCT0,l etc)

B/iL/u;CE

ocr. 83fron Bih

3 r O 3 4

3r1O4

r a n r O eL 9 Q z ) . 4 )

rro25.B5L t45O.frr r4n.n

557.65627.55

R

C

I t0v.83 41848

5 t52 / r

1 , g8o.90

1t739.&

I a ^ FL , o y > . : )d a d / \ ^

z 1 l z O c J U

1 r 1 7 1 . 6 o

1 r o 5 8 . 3 0

R

c

DEC.83 3t4796 r T j g . g o

O ?/4

2 rt87 "75

2 r 2 0 3

] - r4 l . 9

34.2

3 r 1 0 3 . 1 5

fi.

c

J.Aii. 84 A 'r (.e trnw t L v ) . r N '

7 1 1 2 3 . 3 9

4r9oz

2t732.fr

2 1337 "n

3 , 5 C 3 . 5 01 l ? qJ t L i J v

-70" i01 ,347. BO

R

rt

V

FB. 84 4 r 5 7 !

J ' V V J

4 1814..fr

I , U l - l f

1, B5O

n a O a r ^a 9 5 0 3 o J _ 9

2 ,608" l_0

37 3. 9C]-1206.9c

R

C

V

I'IAR. 84 R

1r

( 4, 3zo . 5,9;4r3zO,5P3r 33O.?o

( r r 4 z ? . 3 0 )

1 r427. 30

(tt_&t)

4()u

(2r433"2o)

2 r433"20

aPR. 84 l ; e o ^ \

\ J : )ou /

3, 5802 , 5 & . 5 O

/ - t / / r a \

\ ! l z + o o o ) u i- A / / - ^

J t i ; -OO. i )L /

! 7 O i a

1 r 6 1 , 2 . n

t!<)L o )J

L I I L

1 t

i . ^ 1 r O ,I.:JII (//+

to ?th( r r l z r )

! l i a L

oor

( igo)1an

( 6c)

6

( Bir)8tt

T)I L

v

J L , J - . /

37 , i47

1 1 , 7 7 1 . 0 5

!2- r424.30

r a r O r y 1 aI J g J u l o t I - '

i 1 O n r t I - ) l uUr i -o; i 'V

6 , 1 6 0 . 3 5

1 1 , 1 1 9TOT}IS

e7

TADLE 2z| ( cont)

I.ICillii SCUIICE IIiCoilD FnOi:SOAT

DJIIVIIRI SPONTIOJI

o'ItiE_1!X(PiB.ISES

S.qLNiCI'

1-0i{T;x,YAiTRAG]J

4t474. I4

5r335"28

tr6Bt.57

I r77 l i .9O

l r9]-2.5l

] -1972 .O5

8Bo.o5

!1588.42

SUS-TOTALJAl;-]'!AY

R

v

ft = a.s recor.ied- in group accor:nts; C = corf^ected frorn incepeudent adi.ition ofdaily eni;-ries; V = BS recor.ie'i b;ti tire l,L:r':iro village chairinan.

alua.trs balance: i : r par i a : :esuJ--b of the pract j -cer descz' ibeC abover of

drvidin.g i::cone in',;o pc'r'tions. l.ioreover, for some period.s ciifferent a::ci

conflictirrg recorcls are availabl-eo Tabl-e 2zi is recolrstz-acteci fron the accor:.iri;s

kep'u during ihe boatts f i rs i per iod- of opera-, , ion. 3oth recorr j -eci and corrected

figur.es are siror'n:f i;be lat-i;er bascd- urron 5-:rdeperrcient calculation fron dail-y

entz'ies, auci the viilage chairnefi'rs recort' ' rs ac'ded' for 1984'

r r l l r ^ - , ^i '1lese argunents over no'iey clainedr a seconcl- viciim: ih€ gfoupt s third

c1.ai:1.;onano Tai:ing e::celiion to 'rhe connltteets faiLi:re -i;o keep her inforned-

a,boutr, the state of tire gro!-Fts accoulrts sl:e te::Cered her resiSna-i;ion in

r,.r.it.irrc- Tt r,r2s sone r.ieel:s be-iore the g:roup co'irJ-C- fitrc]- a repla,cement for her"u . r ! u t r r S o

01e ulopposerl casd-idaie, c losely relateir io t i re g'roupts f i rst 2 chairr ' ;oment

lras stoppei. fron ial:ing up the post by her hr:.sbando It finally boiled d"or'nr to

a ciroice betr i ,een the vi l lage chairr"raqts sis icr (anottrer c iose reLat ive) and the

elder sis i ;er of the 6ryoupts co-ordina'bor, a comrnit tee rnember. The lat ter r ' lo lr

the vote. She tool: of f ice i1 micl-September 1!8{1 shorbi-y after resumption of

the gr.oupr s enterpr iseo Her eleci ion vras amother blor: for t i re progressive

fac-tion" The ner;, fou3th, cl:airrioman vas the tQrreetrt of I'!:r:irots chal:aclll

t9 r95B22 roog"U^ / , n O F ^

I { ) 1 { O O r { U

4 r o B 9 . 1 06 r i 2 9 . 9 o

6r36.J-

BB

( ,

a danoe enploying d-nrrns anc'i- trffnpets ir,rported. frorn l,lombasa ancl played at

_ $eddings anti otirer festivi'r,ieso Cbel:acha is danced. by a1L vi)-lage viomen,( -

uearing the white robes usually wonl btrr men and mirnicking tabooed. sexral

practices inclurling anal intercourseo As sucL it is a chal-l-enge to male

, ?oihoritye and l!:r.rirors rnen had moved. to stop i'b being da.nced outdoors,I

jealous ot l ihe possible consequences of this open d. isplay of se:nral l icence

by their r.;ives. It isl hovlever, a ci:allenge which is contained and

( neuiral-ised. by its restriciion to irnportant ritue,l occasiorFl a staged inversion

of gEnd.er relat ions character ist ical ly conf ined. to r i tes de passage. l

l ' iki.:irors resuned- enterprise sard; d.eeper ir:'uo the traciitional domain" Its

( accorurts becar,re conpleteli ' d.isorganised. a:rd. the recorcling of real enpenoitules

feII btr' the uajrsj.d.e. I{eanr*}ri}e the cornnit-bee accurulated a series of debts,

nrost of then to men. Tire fr:l-I er'r,ent of these ciid- not energe untiL a heated

Ir ' goup meeting in Jarruary 1986y r,rl:en marg'mernbers cl-airned. tha.t i;his was ihe

first the-y had hearrl of them. In fact no one individual- knevr the ful-I list t

vilrich is shovm in TabS-e 21"

(

TABLE 25

CLAII'rA].IT PUII?OSE 03 LOAiI OTNSTNIDII'IG CtAIl.I

1o a loca1 man used torrards sea: 'ching for ihestol-en encine. 100

2. the village bus fares to iior,rbasa anril else-chairr.ia,n trhere, searching for the stolen

305eilgr-ne

for purchase of the seconcl-hancleng'ine (4r5oostr loaned in a3.1) 900

purchase of a coil for the50oengine

to pay a mechanic in Shimoni 100

3. a looa1 rnan for bus fares to lisar.rblretr-i andother expenses in pu:'chasing thesecond-hand engine

'r 7r)

B9

TASLE 2q (cont)

cLAll.ruiT PLJ-IIP0SE 0F L0Ai] CUTSTA]]DIIIG CLAIi.J

4. a Local- na"n tor.rar',c1s purchase of the seconi--hand. engine 15c

, . a loca1 man tor.rar.ls purchase' of the second-hanL eng'ine tfr

5o a loca1 rnan to bq' petrol - n

7" a locaI man to buy petrol n

Bo the grouptstreasurer

to bi:y peirol 200

TO!AL 2e I ' l Jsh

Tire seconci-han.J. engine proved more ti 'oubl-e tSan it was r';ortho Ii kept on

breaking dor.m a.ncl needecl reoeated repairs. The boat ent,erprise was frequently

interrupted: records inclicate that before the engine fina13-y gave up the girosi

in nrid ;-g}112 the boat was only in operation for a total of B! dayso Little more

than a nonth after. the eng"ine ha.d been bought 1elOOsh ha.d. to be si:ent on its

repairo In lioven'Ber 1984 a Luo entrepreneir-r, ,d-ealing througii the village

chairrnane offered" to fix the eng'ine in retur:r for beirig given use of the boat

to fish at night" He took the boat for 11 days, each dayr s use reckonecl as

equivaS-ent to 2OOsh in hire chargesl the total (ZrZOOstr) covering the costs of

his repair vlorl:. In fact the repairs cosi much more - 3r460sh according to ihe

village chairrnan. Finding hiroseJ,f on a loser, the Lr:o man sued the village

ohairrran [or. 6rl25sh in a I'lornbasa court. 3ut tire chairman argued thal in fact

it was he who r.tas orred riloneJr, 2r06Osh nhich he had- spent on financing the

repair l rork, having raiseC. over half of ih is sun by sel l ing his r :atch. The

on

Lrrc abandoned. his claimo Througirout this fiasco the boat a^nd its eug:ine

were notiring more tiran par'nrs in ari econonic gaxner a gaJne rrhose m1 es were

set by men.

In August 1985 the (European) or.mer of a rece:rtIy built hotel in Shimonit

a member of Tototots goven: ing comnit teer offered to tak-e l . [<r ' : i rors ai l ing

engine auray for repair - provid.ing it r.ras r;orLh tlie expense. The group was

only too haprry to accept. The boat, meannhilee rras out of action rintil- mid-

January, ro'hen a local- man approached the group and. started. hiring it for 50s1:

a.dary'. Using an engine provicied by a Kiln:;m in Ukundar he resumed. the ferry

serri' ice uhich the r.;omenrs group had susnendeC..- E:ccuraged by the prosl-'ect of

a reguJar income - as nuch as they had- made rihen running the se:rrice thernselves

- g?roup menbers turned to d,iscussing nhat tirey corrlci d.o vrith it. True to for:n

a cij-vision into 2 portions tlas suggested: one to repalr their nel-fly enulrrerated

d.ebts amcl one to buil-d their nulti-p'orpose house or1 its ner'r-found pIot. fhe

hire arreJlgerrlent, hor.:ever, l-asted no more tliau a fortuight" TIte man hiring

the boat bro!:e an agreenent to share profits td.th his i(ik:3-* partner', and the

eng'ine was clained backo Still lraiti-ng for a verdict on the future of their

orrn eng'ine, the group uas bacl: at,square one"

Rescue cane frorn more distant shores. Unhapptr' r',d.th tlie nremature decline

of l , l :wirots enterpi ' i -se, Totoio had noi bee:r id leo Fol lor ' ing the theft of the

firsi engine, if,<r.iirrc r,;as inc1uded. in a furCing nroposal submit'r,ecl to a U. S.

d.bnorr, the Parish of Trinity O,rurch in the City of Neu Yorko 3OrOOOsh r,.'as

reguesteci to buy a n"i, engineo The monetr' ca.nre t\rrough in April 1986" A ner.r

engine r^ras bought in liombasa, deliverecl to the #oupr and on 22 Apr:J- I'Drtrirors

boat uas back in operationo On all- accouats the enterprise is being conduoted

much as before. The driverl nor'; the husband of ihe groupt s treasurer, is

st i l l being paia a f ixed. proport ion of the boatts income" Without further

inte:rrentions fron Toioio it is likely thai sorne of the problens uhiclr earl-ier

9L

dogged the enterprise tril-l recuro Or the face of it I 'krrirors enterprise

constitutes a bol-tl thrust into a.n othenrise maLe-domineted. aomain" In

practice it oonstantly r.urs the risl; of being app:ropriated. in turrto

Four ffroups in one

The influence of 'braditional forrns of organisation has not been an

entirely negative oneo The reo:rganisation of group subscriptioirs provides a

striking instance of this. h'hen the boat en'berprise was in operation the

gr.oup stopped. colleoiing subscrip'i;ions fronr its nenberso In liovember 1-!B{.,

lacking a^ny other so'drce of income, a ri"elcl-y subscription r.ras reinstitrrted- at

the neu rate of 2sh 5O cents per heado At ihe suggestion of one of tire members

its collection rvas cornpletel-y reorganised. The mod.eL for this reorganisaiion

r.ras i'i1;,ld-rots d.ivision into 4 v;ards - I'i1n-:ajurdr Pwairir l,luttani anci Bogoa -

rrhich intersect at the vi l lage nosoue. O: the basis of menbersr-.residence in

one or other of tjrese the group r.;as Crivid-ed- into { sectionsr 3 t"dth 1)

menbers and one r^;ith l-8" A literaie rnernber from eacir section tlas assigned. to

col lest i ts subscript ionse recorded. in sepaiate e>:cercise books before being

pooS-ed in the weeldy meetings of the r,rhol-e groupo [he raiionale behind this

innovatj-on uas to rnake collection basier ancl 1e raise the leve1 of contributions

by foster ing a sense of competi t ion betrveen the di f ferent sect ions/ward's ' As

such it has proveC" a resor:nciing success. By the eud of Jarruary fer+ members

r.;ere behind in their subscr-iptions and the ones i;hat r.rere !.:ere either av:ay

visitirrg relatives or about to pa5' up. Beyond providing rril lagers v.'j.th a sense

of resld.ential- identi.ty the uards ser\re no otirer organisational purpose in

vi11-age 1ife" 3y adapting thern to its orrll pltrposes I'[;wiro has succeeded, at

least in the short term, r'ihere other groups have faiLed: enforcine (in tHe

nicest possible r*ay) the reguJ-ar col lect ion of subscript ionso

o 2

WOI,IEI,I Al{D TI{E ISIAND E00l{01'ff

( lhc simc'ture anc-', practice of household. eoonorny in I'0:r.riro is sornetrhat

riifferent fron that found- in the other locations ciescribed. in this report.

Tire range of J:ousehold enterpr ises ref lects l , t : r r j - rots is land posit ione rhi le

I the relations of prod.uc'bion and. gend.er vhich gpverll these talce a form uhich

- is rnodif ied by Suahi l ! pract ice. One feature of this pract ice is a long-

stanciing aclhcrence to Islarn anci the existence of a strong indepencleirt

( trarlition marl:edIy d-iffereirt from the culi;u-re of the agricultural villages

of l,ionrbasat s h:inier1and.. To outsiders forej.grr to this tra.irition l,[:r'd.ro is a

conse:lrative backr';ater, repressive to r,roneilo The realit3t is rather

( different 1 ancl in sorne lrays the r:ornen of l,[ ',r:iro e:rjoy a meas'[re of freed.orn

denj-ecl tJreir na"inl-an:d counterparts. Nonetheless, tiris freed.om is

cj-rcixiscribed ani.r li l ie the islancl econor.qy itselfr is tl.reateneC by

I econonic intervent ions fron outside.

I'ienbers and'i;ircir ircuseliolds

I,l..rriro r,iorneuts group has 63 rnenbers, the najority of the villagers ad.u1t

fenale popuJ-atioll. Idost of these r'ioriiel1 r^lere borr:. in }&:r.jro of Shirazi

pareuts and nost are narriecr- to 1o6al- fishernen. The rnajority have received.

no fornral- ed.ucation: I,[:i ': irots primary schooll l 'rhicir has aboui 1?0 pupils,

r;as not built u-n-'cil- 1981, replacing an earlier school in the mid.cile of the

islanci r.,,hicl' i serwerl botb of its vi11a6cs" LoceJ child.relr also ai;tend. Islanic

classes b.t the rveel:end, and in Augu-st 1985 sinnil-ar classes l.:ere begun for

. arl-ul-t women. Idany group rnembers attend theser . hel-d. at 4 o t clocl: in the

afternoons, lear'.ring to write in Arabic. At present there is no nursery

sclrool anci no other adult education classes in the villageo Feu aCult ltornen

can recJ.:on tryr 'chc uestern calendar, ancl the d.ating of the logs kect. for

To'boi;o slior.rs a confused. nix rrith the Islaliic cycle.

9 3

A sa'npl-e of 16 group members sllol's a:r average age of 3?, similar to

that of Aguira;re menbers.

TASLE 25

ACJE IJI YNAJTS

1 20-24 2>29 30-34 3>39 4a-M 4>49 5tr'-54 5>59

2 1 5 2 3 1 1 1 -

Informai ion on the mari tal histor ies and offspr ing of ' , ,hese lJornen is given in

Table 2'f.

( I.iai:y nomen ma::ried fo:: the firsi tirne it:. their ri::j i.-teensr a practi ce

r.ihich is nor.: chaarging as-: a resrd-i of school atteui.anceo l,larriage palnnents are

nracie by br idegroons thenselvesl not lX, their fatherso These pairnenis are

I norrnally i1 the ranse of 3-!r3oOsh, and in some cases j-nc1uc1e fu-r'nj-ture. The

monsJ- is no1 g"iveri to tbe brider s fatber bui to other matrilineal and- patril ineal

kinl ancl- is used to pay for the uedd.ing ar:'J ec-uip the household of the nel'fly

| 6ar:,ied coupleo This p4.rirent rs not returrred after divorce and- subseo.uent

mar.r ' i p.ges are general l -y free of cefernony. Divorce is as cornon as in Diani.

ft is usually il j.tia'ted by uonen blr-t effecteci b5' nsrt. Ut'i ier Islarnic lari l ' iolTlen

I can clairn maintenance pements i f iheir .husl :anC-s can be pl 'oved neg' i i3ent: one

group mem5e:. r . ras plr .ni i ing to clo - l i r is foI loi : i : rg ' t )re prolon3e'J abseirce of her

husbald-, but r.:as nrol-lified uhen he xeauurtteclo ltt early 1986 only one group

| - - - a t , - - r i - - ^ - ^ ^ j ^ - . r . - - : ! 1 . ^mernber r';as fowrc to be currently cj-ivorced and l' i ithout a husba-rtclo

Over BOl" of rnarriages take place beti.;een Sirirazi bor:r in I'kr'i iro, 'usualIy

(classi f icaiory) cross-cousinsl t i re preferreci ca' i ;egorX' of spouse. There are(

no dist inct resj .deni ial wri ts inie: :meci iate in size betueen the vi l lagee ni th

i ts clear ly def i rred bou:tclar ies, conpact sett lene:rt anC- int l icate vreb of

interrral '.ela-uionshipsr and the i:.rdivid.ga1 houseirolcis r.dil:in it, Table 28(

TIu3LE 27

AGE St N O ^1 1 1 / qr r + t t J l t t t t Jh n f l n Iie

2 2

2 3

1

t 2

t 2L

5

L

2

2

Ii

.Itl

2

3

1

1

t_

a

3

Ll

!

32

4L

41

26 r,i

30 li

32 r,11 a i lJJ I '1

t tJ4 l.l

a ^ t tJL'r .t r

1 1

2 3 2 2d

1 a

3 51 1 4

l - 7

I

I

2

1

l-

l-

2 2

a

3636+L

.-t J

434 9

) l

},r

I1

H

f,i] i

j..!

l / lt , l

lil

2 , n , t rc T J a

)

o+l-+I

1+!

t]

6

->iu

11' l c

a

t+

I

I

2

l-

Z

I

I

1'l

b

t l

1.-l

I

3

L

.L

1 3

co-ordine:tor, col.I ectorfor l.[urrarri r.Iard

fiz'si cirairrroiran

com'.rittee rnenbel

cor,rnrittee member

e--vi ce-chairnoman ( quit, . r l r n r - . i ' l ' I \r r : J v : a * a r /

vt ce- cnaL liljonan

ex-co::r i t tee nenber

key as in Tab le ? : 0 = nuqber of co-'..jves; i,Ie = nunber of clr.ildren married andnot l iv ine in the houseirold"

mean nr:."0'j:er of mar.r.iages = 1r!! n'iean nir-nber of children = 6.1-; mean nr:.nrberstil-I alive = 4.5; no:.tal-ity rate = 2J.Jl': ':1 rnean nu.mber of dependent child-ren(bom by t i :e l ' :onarl herself)- 2. ! .

siio{.-s tite der,iogra;idc struci'ure of 16 irouseholcisr housing a total of 20 group

rnernl :erse soi i i€ i . ihose husbanis (not incl-uded- in the table) r ' rere more or less

perna:reirtlJ' absent fron the village or living uith other t'riveso

The lovr resid-ential nnobility of lromen is liri]<ed to their right to inherit

and or.,r1 property in th.e forrn of houseso Sone thrce-quarters of the houses in

l'I:r:iro were olmed- anc- their buil-ding parbly fina'nced b1- l ', 'onen. oll separation

it is the husbands r,,'ho must move outo Some l.'on:en idrerit the houses ot'med by

thei: 'mothers; other.s col t inue 1ivin6 in 'chem r:ni ; iL they are able to bui ld

TASLE 28

IIOO OFGRoUP l,IlX,BEitS

.ADULTSfemale

ciflLnP,gi TC/IALmale

11

'7I

q

4

4

6

o

10

7

7

a(J

3

I7

4

3

3

?

2

L

.7I

I

3

3

4.

3

I

l_

l_

I

I

t

1

1

2

1

1

l-

1

3

1

1

3

z

1

2

3

1

1

I

I

1

a

1

z

z

l_

1

a

1

1

z

l_

l_

I

L

1

1

I

2

1

1

zu LO2

their orm" Before the advent of lanc1 registrat ion there l las no restr ict ion

upon the or 'mership of Land in the vi l lage; r ights in a plot uere establ- ished.

simply \r clearing and building upon it, and lost just as e'asily if the p1-ot

l;as abandoned.. Rigilts in ag:'icultural Land were sir,rilarly established by

cleara.nce anrd rernained. in force as long as the 1and r.ras continuously /

cr8tivated" A t}:ir"i- of the fiel-ds r,;orked W group nenbers were ovmed t6r r,'ornen

I I 602 5

o A

(either themselves or their nothers), olrnersh.ip r leriving from their labour

in clearing the land and reoently sarlctioned by l-arrir reg:istrationo

Labour. j.ncorne' ancl expenditurg

Tabl-e 2! d.etails the agricultural enterlrises of 13 group members in 3-!B!"

Only one woman interuieued - the first chainn'oman - d.id not nornrally cul-tivatet

except ir occasiondJly helping her nother. { rrornen, Cr trr tr 'and I in the table,

did not cuf--r,ivate in 1985r uhile orCy one r'lorn?rr1 3r cultivated. d.uring the

shori as wel-l- as the 3.ong rains.

[A3Lg 2a

Me Fi O}JlIUt AREACIILT.IiiACRES

L43OUR CROPS HAN.VIST coi,[.IuiTS

A' 1 borrorred l-- l - r r r

m n * h a n

ctrl-tivated l..-ithnother (rnembersof the samehousehold)

eaten strai-girtf rom ihe f ie ld

2 boxes*

poor

houseiroldheavi3-y

d.ependeniupon foodbought frpnthe shoos

buJ.lrushni l let

sorghurn

2 molber (f*) not cr'otivated

3 3 husband rvith husband.

( in tiie sborb

4 sacks

2 saclcs

none

none

snal1

none

t uox

maj.ze

sorghurn

a ' l a : r c i n o, v 4 v 6 v + 4 . v

cassava

grourdnuts

tornaioes

cabbage

carrots

auberg:ines

onions

peppers

cir i l l ies

raansJ :

beanrs

col.l-Deas

grain har'restlasted- 6 months

eai,en by goats

eaten btr' goats

97

reLr+ (cont)

I'ie Fi OlE:trR AilliA LASOTIR CROPS }iANV-JST C0l.rl.IHiTS

C 4 b r o t h e r r s r : o & ociril-d.ren

not cultivated. I ives in thesame householdas Br herd.aughter

D 5 I:usband- FJ(o r 6 )

uith :',rother maize

sorghun

eI eusine

l1r 3o

4 sacks

poor eaten by bird.s

a ..bi o nusbano 11o 3 r not c',rl'uivated. illr pregnant

r'-itir a c/hil-dvrhicir d.ied. atbir ih

F J husband I lo ? r not cul-tivated. caring for srnaIlchild.r.enr allfood. bought frornshops

G B husband 2(o r 4 )

al-one sorg).nrn

eleusine

-!- sack

l- box

hanrest lasted-5 months

H t husband 1+( o i 5 )

ld.th fathe:r-in-larr maize

sorghum

eleusine

l- sacl:

I D 4 V l -

4 k e

maize a.::deleusinefinished,sorgirum still-being eaten 6nonths l-ater

I 10 elderbrother

culiiva*ed bYyo'rll lger sister(t i .v in6 i i r i i re.sane householr l )

sacli about half of. harvest

sacl :srenalnLl lg f r ' I !e I6 months

na ize

sorgirum

I

a

J Ll motirer rrj-th her eLC.est sonanci mother

2 sacl:s sti1l eatingafter 6 moirths

so:'gitum

r:ii;h i1s3 sJdest \

daughter andrnother r s s is te r

3 saoks d.:-d. not l-ast 5months

SNAI I

eaten siraight from the1 ael -o

maLze

sorghun

e leus ine

K 12 her om

9B

TABLE 2a (cont)

I.le Fi OlniER ciloPs IiATtVESTARNA LASOUR cor,x.tmiTS

L 13 husbancl 31,(of 2 l - )

cleared. hersc1fe.^nC paid. a localman lO0sh tocultivate

good. st i1l eat ingafter 5 monthsand able to sell_ha l f o f l the c ropfor l-)OOsh

2 sacks st i l l eat ingafter 5 nronihs

p1a:ried. recerrtS-yand not yetbearing fnrit

at Yrrngi (nearI{ajoreni) on theinainl aird

ma"ize

sorghr:ro

cassava

bamanas

oranges

mSngoes

1{. husband (2+) no'i cultiva'i;ed.

l,i 15 her oi..irr

16 husbanC.

alone

I Io &o not cr:J-iivated.

maize poor

sor.gh-rrn poor

.tt there are !6 boxes to the sack

For rnuch of the year mar6r housgirolds are dependent upcn food. staples

bought from shops on the mainland or in the vi l Iage. This der:endence is said

to have increased in recent years arnd. lror,ren r'rithdrain labour frorn agriculture

as the nr:rnber of retail outlets has gror,m and cash income become more rearlily

availablel although islanders have long exchanged. the prociucis of fishing

and coastal t raae for crops and other goods ( including iron tools) produced on

the mairrland. fhe island, lacking gror:nd r.rater and stretm with outcnops of

coral, does not offer a particularly favourable environment for cultivation.

I'iost l:ouseholcls cultivate only one field a,:nd fer.; meet their anrluaI subsistence

requirementso Only one household in the sample l ;as in a posit ion to seII

surplus grain: the only one r;hich enployecl casual labour. Labour is generally

99

d.rar.m froni l:ithin the household.. tlen

iu the late aftentoon after retuming

uhich sumound fields 'i;o keep off the

most agricultural labour is perforrnedr.

sornetimes assist ir:. crrl-tivationy often

frorir fishingl and build the fences

gpats which roarr the island" Othervrise

t6r vlomen.

Together uith other forms of ]rousehold labour this takes its to11 upon

wornenr s participation in group activitieso This v;as particuJ-ar1y eviient in

Jarruary-FebroarX' 1986, when manJr group members r.,'ere vrcrking on their fiE]d.s in

the rno:nings and. late afternoons, clearing wrdergz.or,;-th in prepaz,ation for the

onset of the long rains. Those uho carne were usually late for group meetings,

ancl. i;hree-ouarbers oi tttu menbership did. not turn up at a13-o Tabl-e 30 is based.

uFon a.ttendranrce records for the pcriod- l-982-85, and shows a marlced fal-I in 19e5

vihicir can be linked to the d-eclining fortr::res of the boat enterpriseo

Tl3Lg 30

T}]AR i i lGIESTATTillDN.;Ctr

LOI.}]STATTXr-rAllCE

AVNRAGEATTN]DAJICE

t982

1gB3

tg84

t985

36

4tr .

' l q

1 5

1 ?

1 q

2 3

2 g

28

oo

Or 2 oocasions the groupr s f i r 'st co-ordinai;or made e>:pl ic i t reference to the

dernands cf household l-abour upon her or.m time. .On the first of thesel in l,ia1'

l9g2t she vroterr i . lo a:1y taslc today because nqyself I did- not go to the meeting

I uas r'rashing n6r clotires a^nd after that I go to take firev.'ood at I'ilarngrrni a-nd

ccme ui th i t . ' r Oe the second occasion, g.rrr ing Tototo not ice of her d-ecision

to o,ui t in } tovernber 1!82, she ascr ibed her fai lu: 'e to attend a meeting in

I ' lombasa to her urrclets refusal to let her go, because of v;ork whicir had to be

l n n

done at home.

l'lhen free to do so 11'onen are also kept busy pursuing various sources of

incorne. Tr,lo of the most irnporta,nt of these in I'Ikr'r-iro derive from the

col lect ion and sale of rnar ine produce: ' octopuses and cor,r ie slr .eI Is. Soth

are col lected. f rom the local- shorel ine, only by women. Octopuses are

collected. fron the reef at Io'u: tide, often by l.'onen rtorl:ing in srnaIl groups,

using sharpened stichs as spears" This can on1-y be done in the morning uhile

ihc srur is st i11 1or. l ; the t ides perrni t col lect ion over a period. of 5 or ?

d.ays twice a month. Up to 2O can be gathered- by one r{onan in a morning. The

d.eadt octopusels are then hung on poles to d-ry in the swr, an& sold to visiting

traclers from the mainland for 3-6s!: each depenC.ing upon 'lheir sizeo A good-

catch miglt fetch 30Osh, though tJomen ofi;en corne al,JaJr with nuch less. Cor..,riesr

on the other hand, are sol-ci fs3 l lsh a t in (c.18 kg) to l ,&l .r i rots Saju:r i shop-

keeper lrho sells ther'.r in turn to an Inoian exporter in l,Iombasa. In February

1986 he coJlected. TO t ins anC. rnade a net prof i t of sorne 1r28osh, over l8sh per

t in. l lomen vl l ro gather cowries report being able to make 10O-35Osh everX't ime

they sel-1 them, though they do not do this every month. Trade in both

octopuses and covries ?rops d-uring the cr{tivatillg season, whil-e just over

hal-f of the group mernbers intervier';ed engageri in neither, some because they

founci the r:ork too onerouso

lJor,ren also make and seII a variety of ciifferent kinds of breai and

confectr,ioner?' r.rithin the _vi1-1age, some using ingred.ients bought on the

mainland.. Just unrler half of the uornen interrrievrei. d-id- this, mal;ing up to

LO0sh per rnontho A fer; vronen trade produce directly from the mairrla-ndo The

most enterprising of these - the l.romar1 viro had a saleable surplus of maize -

made l-{gOsh a month b;r selling coconuts brought by herself or her husband from

lr lajoreni. Othen; ise some r-romen. (and sone men) lceep s:rnal- i hercls of goats

(usually 3-5) for slaughter or s ab: a.n a.o-ult goat fetched. 2OOsh in l!g.:iro in

101

early L986. There was only one rotat ing creC.i t associat ion in the vi I lage,

operated by B l;omen and 2 men in l,lcr.rajwri ward r,rho cont::ibuted 2osh each

every Fridayo 4 of these r.rere group mcrnbersr 3 frbrn the same Bajrrrri fanrily_

(see Table 2l above). In Januarf , ' the group began a savings c_ub, introduced.

btrr Tototo, arld 9 t'rornen paid lsh each to join" Like oiher Tototo savings

clubs i t uas offered.5OOsh (f lorn FAO and Women in Progress Ltd., a l {airobi

NCO) to siar.t a snal1 enterprise: at the serTre meeting l,lcrtiro members d.ecicled.

to use this to import coconuts from Shimoni.

Invol-vement r:itl, Toioto has provid.ed. group members with another so-urce of

incorae: prod.uctio:r and. sal-e of lroven har:C.icrafts for Totoiors shopo Hor.r this

came about has already been d-escribed. The group used. this tra.de to repay its

1983 loan frorn Tototc; but nost benefit has gone d.irectly to inclivid'raL

nen' l :ers and their households. Table 3l-r baseC. upot l lecords kept by Tototol

suiitnarj-ses ret-anrs to individ.ual p:'od-ucef.s betr,;een l-981 anc- 19.35"

TlisLE 3l-

ItrO. 0FPRoDUCli.D-S

TOTALREC]fiVD

III65:EST IIIDI\rIDUAL AVERAGE PER. PRODUCERiotal per nonth total per nonth

1g81

tg82

1983

t9B4

t9B5

43

< A '

o1

63

1 r 5 0 3 s h

Ltt432

7 r o 6 9

1 9 , 0 7 1

, 6 -z I r4oL.>J

57

718

t ) l

l r 7 2 o

A '7tr,. + . I J

59" 83

29"4t

A 1 ^ P .

1 4 3 . 3 3

37.27

211 .7C

rzt.B7

307.r9

435.2t

3 .10

t 7 " 5 4

1 0 . 1 5

) t r . A 1

36" 35

The net profit to producers is sorner.;hat lgwer, because they have to purchase

the d.ried- strips of palm teat (utini-u) and dyes r,:ith rvhich their irand,icraits

-.a!e rnade. Ukinclu is boughi; on the mainland - there is none on the island. - in

sr;iall- bund.l-es cos'cing 2sh lO cents each. Dyes are brouglit in smal-L 2sh packets

l .o2

froiu i,lombasa: the od-y na-Lural d-ye on the island is henrra, occasional-Iy

used in bod.y clecor.ation. Table l2 sr:,'.r.narises inforrration on the purchased

inlruts ano prices of the main gpod.s uhich I'i l:r';iro members protluce for Tototo.

Labour ariti tra.ns;ort costs are no-r, incl-uded.: oval- tabl-e matsr for exe;npI et

fetch a higher pr ice for proaircers than square ones because they are more

difflcuIt to rnal:e.

TASLE 32

ITE.i COSI TO PRODUCEP. PiUCE PA]D I.IJ]JT TOTOTC ]IETTO PN.OFIT TO RETAIL P:IOIilIT TC

- - , - - . ^ i . . ^ - - ^ - + ^ + ^ 1Lu!-:rruu s.)' s- uu eG: Pl.oDUcEn PnoDUCgt Pitrc-q- Torofo

,- f l loor nat losh N 90 2>J 160 4n 2c0t -

5 oval 12.50 10- 22.fr- ]-]O2 69.F- - 2o0 98table nats - 20 32.9 79.fr

5 sqirare lZ.rJ l-o- 22"7J- 72 39.Y- 15O 78

i iabie nats 20 32.fr 49'n

fan 2"n 4 6 . f r 12 5" f r 2A B

ha i ; I . f , 5 13"5C V 1 .5O 25 10

1 large 25 20 !,5 3C -!5 n 20irandbag

nedi'.r..r Lz.n l-O 22.n 25 2"9 rP l-5handbag

, smal- I 7 "9 6 13" 50 15 1.5o 30 )"5ha,ni.bag

1!86 p:: ices shor ' l r

Although the average returrr to producers wi,s comparativeLlr sna111. even

in 1!8!, tra.de in octopuses a:rd cor.rries is said. to have dropoed as a resul-t

of ha:rclicr.aft produc',ion. Group rnembers were correspond.ingly distressed. l:hen

the mar.icet for therr hancij-crafts carne to a stanC-sti]I at the end of 1985. In

January 1-!85 tototo siaff retunreo ihe bulk of their last orcie: ' to the group,

telling group menbers that they had faileci io se1} the gCods at shovrs in

103

Nairobi and ldonbasa anrcl that tnere was no room for them in Tototors store.

Producers are paid. by Tototo r.,'herr their goods are sold: follorving the r.eturrr

of their baudicrafts I'romell complained. bitterly that their investment i ' ulcindu

anci tiyes hac been in vain. Jlrriiro members have no other narket for their

ha,.nd- icrafts: what l i t t Ie scope there is for selJ- ing them to tour ists on the

nearby mainl-and has been tafcen up by Shimoni llomenrs g?oup, whicl also produces

these gpods for Totoio. Irt co:rseouellce group mora\e fe1I sharpLyr ancl the

blarne for. this r'las tura.tlimous3-y pu-i; upon Tototo.

Wonen generally pool their income wiih tireir husbands. $lj-ves are not

obliged to surrend.er this incone, but usually spend it on the househol-d. Ore

member said'r,hat if sire earired loOsh from cowries she rnighi go out and buy

clothes for her i rusband.e anrd t :as d.escr ibed. as a t tgood vr i ferrby oiher wonren.

Another notea that if she goi 3COsh fron oc'copus sales it l;or.:fd- enabl-e her to

bt.u,* -a bag of cenent for her house. l{onen. are equally depenient upori incorne

provid.ed- by thei:. husbands: 3 l.romen inte:rriei.;ed were'who11y d_ependent in early

1986, having abarrdonedl for d.ifferent reasons, efforts to sec'ure an

ind.epend.ent inconeo 2 women reported getting no hel_p fron their husband_s and.

3 ha-d. husband.s liho r.iere absent for most of the year and. only gave flreir vrives

noney on home visi ts. These worTlen rely on both their ovn3 solrces of incone

and help fron other household members and. lcin: one lroma:re v;hose husband. was

absent for up t ,o 2 yean's at a t ime, 1{as given money by }rer motherts br-other,

the head. of the household. Ar iother, the groupt s co-ordinator, per iod. ical ly

vrent to stay in l,ialindi uith her husband. and co-uifel leaving group recorcls

ukept in her absenceo

Tabl-e 33 shol;s the occupat ion or othenrise of husbands in a sanple of 16

group members. 2 of the absent husband.s uere traders based. in l,,ioa on the

northerzi Tanzanian coast: there is consirierable traffic across the nearby

bor'ler betvteen Kenya and Ta:.rzairia, and a fair ar,roult of sr:ruggling. Brrt mosi

101

TA3,Ltr 33

NO IIiJSBAIIDwidor-red. absent

HUSBA]ID U{PLOYMfishernan:boat or.nrer

fisherman:no boat

shop-o\';ner

gr"oup menbersr husbands are local- fishernen. 6C men in l.l*uiro are registered.

members of the Souih Coast Fisheries co-operative in Shimorui, nhich began in

1966" Thq,' fish everXr day except Friday, the da1' of prayer, a.nd. brihg their

catches ashore i:i the earS-y aftenroons to be r^reighed by the 1oca"l- co-operative

secretarX'. The oo-operat ive pays the f isherrnen 10sh per ki lo of ( large) f ish,

Lsh of this set asid.e in a fi.:.:rd for l,1l:,;d-rors school and Islamic classeso Ou

an average d.aov in Febr-.rElry (19S6) it paid out 2lOCOsh to L6 tishermetl. Only

a third. of I'?',r+i-=ors fishernel orv]rr their or.nr boats: the rest rtor]: t ': i-tir close

kin o:: others for a porbion of incorne frorn the catcho The exanple just cited

gives local- fishermen an averagp income of 3Osh a dayr 9O0sh per month. Daily

co-operative payments vary over the year bettreen about 5C0 and )rOOOsh. A

good dayts ca'r,ch can bring in 60Osh and record.s in Shimoni shoti ind.ividual

f ishernen in the area earning up to 20r0oosh in a single r . ionth" These aret

hov;ever, exceptiona3- cases a^nd d,o not take account of the diwision of ihe

proceeds anong crel{so The trar i i t ional div is ion into pori ions indicates that

boat or.rers also d. ivert a good part of their incorne to capital reinvestnent

a^nd. mainten_anrce of their enterpri.ses" In l' l:vliro fishing is done vrith nets,

l ines and traps, only the lat ter made and sold loca1Iy" 3 wi l lagers.ran

moto:r-por. , 'et€d.-boats (oost ing l>n100Osh)r 3 or^med. outr igger canoes (15-

2OrOOOsh) und the rest dugouts with sai ls (16rOOOsh)"

While households are usually well supplied witir fish, a sigr:ificant

proport5-on of their inco:;oe has to be spent on purchases of food staples.

- 105

l later is part icular ly er:peYrsive: 2sir plus per 20 Li tre container from the

l-oca1 resevoirs arrd Jsh per container from the mainland r.,'hen this supply ru::rs

o[to During the d.ry season households may fin,i theraselves spending betr,reen

2BOsh and l6osh a month on r.rater, d.epend.ing upon their size. These erpenses

are usually borne by r.romen rdth the he3-p of tl:eir husba^nds1 and in marly cases

leave Littl-e to cover other ey-penseso Female-headed househol-d.s face the

greatest difficr-lty; and one group menberr a lridor.rr had to pay -for the

building of a neu house lrith 3 floor mats she had made. On the other hand,

some schoo3-boys pay for their or.m uniforns by fishing in the holidays; while

the fr:nd. established. from sales of fish to the co-operative covers marJr

primary school exPenses rnhj.ch r.roul-d normally be bor:re by parents. I,larried men

do not..as a :rrle br:y l-uxury goods for themselvesr though sone, like the

village ohairmanr can afford to invest ii: specr:-lative ven-tureso

Changes in the island. econo!",ly

The relatively stable economy r;hich has been d.escribed above is nor,r

threatened. by conrpJ-ete tramsforrnationl the direct consequence of exter:raI

interventionso The first nail in the coffin r.ras land registration, which

took place on the island in ltlp-Bb" Sefore thiis isl-anc1 land was held in

conmon; nou i.slanC.ers have been issued r:ith titl-e deeds for the p1ots and

fiel-ds vrhich they happened to be occupying at the tjrne. In narly cases land.

registratior: discrininated j-rr favour of men, nor,; holding tuo-thirds of the

tit' les for fields largeLy r.rorked by r,rornen" The d.ifficuJ-ty this oreated for

the groupr o building pro ject has already been describedr r.rhile its effects

upon patterns of ir*reritance remains to be se€rro Some island.ers, anticipating

what woul-d happen, cl-eared. mucb, larger a"reas than they nornral-Iy worked - hence

the 21 acre field shor.n: in Table 2) - and a sna1l nurnber also l-aid. cl-aims to

p1-ots on the rnainl-ando Disputes brpke out betvreen the Sltirazi and the Vumba,

who cl-aj-rned. J21ge areas of l_and close tc l,krriro - includ.ing the village

106

i

I

footbaLl fiel-d - and others at the r:ninhabited end of the is1and. furthest

frorn their o1'r1 viIlage. Some rril lag€rs were l-eft ldtli relatively srnal1 pJ-ots,

nol.J pen'ranently fixed- in size anrd. locationr and the prospect of l_a:rdlessness

resultj-ng f"o.* the sal-e anri raortgaging of land has arisen for the first tirne.

Ti : is process threatens to be accelerated by tor:r ist d.evelopment. For

mar\l' years there r.;as only one hotel on the mainlarrd near Shimoni and a single

tourist restaurant in lrlasini vi11age. In 1!8J a seconC hotel- was opened. in

Shimoni and. a ner: restaurant ie being constnrcted in Wasini, r;hile other

developments are in the offing" At first l,[:r.d-ro villagers were resistasrt to

sel l ing their land. to d.evel-oDers3 the f i rst outsider seelcing to br4y land \r

one of the locaI beachesr a Gernarr l was turned aniayo This resistance has

not'i crunbled wrri.er the influence of 2 faciors: need (and greed) for cash, airit

the prospect of infrastmctural and other benef i tso

The 1ocal age:rt oi this tra: :sfoni,ai ioryhas been the brother of l ,hr i i rots

firsi 2 chair',.;or:len, the recenily elected KAlilJ locational cira.irrnan, with his

sights non set on the posit ion of area cor:nci l lor (see Table 2l)" Like his

Bajuni parents in !'ncr.:iro he or..Trs a shop, and is buil-ding another, both at

Shimonj-" He also or.ars a r:rotor-pouered boat, used- to ferry fee-paying tourists

to llasini and the marine park to the south of the isl-ando He has also bedil

provici iug his elCer sister r . r i th occasional E\ropean visi tors rvi l l ing to rent a

roon in her house - the f i rst t ine accornod.at ion has been lei to tour ists in

I8';r;iro" In keeping with his courtshif of another r.rorld he d.rinks beer,

flouting Islar.ric prnhibitiorr" I' iore significant. for the f\rture of l.I}:1,'iro,

hor. lever, has been his role in arranging sales of lando Over the last '2 years

or so he has induceci a nunber of vill-agers to sell- their l-andr acting as the

ageut for an D:glish hotel- ol.mer from up-cor:ntry. Ttre prices paid, 4O-lOOlOOOsh

for plots scattered across t i re is3-and, contain suff ic ient incent ive. In early

1!86 sonne groul i nenbers expresseo an interest in fol- lor* ing sui t . These included

107

his or.n mother and. sister, v;iro connplained. that he was refusing to handle

the transact ionl presr:rnably because he knor*s, unl jke many of lds cl ients,

the va1ue of holding onto 1anC.o

He a:'gues that the constntction of tourist lod.ges on the isla^nd will bring

a t';ide rarig€ of benefitse not least a cheap arrd- reliabl-e supply of r.ratero

Tliis is li lrere mar:g' villagers place their hopes, believing that tourist

developnent aiIl be acconpanied. b.t a subnar.ine pipeline or construction of r,rateq

resevoirs large enougir to provid.e an all year round. supply" Earl.ier

d.evelopnents have brought d.ifferent forms of conmunity benefit. Constx'uction

of llasinirs first restaura.nt r.ras pernritted on condition that a fixed nerceniage

of its tatiings be put into a fr-rrrd fo:: vilJ-age d.evelopnentl orig:ir1aIly this f.ias

to }:.an'e been for botl: the islandts villa€psr but has been appropriated t6,'

I 'Jasiui a-oneo Tlr .e or:ner cf Sl i inouits ner;esi hotel- is cor.rni t ted- to pay half of

the costs of staff acconoC.at ioi : for a. health centre in the vi i1age.2 I ,kr. i ""ru

-uillagers are nor,i keen io get their or..:r sl-ice of the cake. It is al-so argued

that iroieLs neerr i&.rd.ro v;i13- provid-e en:ployr,rent opport'anities fo=.villagers and

create a l-ucrati-ve rnarhei for local- fisher':len a:rci hancl-i-craft producerso This

majr or may not be true" tsut r.rirat ls rnore cerbainl ancl not admitted, is -i;hat

the islanri uiII becone a Diani in rniniatureo

I, iotes

1o Se:,rral politi.cs in l.Xl'.tro d.o not take the form described. by Bujra in hersi;uriy of a Sajuni vilJ.ageo The Shirazi have not ernploye6- slaves i:r therecent pastl l;omen, not men, pla.J' the major role j-n cu-ltivati_on1 andthey d.o not engage in labour rnigration/prostituiion on a.r-$r large scale.

.I,lcr';irors oi.at Baj',r:ri are, ho',' lever, rather more mobilco See Janet Bujra,tProduct ion, Propertyr Prost i tut ion: ' rSe:cual Pol- i t ics 'r in Yurnbef , inHazel Joirnson ancl Henry Sernstein (ed.s), T):ird I' lorl-d Liv"u of St*gslu(Loncl-on: Heinenann, I}BZ). ft rnight teprodtrct ion preclucles any conf irrenent or restr ict ion upon their v is ibi l i tyin I'E:r:iroo

2o In Aug;usf l�985 Tototo organised r,renbers of l.f;r;irr, Si:irnoni and Alzua"nir . ;c,nenl s grouDs into a connit tee to press fo: ' t l :e j -nclusion of materui ty

1 r r QI.\.,LJ

faci l- i t ies in this centre. 3ut the possibi l i t l r 63 NOIi-AD (the l lonregianAgenq,r for Inte:rrational- Developnent) supporb for this project anoearsto have beerr o^uashed. by a report r.rrltten by a volu:rteez' after in'cervier.ringShinoni members" This report is strong1y crit ical of the woments abil i tyto nur the project and of Tototors relationship lr i th' i ;he group"

r :1OL v /

:ct'iAliI tiotlf,irs G;loL? : -A.GA:.Ii;I LOCA'ITOII

3omani :rc.rents .group is based. 1n tire ',i.l lage of 3onani t 20 k* north of

iialindi torrzrsi:ip and 14.0 krn norih of i"lonbasa. Bonani is a small. cenire lrith

7 shops , 2 gtirnu.rng machines, a Pentecostal- church, a rnos(fue and a primary

schooLl ancl has a populai ion of *out I rO0Or f tostIy Gir iana. I t is

acinini-stered. as pa.rt of Bonani sub-locarion (populat ion c. ! ,OCC), l . iaga: ' in i

locai ionr i ; l tbe l . larafa cl i r r isron of Ki l i f i c i istr ict . . lona: l i , , ras the f i rst

of a n'anber of ,',oour,is groups to be formed in the area. trhe ',ri1Iage also has

a menr s group, al though t j : is is now inact ive. Research in Bomani was

conCucied in l lovernber-Decenber 19S5.

FOzu,HTf'rfd -iEARS 1

Bona:l i is the oiclest cf ; i :e groups; ' l i ld ied in i ; : r is reeoz.t . Like Agi i raTe,

it has rts orrgins in a:r ar-iul-t eaucaiion class rnrriated. b77 t" nan and. atiended.

by l ' ;oneng a sel f- i : .e lp inlblat ive r .rhich received of i ic j -a1 1-.ac1:1-n5 i ' rom t i re

starto Untike Ag';iraye, hor,.;evel, it r.;as forned before the r.,onents group

prog?anne 'book fuJ-1 effect i:r the area. As such 3onani was sl,.ared.. :nany ot' the

dcma:rdS ghiClr sf ier:* :7r^r! :s in their ioz'na. i ; iZe sta.ge anC rr ,as lef i -r-ery nuCh io

l ts orr-n clerr iees"

Boma:tirs aduJ-t eci-ucaiion cl-ass -ir'c.s iou.ncled i:r -la:.cir i9?j afier a l-ocal nan

suggeste ' . l ihe id -ea io h j -s fa t i : .e r ts b ro iher an ' l ; . ne i ;hho: r r r . ' , re fc re appr .oac l r . ing

the sub-cir ief" Ai thi .s t ime the: 'e: . , ;as no fornal ei-ucai ion of any kind.

avai lable' , . i i th in the wi l lage: the l -ocal pr inary school- uas not bui l t ' ,urt iL

1981. The t iornan he asked. io gp rcu:rd and nersua.de other ' , :onen to join the -cIass

became the chain. jornan of i ts conrni t tee and. l -ater of the tronenrs group. Herself

i l l i terate (and. a poor speaker of Svrahi. l i ) she was wel l - sui ted. io ihe task

fol lo ' , i ing her lersis- lent and. ul t ina,uely : : r :ccessful ef for*s to secure an eCucat ion

l_lc

for one of her o',.n: clril lren" She r^ias living in ilakalar sorTre distance

inlanC. of 3onc.ni, i;hen ber husband d-ied-, leavi.ng her rrith 4 yo'rng ciaughters

ancl _tregria.nt i.;ith her cnly son. Fol-lor.;ing Giriana practi.ce she a,rld her

c:riidren uere inherj-ied. 'o-v her deceased. husbandr s el-,j.er brotirer. -iowever,

rrhen the boy came of age irer ner.r ir' ':-sband refused to send hiro to school. Angered

by i i r is she registered a secret conplaint with the loca1 chief, ui th i ;he

result i;irat her husband. ivas gaoLed. ior 1-2 dEys '.:-ntiL he capitulated.. But he

refused. ro pay irryr-ching ior'rart'.s the boyr s ed.ucation. Fincling things d.iffi 'ru.lt

mother:md. son noveci to Sonani, where one of her daughters had marl ieci . This

was in 1963, after the boy had. completed.4. years of scirool ing. I ie lped. by her

daughter ar,nd son-in-Iaw she started c',:ltivai;ing cottonl but her husba.nd-

',i isited. afi;er every har'rest to cla.in ihe incone ano any otl:.er saleable

r n < r e q < i n n < < l . a ' ' i - ' L + " ^ ^ ' - a T, ! r r . o : r ! : : 6 v s o r 1 1 T € s l o l i s e t o i h i s s h e ' r , - r r n e d - t o a s o u r c e o f

i i : .oone ' . :hic i : . ste could i t iore re3.Ci ly contrcl ui thout e:ce:na- inierference: ;he

lcrel..'r:tg and sa-l e of inaize bee:.. Iiel-ped. by ihe proceecls frcm 'i;his her son

cor:rp1 eteC. boih ;:.inari' c!n,1 seconclary eciuca,tion, continued on to teacirer-

iraini-ng e:ro is now ;he headnasier of a p:linary sclrool in a neighbouring

rr i ' l ' l qco- Tn ioJl i r is inother was st i l_ l strrr6gl ing to see him ihrou. l1 scirool e.ncl

the repu; :a t ion th is ear r red" her nade her : l obv ious cho ice to canv?ss fo r the

new a,if' 'ri-i etlucaiion classo

A 1rc ' ; - : :3 , receni ly narr ied, : . ;o : ' !a ,n ' j ias c i rosen io be i ;he c lassrs ieacher

e.nr i s i ; .b ;erruent l - ; r 'ccct :e ' ,he :ecre iarX' o j t i :e l ' �o :enrs g?oupo She : r .1 g9 lar : -3 i i t

'n : r - . . :or r n ' l r<q s; ; . r ted at the sane t ine. In the f i rs t j reaf She i . ;aS paid. 1: ; rv L a e v t

subscript ions brou,ght by i i re pupi ls once a rnont ir : 2sh per ehi ld. for ihe

nursery and. 4sh per uonan for the a.dnlt eclucation c1ass. In 1974 -the Social

Serv:ces de;artnent be;an paying irer 1!Osh a nont i t ior i rer ad-ul t ieaching:

nursery class ccniitrued vrithout external support '*ntil 1982, r.rhen a member

' Ioioiors 3ov' : : rr ing coirni t tee began iaying ihe tqacher 2l0sh cer nonth" I ' lore

ihe

n f

I11

ihan 20 r.tomen joinecl the adult ed.uca"tion class, incl'.:Cing ihe 2 r.rives of its

iorinder. Sone neasure of its success ca.n be gauged fron'uire fact that i,ihen

t .tne teacher/secretary lef t tson: ' rr i in f983the grouprs accor:rr ts r . iere kept by a

l.r'orria,rtl then vice-secretar;r' r,lho cordd. neither read nor wrir,ie at the classrs

incept:-on in 19?3.

The .c'rea-ter. 11s2',spre of success is that the cl-ass evol-vec1 into a l.roments

8:aoupo This pz'ocess'oegaJ3 j- : r - ihe col lect ive effor-b of ihe i rornen io constrr :ct

a. buiicling for iheir cLasses. Tirey cut a;rrd. canried. poles for the strrrcture and.

raised- 150sh for i;ire actual burld-ing and 'iOsir i;o roof it '.rlth rnakuti. In

Decenber L973 this br:il-ti ing fel1 domr and- tire class r.roveC to another rented for

2Jsh a rnonth. In Janua?;l l-97B'i;hey moved. to 3omanits recenily constructed

Fentecosial ci:u:'cir arrd. laier in 'bi:e Teat s-'i-iched to a iree beliiir,-l ihe groupt s

ner.r baicery. Final-ly, ai; i i:e enci cf l-961, iirey noved. io Lhe nee.;"oy burlCing

af ii ie Boriranj- ?:'o3:'essi-le ilenrs g?cupr r.;h:cn llad been iorrncled. in L)'l j.

Tn 1974 ihe : :onen re.ge"n a Zs'n l ;eek17 stbscrr l i ion r :ra a roiai ing c:ed. i t

associa'i:ion based. u!oi1 ccn-Lribuiions of 5::h per nenber per r^i€eko !l::is noney

uas cizviCed. at the end of eve::y nonihl benefactors receiving l-Oosh each r.;h.iIe

il:eir nunber '.raried according to i;he total sr:.n collected" Tn ]-976 the nomen

bega:r to offer i1: .err col lect i rre labo'ar serr ices to oiher far ' : rers in the atee,

r:hnrcin- pi . f .he rate oi lOOsh :rer acre. A;: ,onE ihe sen-ices t ie;4 pe: ' fo: ' : r - ,edv r : * : 5 ; 1 l t J

k v

rrere hoe cr-rJ-ti:ration a.rtcl cotton rarrwesiing. This i;as an ilre.3.-rJ-ar aczi-vity

enC- not al l of t i :e l ;onren'cook part . lhose r: i ro ci i r l hat i -chreir g: 'oup and

- ̂ +^+ i - - ^ -a r l ; r assoc i -a t ion ;ubscr ip t ions la id - i rom the l r roceeds, r ih i le the4 v s a L u I 1 1 6 v ! v e ! !

bale.nce vas divided. out a:ron3 thern for i:rrlirriclual useo In ihe salne jreart

1976, the r.ronen onened a ba^nlc accoiurt in idal-ind.i l.ritir noney saved from i;ireir

strbscri-ltions . rurder ihe na.:re of Jaribr:.ni ( "1"*,t s trir! tt) :.rornent s group. 'l l:e

f i rgi ; ' ; ; - i fe of the adult c lassts founder l . ras appoinied 6roup treasurer, a

posit ion she held. i ;htough to L979. In 19?? ' : : re group aas vis i ted. tpr and

LT2

regisiered" sith the l' l inistry- of Culiure end Social Services. Ask-ed. to choose

a project the riomen clecid.ed- upon a bekery: at this tir,re ihe nearest supply of

fresh bread, valued. as a breakfast food, r+as in i 'Ialindi. In keecing '.rii;h

-Ministry policy the wonen l{ere adrrised to coniinue accur.rulating funds through

their group subscrintj-onso More substaniial support c1id. not cone 'oirtil ihe

foLlor,ring [ear rrhen, thz'ough the local offices of ihe i'tlnistry, the group

was introduced to i ts inajor alLyz toioto I ione Industr ies.

COIIDITTO}IS. A}TD ACCIDII{TS. OF EITERPR.ISE DF'|-/ELOPI\EIT

Tototo a.nd. the bakery project: establishment and. expansion

Boroani l{as one of i;he first 6 groups taken on by Tototo at the start of its

rr:ral wonents lrogramne in 1978, Ir al-so pr'ovecl to be tlte nost successfuL1 and

for na:4r years ttas the shoi..,1riece of ihe par'iicipdtory ne-rhodologl arlopted by

fototo fron i ts U.S. sDonsor, l ior]-d Educai ion Inc. Bonnanits teacherf secte-taql

';as appointed- group co-o:d-ina't,or1 trained in nonfoi:raI techni'tues, a.nd. pu+,

these to impressive use in inobil-ising ihe grol:.p a:rd- soluing ihe pz'oblens which

faced. i t in establ ishing the baicery project.

Serious d. iscussion of this project began in Apri l 19782 by October the

l.IorTren r.rere alrear\r baking loa.ves in tireir first, nakeshift, bakery. A plot j-n

ihe centre of Bonani rvas clonaied c 'J ibe :ct i " ier of the groupr s only Slva} i l i

member ("nd, f ron 19?9, second treasuu'er) a:rd signed- over - lo t i re ga.oup in the

presence of the chief arrd sub-chief. Lecl lry thej.r co-onlinator anrl encou:.a6ed"

W the Tototo faci l i tator ( f ie la super"r isor), r . rho .r is i ted 3ornani 7-12 i ; inres

every nronth in ihe first year, the v;omen contr:bui;ed. their labour a.nd. raised

various subscrip ' t ions to assist in ihe bui lding of the bakery. The group tr ied

to enforce attend.ance through the inposit ion of a 2str f l cents f ine, upon

absenteesl aid. a ' i one stage threatened to seize srnal- l - stock i rom menbers r ihc

1 ' r 1

failed to pa,y a Jsh build.ing subscription. At 6=oup nreetings the secretaryf

co-o:xl-inator discussed. tt." i"porta:rce of irygiene and. latrine constnrction in.

preparaiion for the stringent official healili requirenents which the bakery

r*ould have to rneet. i ' leanwhiler a's the enternrise d-eveloped, different

problems in its orga.nisation were tackled. as they arose; ainon€. ihem rosters

for bakingr forr:s of ind.ividual renuneration, imprrcvement of the prod.uct,

and- hol to narket the 1o".r.=.2

The enterprise e>r'pand.ed- steadil-y over ihe nerb 5 yearso Group accor::rts

show that betr+een l-978 and. 1!81 alone 33r483sh was spent on build-ing, rebuil-d-ing

and. frtting the bakery. A significant proportion of the early fwrd.ing carne from

the group itself, dranm from the profiis of bakj.ng e^nd the groupfs necklace

enternrise (see below). Other..rise nost of the capltal was pro'rid.ed. by oritside

souxcesr both the govern-'nent and- rriGos. Tabl-e J4 sunmarises the major exter.rreJ

inputs between l-9?8 and 1983.

TA3LE 33

DATE DOtf0R i"Ozu{ OF ASSISTAIIICE COST(r.lhere loow:e)

Aus/Sepi;t978

parliarnentarycandr.late forl,Ial-ind.i i'Iorbh

cormgated. iron sheets forthe bakery zrcof

2 r0OO sh

r o " RL - / t v

*l.I. c. c. K.KananaiConferenceCentre

a used oven, the servicesof a bui lder to insicJL i tand. bakery training for ihegroup rnenbers

1978 Tototo HomeIndustries

a loan to buy equipment,includlng baking trays andtins, for the bakery3subsequently repaid by thegapup

700

Tototo lIomeIndustr ies

a cash grant toing:redients for

purchasebaking

1 A 7 0 1- rOO0+

t l l

TAA,E 34 (cont)

DATE DO]ION, FORI{ OI' ASSTSTAI{CE COST

Febn:ary ldinistry of a grarit for purchase of 4eOOOshf979 Grliu::e and ingz'edients and- e:roansion

SociaL of the enterprise" I'hese::rrir:es cheque was nade out to

Bornani r'loments group'- achangp of name encoura€€do5r Tototo - a-nd. d.egosited.in a second bark accornt.

( 19BO the Anerica^n a net{ ovenr to be used. in c.410OOWornenr s conjr.:ac-bion with the firstAssociat,i-on, (together capable of bakingNairobi 3OO loaves a d.aY)

_ July i,iinistry of a grant for rebuilding of 10r0OOt 1981" Gulr,,ur€ and. the bakery

Socia lSeruices

Decenber Lioness Clubr a water iank for the bakery( 19BL itrair.obi

' 1eB3 ;::J:lH*'*" ?.f,T:: =;ffi:l'?i:"il1n,u" ,

25'000Ad-visory - transportation arid- installationCorsniitee (ltlC) r of a new and. larget ovenItrairobi capable of baking 5OO Loaves a

d.ay. This was in operation byApril 1983 a^nd- was officia.llYopeneC. in Septer.rber t6r anAssistant i i in i-s ier forD:viron-nent a-nd- ilai;uraJ- R.esources.

Febrr:"ary a nenber of fire-proof bricks to surrpundlqB l To io io t s t he new ovenL ) V J

governing^ ^ . - q i * * a a

' J +the i I .C.C.K., l . iat ional Christ ien Council of Kergrar is Tototots parent organisa'r, ion

From the beginni.ng the enterprise was heavily dependent upon erternal

inputs a3d adrrice. The negotiations over the ATA0 garrtl ';rhich 'oegan.in i98f ,

r:nd.erline the extent to tvhich the enterprise was subject to decisions taken.

outsid.e of tlle groupo It was Tototo lrho contacted ATAC; 4rr liGO with its ovm

l l a

ind.ependent f ie ld of interest. In l ine with these ATAC pressed for the

instaf lation of a.n energf efficient si'-stern in Bomanirs bakery. In Jwre 1!82

they sent etl technical consulta^nt to Borna.rri to review tire possibilities. IIis

reporb recommended tb.at erpa:eded. oven capacity. (which is uhat. Tototo end tbe

.t'romen were asking for) be accompa.nied. t6r increased. wa,ter storage :::ed planting

of a tree nursery to provide a cheap a.nd. ecolog:icaUy hannless supply of fuel.

In pursuit of this ecological goal lototo were put i^n touch with another

orga.nisation in Nairobi, lh.erry Developnent Internationalr alrd the group set

about finding a suitable pl-oto In tb.e event none was fouadr the idea came to

nougbte and ATAC settled t'or a larger oven nhich also heated. water from ihe

bakeryrs exj.sting storage tafiko This rvas not, however, the Last of ATACTs

i-ntenrentions in Bornani."

Oiher enk'rlpriseg

When Tototo began riorking -"rith Bonani a:rother p:'oject was r:li.ei1.iay:

cul t ivat ion of a col lect ive f ie ld. . l t ro d.etai l -ed record of t i r is enterpr ise

surrrives. According to the first secretary 2 acres of l-and- in neart[r Kaenbeni

ltere borrorqed- from a SwahiLi landou-ner. In l-979 this field was a!-',,ivated tn/

tractor for 2OOsh a:rd planted. in maize, then cotton" Tb.e naize crcp l^tas

divided. alnong g:.oup mernbersr as was 4OOsh from the sale of coi;ton {3:cup

gccor:nts simply show a"n incorne of 30Osh f:'orn cultivai;ion and no expend.iture).

this field. uas subsequently reclained. 'oy its oueer and, as ihe bakery d-e.;elopedr

no attempt was mad.e to continue the enterpriseo

Idore lucrative r,,rhile it lasted rras the har.,ticraft tra.de inii::ated- blr Tototo.

This was based upon the production of trarU-tional Giria.nra nda"].e neckJaces for

the tourist market. The vromen bought l-engths of ndqle copper wire from

specialist producers and fashioned. these ini;o rriwele, heavy pendantsr aJrd

vira^ngi, with brase and colorued- beads edd.ed.. lf feet of viire, bou4bt for 1sh,

was enough to nnake 2 or 3 viwelel the cornnonest product, so1-d to Tototo for

u-6

10sh eachl r . ' ih i le virangi fetched.20sh. Wcnen report being able to make up

to 1OO or 15O viivele in a vreek a.nd at one point group rnembers engaging in this

trad.e are record.ed. as making betl+een 35sh a.:ad. 5OOsh each in a fortnight.

Tototo shop record.s shorv that in i978 L4r95tsh was paid. out to indiuiC.uals and

)2Os1n to ihe groupr r.ihich took the _oroceeds from one necklace in every baicb

an inC.ivid.ual ozrcd.uced.. This noney was pi-ougbed. back into the bakery along

riiti:. the rnoney raised. from group subscriptionso The ',+ornenl irollever, pr-cduced.

nore neckl-aces than ti:e Tototo shop could sel11 and- after 2 years the trad.e

came to a halt along lrith other forrns of handicraft produclion which Tototo had

aiternpied. to introduce" Looking back upon ihis enterprise group nembers blarne

Tototo for its faih:re, aJr er'rerience sini1ar to llkr.rirorso The Loca1,

l,laiindil narket for necklaces remains sraall - thef are bought by Kamba rnid.dLeriren

and. sold to tourists in ihe town - and nda.le prod.ucticn is not a significanrr.;

source of incone in Bona:ri; nu.ch tir.e losii;ion t"rhen ihe groupr s traCe with

Eototo started.

i.lhen the neckl-ace er:.terprise beganr it attracted a nurnber of new nernbers to

ihe groupo A contingent of about 20 wonren joined fram ltlad.zql,arlj and. Purn',.ranj.r

some mil-es west of Boman:i anr.d a^n hor:rt s walk fron iire bakeryo !hi-s proved. a

constraint upon ihei.r acti' le pariicipai;ion in i;he grollpo In early 19?9 it i*as

suggested. tirat they nrig'ht start a separate Droject in I' iad-zayani to nake nore

effective use of their iime err.d- labour" This problern car.re to a head. l-ater in

ihe ;rear',rhen tne itreAze:Sani and Farn',ra:ri uon:len failed to contribute their laborrr

to i;he construction of a tea kiosk in tsomarii arrd were asked to pay a cess to

nake up for the fasto Following ihis, in lt80r they J.eft the glpup to fo:rn

their own i.n l{ad.zayani" This ga"oup, "'rbich buiLt its orvn tea-shop, was

adopted. by Tototo in i ts or 'm r ignt in 1!82. Bona.ni ts kiosk projecb, meanvrhi le,

d.i€- not take off. But the group d.id- taf,<e on a nurnber of new members io nrake up

for the lost contingent. Th.is was ,loue after consr.:J-tation between the ci:ain.;onan

11?

and. ihe 1ooal chief, a^nd brcught Bomanit s ;lenrbership rrp to 53.

The crisis and iis aften':ath

Fol-Lowing the d.eraise of these enterprise s-and fts abar:.d.onment of regular

.grcup subscriptions, -a1l- aitention r'ras direc'i;ed. sposs tb.e bakery. Al-1 seened.

wel-l r:ntiL 19821 althougt3 Foitp nembers ?rere d.isappointed" wiih the snaI1

profits r.ihich the bakery appeared to be rnaki-ng. fn Janu"aaTlgBZ the groupts

secreta"rXr (siil l the co--ord.inaior, but no longer paid. t'y Toioto) left lonrani

for a yeart s nurse4y school iraining in ltatugar south of Mornbasa. Eer oLace

as local nursery i;eacher was taken by the yor:ng daugtrf,er of a group mernber,

the third trea,surer (f 98e-85) g whil-e the woment's adult education class

ienporarily joined- with one starteA W ihe nenls group a:rd taughi by their

secreiary: an experinent lvh:ich, hor';ever, d.id. not last: longu In the absence

oi -bheir secretany ihe gznup .i.id- '.;eLl; and ihisr paracloricalljfu bro'rght,

their problems out into th.e cpen. In Janru.ry bhe 6roup raised- leOOOsh, 8OOsir

of iiris providei, by the ner.r treasurer, to paX- off d-ebts wirich had accr:nmlated

with the locaL shcps for the purchase of aheat flou:rr reposiiion their ovens,

renew their licence and. bql a frarned photograpb of the Presid.ento In Febnrarlr

they raised anoiher 11OO0sh to rirake a buJ.k pu:rchase of wheat flIour. With the

prof i ts fronr baking with ihis the Eroup bought a bic;rcle (zrOOOslr+) io assist

in narketing, repaired the bakery- buildingl prrt noney- aside to be clivid.ed.

e.norlg the rnenrbers, and. had. l-rOOCsh left over. At the end- of the year this r,ras

tak-en by the g:lupts secretary io be d-erosited. in i;l:.e banlr, along rriih the

profit fronn a d.isco r.rhich ha.d been he1d on the balcery ploto The vrorner were botb.

pleased. a^nd. surprised at the yearf s achievementsr and bega.n uondering why

simiLar prrcfits hacl not sholm in earlier Jreaxso At first suspicion turrred. upon

the ohainioman a.nd. the nelr treasure?, before attention srritched. to the grouprs

secretary, rvho ha.d. always kept the accor:n*s eJrd taken their monenr to the bank.-

1 1 8

Serious encluiry begen in 1983. The chief was caLIed- in a.nd asked. to look

over the groupr s books. He begen in ApriJ- a^nd gave up in Ju:ee, r.lnable to

reach anXr d.efinite conclusion. In Jrrne the groupl s secretary, who had been

taken into fi:.Il-iirne employment by Tototo ast a:r assistant fieLd. suoe:rrisor,

moved with her family to a. neart[r village where they bad. a L2 acre fa:rrlo In

JuJ.y ATACTs Project llanager uisited. Bornani to checic up on their 2JrOOOsb gra.nt.

Rlnding tb.at noi all-.was in order, she returned ]-ater in the month '.rith a

Director of Eechrrosenre, a financia,l a^nd accowrting' se:rrice based. in Nair.obi.

In lugust a Technoserve aud.itor was sent to Boma.ni and chased up the ex-

secretary, who had retained. margr of the groupf s accor:nts a^nd- receipts. Asked_

bow rnuch money the group haC in tbeir berk erccount sbe ga.ve a d.iffereat figure

to that which she had earLier given'the chief. These sums were in the range of

?-BrOOOsh" On checJring, horvever, the 3onanj- accor:nt showed a-lalance of or4y

llBOOsh. The money roust, she said., be irr the Jaribur:i accou:et; but she

could not rennember hon rnuch because it had not been used. for sorne tirqeo On

being asked. to produce the releva^nt receipts she said that she irad. taken them

to Tototors Dir,ector in llonbasao As it turned. out the J^a.ribuni account he1d. a

mere 53tstr {! cents. The combined. d.eposiis clearly ie1l short of the amount

which the secretary had. been given to bazrk at the end. of 1982), ruogether lrith

3r3o0sh from the -{TAC grant whj-ch she had. been given via Totoio to acccunt to

the groupo Meanwhi3-e the group accow.ts for January-jrure 1983 showed. a pei;ty

cash balance of l i i ; t Ie more than zt8lsh.

Faoed. with these facts and evid.ence of other imegularities Technose:rre ald

the group members pressed. for astion to recover the rnissing fi:nds. llotl::ing was

achleved. r:ntil Janr.:ary 1984r when the forrner secretarXr was j.nduced. to sign a

formal statement admitting the loss of 2lr'f2!sh 30 cents plus various ba^nk

receipte and acceoting her accowrtability for this losg. Thls statenent was

also signed by 11 witnesses including her husba.nd., the Technoserrre aud-itor

119

grcup officergl the chairman of the menrs group, the chief and the sub-chj.ef.

Table ll shows the list of missing fr:ncls as reconst:rrcted. by the [eob.nose:lret .

auditor.

TAsLg 35

t cLATMANT NASIJRE OF CT,AIM Al,lOUNI

the found-er of the bal-ance of a g:ift rnade to the. i-1!35.7Otbe ad'*Lt group in 198O. Disappointed. t6reduca,tion class the poor shordng o'f the bakerly he

bad. purchased L;2BOsh wortb. of:wheat flor:n from a wholesale,supplier in Sngoni a^nd. sold- it togroup members bit btr bit over amonth or so before presenting themwj.tb the pr.ofit: 3r??5sh plus.After putting some of this asialeas the d.eposit on a, biqrcle and.using it for other purposee the'balance was g'iven to the secretanryto tiake to the bank.

a Bomarri shop- d.ebt for the purchase of wbeat 281.95owner flour by tire group.

a Boma^ni shot d-ebt for the purcha,se' of wheat 482.&( owner flor:r and lard by the group.

( .

the groupr s 3rd d.ebt for the purchase of r-heattreasurer flour by the grorrpo

500

a local ta;ilor rernaining d.ebt for the ser^ring of Lrl-96.flbak-ery un:ifonns for the g:pup( totaf cost 2r1!6sh p lus: on ly11OOOsh paid. t6r the secretary).

the womenrs gr.oup prrcfite frrorn a d.lsco given to the 1rl-02secretary to ba;rk

I the womenrs group prcfits from baking in 1!82 given 1rlOOto the secretary to bank

TA3LU 3q (cont)

CLAI}IANT I'IA.TURE OF CLAIM

120

ATiOUNI

the woment s group firnds shorring in group recordsbrrt rnissing and rlraccor:ntedfor .

t4ro42

ATAC money frorn gra^nt given to thesecretany via Tototo to accountto the g?oup.

3,3OO

TOTIT 2 3 t 9 & . 5 5

The toi;aI sr.rm missing according to this reconstnrction is sligbtly different

from that given in ihe signed- staternent and it is d.Lffictrlt io'reconciLe the

trio. Examinaiion of surrrivj-ng goup accou:rts froro the early perroC. and- the

Technose:sre audrtorts calculatj-ons rrriiten into these showl moreovere that

be nra.d.e a. number of errors. i{hile there seems liitle d-oubt tha,t the secretarT-

d"id- m:isappro-.,'.'riate group funds, -it is impossible to verify the e=aqb arnouJtt.

Given ihe inconpleteness of avail-able records - some group mlnnbers cl-aim tha,t

the separate bread accounts were b'ar:rt by the secretarXr when she left Somanj. -

ihe aud-itor had. to resort to the recollections, claiims and counter.-claims of

g:roup rnembers. This enquiry took place in a very charged' atnroslrhere and 'uhe

bj-tter:ress this affair generated has yet to subside. Looking backr group

nenbers say that they now recognize r,rhat they d.id. not at the tiine. tsefore the

crisis they had ccnplete i;nrst in their secretary a^nd. teacirer. 'r{hen she

sr:rnmarised. their- accou.nts in Thursd.atrr meetings they had no reason to di sbelieve

her a.nd- no one else was sufficiently literate or felt cornpetent enough to cr.oss-

checlc the accounts she kept. l.lhen she toLd group roembets that thel€ was no

reason for others to accompany her to the bark they never suspected. that she

might have different plans for their fundso Now the6r thiDk otherw'ise alrcl

( _

121

believe that over the years she was pocketing nonelr ent:rrsted- to her bit by

bit. Vlewed. in retrospect particralar inoidents sta^nd out. Some of these

have aLrea.d.,,v been touched upon. The thirrC. treasurer reca1ls, for exam.ple,

that when she weat to colLect 1r600sh owed. to the group and. individ.ual members

by a, Congoni custoner in 1!82 she arrived. to find that lrOOOsh bad 6,f1.saay

beea taken by the seoretanXre tb.e porbion oned to the gtoup as opposed. io

indi'ridualso When investiga.tions ilere r:ndemay in L983 these 2 woreen argued.

bitterly over sirnil-ar'incidentsr d.isputing su:ns whicb had. been tritb.d.rarrn and

purchases they had nade together.

fhis affair has had a, d.ra.n,atic effesb upon tbe groug a^nd its eaterprise.

In this respect ritcbcraft belief has played. a^n iinportaat rcle. The background.

io this is as folLows. l'{bea ihe bakery ivas :-j-rst buj.lt the secretary arranged-

for a ned.icine-nnan from another village to come a.nd. install protective

medicine inthe building. fhis was to proieci the enterorise from the

nacirj.nations of jealous husband.s and otherso fhe ned-icine was instaLl-ed in ibe

presence of 2-3 other group members. l{hen the secretary 1ef-t Bomani in r:rid

1983 they d.i-scovered. that it had been removedo I'hen, in October, alarming

ihings--started. happening. F.rma.n faeces, stranrgely odor:rless, were found one

inorning outside the bekery door after. one of the women had beea beking through

ihe rright and had. neither seen nor heard. anJrolre apprrcach. On another

occasion bread. doUdr rose excessivelyl burst open, a^nd srnalL biting ants

swar:'ned out from it. A consignnent of fresh loaves taken to be sold in !,Ia]-indi

was for:nd. to be stale upon arrirra.l and- had. to be thrpwn d\!{/t In-December 5

boxee (fq4 kS) of wheat flor:r failed and had to be written off. tr'ina1Iy1 in

March lr914, the glass frames hold.ing the groupte licence, registration

nurnber, and picture_ of the Presid.ent wero found one morning smashed, on the

bakery f1oorl whlle tbe registration nunnber ha.d. been d.eliberateLy scratched.

r22

out. Frigbtened W these events all but a handfiil of women stopped. coning

to the bakery. The inplication was that the former secretaey had rernoved tbe

bakeryts protective medioine and $a-s in some way resDonsible for vbat nas

'h.appenlng. This had a more potent effest upo,.* the women wbo were not

edb.erents. of a. world. relig'ion but followerg of- tradiiional Giria.na practice.

llhile a large.nunber retrrrned. to bakiag in 1t84r over half of ihe group

members d-ropped. out in the course of the yearl sorl€ at tbe insisbence of their

husba^ndso Tlris, as Table 16'shorvs, included nos+ of the traditionali'sts.

T.AgtE 36

RB,IGTOSi Tot.al,sLmt I1{ 1983-84 RE'IABrED ACTilTE/snu-tc$rvn

Christia^n 14

MusLin 3

TraCit ionalist 13

30

1 ' l

1 5

z

4

TOT.AL$ >z-22JU

* exol-r:rles the er-secretary, a Rornan CathoLic

fhe womerr .*ho left at this time have sti1l not returr:ed. to active participation

in tb.e group and are eupbenristically said to be rrrestind'. Active mernbers hope

that most of them r^rill return to the grcup and think that it is only a roatter

. of time before they do. The Locfl sub-chief thinks that they should. not be

allowed. back in but the group d.isag:reesl althougb. they have enterlained. the

tbought that those frorn the 1t8O intake wbo left should. be penalised. t6r having

to pay sonethlng in reoognition of the labour and rnoney wbich 19?3 nembers

_ earlier invested. in the group. Roughly equa.L numbers of 19?3 and 1!8O members

lefb in 1!83-84: arnong the former were the r,rives of the adult ed.ucatfon classrs

1 2 1

fotnder. Religious affil iation provides the only significant correlation,

a fact recognised. b'y the lromen themselves. T'leis affaj.r has left the group

dominated. by Christia,ns in a, way r,rhich it was not before the crisis. The

effective weeding-out of women who nigiit be considered. more firmly rpoted in

an' ethos which is characteristically ininrica"l to the d.evelopnent of capitalist

enterprise can be ini;er-oreted. as a neat result in terns of the logic of this

enterprisers developmentr atrr accid,ent pronooting its -further rationalisation.

Another conseqllence of this affair was a real!.gnnent ia relations between

the group and. the NGOs supporting it. Tototol placed. in a somewhat awlnrard.

position by their emp3-otrnoent of the groupr s forrner secreta.:qr, d.id not inteq/ene

d.irectly cluring the crisi.s; a task takea olr b;r {IAC and- Bechnosetsreo Tb.e, ex-

secretary, no.w an assistant field. supe::visor, renained Tototor's main contact,

t.ltb the group a^nd g-iven the accusations whj-ch were d.j-rected toward.s her ii is

hardly surprising that thls contast was suspend.ed. -i;hr.or:gh 1984. triollordng h.er

signed' adoission of gtilt no arangeneent ha.d. been na.d.e for repatrrment of the

m-issing ftrnd.s and none was forthcoming. ATAC a"nd. fechnosexve continued. t.o press

for action a.nd- in November 1984 arra^nged a neeting ri th Tctotors Director,

Bomanits new secretarye arrd her accussed. predecessor at Karr.amai. It was agreed.

that fototo wor:]-d. d-ed-uct the 313OOsh nissing from tne -A.TAC grerlt from the

latterts sa1ary and 3lOOOsb. of ihis was given to the group the following montho

Tototo maintained, then as now, that theft of the nrissing fi:nd.s could. not be

prcven: the loss couLd equa13-y be ascribed to rnistakes in book-keepingl while

i.t was clear that roost of the grouprs prcfits over the period. irr question had

been reinvested- in build.ing a.nd equippin€ tb.e bakery. In any event when tbe

a[eg€d. misappropriation took place the secretazy qas not a Tototo employee:

Tototo could. not therefore be heId. accor:ntable for the nrissing ffrnd"s, a problem

lvhose, solution lay rrith the 1ocal authorities.

( -

L24

Aga,inr more interesting than tbe elusive tnrth are the effeots whicb

these d.ifferent stances bave UaA. llhe problem remains in- ttre hand.s of tbe

local" adninistrati.on a.ad to d-ate no action has beqr taken. As a. result the

g?coup has become progressively estra:rged. frorn the local agents of the state.

Despite repeated. requests to do sonethiag about sectrring repa6rnent of the

ndssing f\mds tb.e-chlef a.nd. sub-chief have not d.one arrythiag', whiLe.the group

has tri-ed.r ur3.s11ccessfti-LJ-yi appealing over their heads to higher autborities.

Some nemberg suggest tbat they are acting (or rather not actlag') in collusion-:

vrith tb.e. ex-secretarXrr who nor trol-ds posts in KAI.IU up to district 1evel and.

has a^ number of influential corurestions. In any case the wonen generalS-y bo1d.

their chief ancl sub-chief in Iow regard. and. ha,ve as fiJitle to clo with then ae

possible. Cne way this is manifested is in their relusta^nce to participate

fuI1y in 1ocal fi:nd--raising drives. In December 1!B! the third treasr:rer,

whose earlier eathusiasm for s:uch events had earned. her the aiclgrane I'Mana

Hararnbeerrr refused. to the sub-chiefrs request that she attend. a- fr:nd.-raising,

telling irin that she had enough '*crk to d.o at home a.nd. in the bakery and. noiing,

laterr that he coul-d. not force her to parbicipate. This is a position which

und.evelopecL groups a^nd. -their members oa.rl generally not afford to takeo

l'leanwhile the group hadl for obviou-s reasonsr become estranged. from

Tototo. Technosexve, on tbe oib.er hand.r took an j-ncreasing interest ia

Boma.n:i. At the beg:inning of 1!84 their auditor introd.uced. a new system of

book-kee.Ding a.yrd. advised. the ne?r secretary (and. adt0t/nursery teacher) in its

us€r 3 wieldy leCgers were purchased. by the grcup: one for imprest cash, one

for cash sal-es a.nd one for ba.nk tra.nsactions. Thereafter the aud.itor visited.

Boma^ni every 3 or { months, penrsed. the accor:nts a^nct added. copious notes for

the instruction and benefit of ttre secretary. fhe hoped. for effeot of these

a^nd subsequent interwentions was further rationallsation of tb,e bakery

enter-orlse along capitalist- linee. Technoserve renained in contact with Tototo:

L25

after their ar:ditor had visited. the group in July L985. they rrrote obsenri.ng

tbe nebd. for bakery rosters, a code of nrJ.es, and. prrcfit-sharing upon a

pre-d.etermined. base. Tototo, however, whj.le accept5.ng tb.e need for

ratioaalisationl wer€ uatr.appy with the technocratic a.nd. forrnal- style of

Technoservers interventionso Eb11or+ing iheir renewed engag€ment rrith Bonrani

and. the opening of its tea-shop in Ll8l (see below) 1 Tototo thanked. Techno-

setlt/e for their assistance and 1et then h:ow that they wordd continue the

job -i;hemselves. Ir llf,arch )_986 [ototo folIor*ed f,b:is up tryr sending one of their

ol.m staffr a, volr.utteex second.ed. frorc Lutbera^n Horld Re1J.ef, - to rvork rrith the

wonen over a 3 non*b period.'and. review tbeir businbss a.nd accounting practice

in a style more apgropriata to Tototors nonfo:ma.l'ethos. At tbe sarne ti.rne the

er-secretar?- swapped. places with another assistant field. super-,risor aJrd. ,..ras

thds removed. from <iirect contact irith the groulro

Status a;rd d.evelopnnent of goun enterp:'ises

Ietailed r'ecord.s of bakery sales ar:.d. costs are not available for the period-

before the crisis in 1983. fn 1!81 sales of bread a^re record-ed. as totalling

2lrooosh (a.n average of !r?5osh per nnonth) tut the frrll list of expenditure on

ingred.ients and. rnarketing' is nissing. The ATAC consr:.ltarrt Jent to Bomani in

1!82 estimated i;hat tbe bakeqi was making sorne llJOOsb. every nonth. Ifowever,

the reccrds kept after Technoserr/ets intenrention show the enterprise in a

rather less coinfortable situation, stnrggling to break €V€nr fhis inforrnation

is sumnarised. in lable lJr show'ing bread saLes anrl direct prod.uction and.

mar*ceting costs between Ja.nua,ry 1984 a^na August 1985. This d"oes not show total

bakerXr gutnutl but. only the portion orgenised. collectively by the groupr Since

the starb of the enterprise ind.ividual members had also baked. a.nd. sold. brea.d. for

individ-ua.l prcfit, th.eir main source of renurneratj-on frorn the bakery. No

recolrls are kept of this individual ira.de, tlror:gti the levels of productlon are

fixed by the group. From 19Bo througlr to 1985 indivldual prod.uction was set at

(

( ___

L26

hal-f the volume of pr"od.uction for the group.

TtstE 3?

Dro$fivYEAR INCOI.IE ffiPBIDIITUNEIdONMILYB.OLA}{gE

NO. OFBAKERS

t -_-

Jaau.a4r r-9B4

Febn:ary rr

i'tarcb it

April rl

May rl

.Itrae rt

Ju-1y rr

August rr

Septernber 'r

October rr

llovelirber rl

Decembe:e' rl

Jarrua:qr L9B5

Febnrary tl

lilarch rl

April rr

Ma.y rl

June rl

July rr

August rl

41 62o sl

air6n

12rrg5

14r0?o

9 1235

6r4@.

9 t865

4r827

5fi84

4 r 2 8 3

2r376

8r694

3ro9O

3,3OO

3,120

4 1 o I !

3 ,L20

417 j .2

21167

1? rOO5

]-.4r446

1 3 , 6 8 5

8r433

7 r3tZ

groBG

5to4o

o t oo\J

5ro18

2 1 2 2 6

g ,o4B

3r 513

21268

41829

5r 3BB

3r141*

31984

2t453

-3r355

-2r25L

385

Bo2'

-852

773

_1 I J

-676

-735

150

-35+

-Q3

1 r 0 3 2

-].t7o9

-577

_21

728

19

30

22

20

1 5

17

T2

10

9

1 3

7

8

10

10

9

12

suB4oTtS 1gB4

SUBJTOTIL 1985

TOTAL

96t259

22 rL53

118 r 412

loo ,126

2 3 t t z 3

t231249

-3, 86?

-970

_4, B3T

* incompLete

1 2 1- - I

The price of the roain ing:red.ient (wheat fior:r) a,nd the wholesale a.nd.

retail pritces of the prod.uct (loaves of bread.) are fixed tvy the goverrunent.

fb.is pricing stnrotnre d.oesr howe!€r, leave.sone room for profit: in theorXr

baking profits should. represent between one fifth anrd one ttdd of total sa^les.

Table 38 is based. upon December 1985 prices for the prod.uction and sale of Q

loaves.

TAsLE ]B

SAT.6 COST$ (locat- retai l pnicee)

( -

42 Loaves at wholesale 12 kg l (6 tagF) of wheat f lour . .o . . . .?8.90p r i c e o f 3 ' 5 o p e r l o a f " " " 1 4 ? s h . * u o , . o f y e a s t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 .

{ 2 l o a v e s a t r e t a i l * k ' S o f } a r d . . . o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . 3 5p r i c e o f 3 ' ? 0 p e r 1 o a f " " " L i i o Q o

* r c g o f s u g a r . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . 8 5

) � 2 * S o f s a 1 f , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5

2 0 l i t r e s o f w a t e r . . . . . . . . . . ' . . . . . . . 3

b u n d l e o f f i r e u o o d . . . . . r . o . . . . . . . . . . . 2

4 2 p l a s t i c w r a p p e r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B . 4 O

t r a n s p o r * t o n a r k e t . . . . . . . . . . . b e t w e e n C -1)sh

between 147-155.4Osh between 104.15-119.15

profit ott P loaves = 27.85 - 5].,-25 sh

Group mernbers confirned that ihey regularly nade profits of this orCer from

their indiuidr::.l beking. Given the groupt s failure to achieve comparable

results it is clear tb.at ba^king is not as efficient as it night be a^nd. that

the group absorbs nost of the wastage which occurs in the course of prod.uction

t6r women who are also baking for indiviclual profit. The fact that no records

are kept of inclivid.ual- baking nrakes this d.ifficult to check a.nd control.

Bomani shares thie problem rrith a^nother Tototo-sponsored group and. bakery

{

I 28

nhere ind.ivid.uals have similarly favoured their own over groud baki.ng.3 This

is part and parcel of a more general phenomenoa: the inefficiency of collective

as opposed" to household oroduction.

Frora late 1984 on the group eryerienced. consid-erable d.ifficuJ-ty ia

obtainj.ng a.d.equate sarpplies of wheat flor:r, a.u,cL this in turrr had an ad.verse

effect upon the bakezyrs maz*ets. The flour has frequently been poor in qrrality

and loaves have spoiLed: on other occasionsr as in ilarch aad july 1985r the

supply of flour d.ried. up altogetbero Sub-sta.nd.ard. flor:-r ca.n only be reeognised.

after rnixingl a.:rd it is d.ifficult to seclt:pe arr3r conpensation from retailers a.nd.

wholesal-e supplierso In August 1985 4 boxes (g5 *e) of flIour fai-led and. the

group only got their money baolc on orr.. the state-o'wTred supoliers, ASfAt

claim that poor quality resul-ts frorn the rvheat croo being ha:rresierL too ear1y.

Bui ii is aLso a consequence of poor storageo Elor:r in bores (targ€ packets

containin€ LZ 2 kg bagE) is pariicuS-ar1y prone i;o deterioratioa. Or:.e way round-

these prcblems is for the group to brly flIour by the sack (J boxes rvorih). Bni,

the nearest place sacks can be obtained is direct fron, ATTA in Mornbasa and. the

ertra transport costs this wor:J-d. involve are generally considered. too high.

Instead a 1ot of the g?ouprs flour comes in boxes fron 1ocal retailers in Bomani,

more expensively than if it lrere obtained. from wholesal-e outlets in i,laLindi.

Following its d.ifficr:l-ty in maintaj-ning the level and. sta^nd-ards of

prod.uction, the bakeryl although stil1 the only' one in the area, has lost

most of its rnarkets to competitors from further afieLd" Table 39 ind.icates the

past and. present status of these markets. As a result of their d.ecline

prod.uction has been halved. Between L!8O and. rdd-1985 individua-L bakers baked.

1 box of flour for the group arrA + a box for themselves. In October 1985 this

was cut to 3 a box for the group and + of a box for indivldrlal profit. At the

same time, following advioe from Tototor individual sales were restri.cted. to

the markets outsid.e Boma.nl where bread can only be sold at the wh,olesale prlce

'l 20

TABLE 3q

PL.[CE tstrrER

INTTIALSIZE OFORD&?.

STASU$DEC. 85 COirfi.miTS

( -__

Marafa.

Ma.urbnri

Lanru

Itrgoner::i

Mjanaheri

Congoni

Gongoni

2 Giriarnahotel*oll-rrers

SwahiLihotelowner

Svrahilihotelowner

IIo 6o

Giria-nahotelowner

Girianahotelowner

Giriarnashopowner

Swahilihotelowner

5O loavesevery 3iLays

60 loavesevery d.ay

2OO loaves(period. notstated.)

Ilr €!o

5O loavesevery otherd-ay

4O loavesevery- d.ay

20 loavesevery day

10 l-oavesevery day

stooped.in mid-\gB5

50 loaveseveryother d-ay

stopped.pre-1t81

stopped.pre-I!B{

stoppe{in mid-I9B5

stopoedin mid-L9B5

stopped.in nid-r..9B5

stopped.in mid-1985

this order, originallysecured. 'oy the chai::woman,was fi11ed- by the group( rather tha.le ind-ivid.r.ra.1bakers) a"nri transported. iqybus for LJsh. Ore of theol'rners is the ch-ief ofMarafa loca.tion. lta,rafa hasa woments g?oup which is nowbuilding its oror blkery.

this ord.er lras-initiated. bylbhe owner lr-irnseIf. I,lhen itwas not net in mid-1985 andh.e was not inforrned. wbg'- hebegan taking loaves from abakery in Kilifi. Tbe Bomaaiorder was restored. in Novemberbut halved-. The order isdiuided. between the group and.indivi-duals and- the gzoupr scg-clist is paid 12sb. toiranspori the loavee.

the same bqrer as tbeManbruui order. fhe loaveswere taken to Larnu t[r brrs"

bicycle transpor* cost 1Jsb.

order for group loavessecured. W the 3rd treasurer.Bicycle transport cost 10sh.

order fil led- by the groupa^nd secirred, along withother Gongoni ordersl by thelrd- treas.,rrer. Biqlcletransoort cost 10sh.

order fi1led by individualbakers.

order filLed. by individualbakers.

Gongoni

130

TA3LE 39 (cont)

FT,ACE tsI�TER ORDM. STATUS coru'lEllTSl

| -.-

Gongoui

ldalind.i

Marike'or::ri

Soraar:r:i

-Kensalt

n. aa

Giriamakioskowner

individualcustomers

irregularorder for1OO-150loaves

Ilr &.

20 loavesevery ld.ays

stopped.in nid-rg85

stopped.in 1983

began inI'Iovember1gB5

constanttradesubject toavailabilityof wireatf]-our

or.ders brought W groupmembers working casrrallyat the salt works.

loaves transpor-ted. t6r bus.

order secured. by the 3rdtreasurer and initiallyfi11ed. by ind-ivid.ual bakers.

loaves sold from the bakeryand, beginning in October1985, from the grouptg ofirhoteL.

' Restrisbecl at the.

same tfune to tbe group and.so1d. at retail prices.

* a hotel is a tea-shop/place senring cooked_ food.

of 3sh 5o cents per loaf. iienceforih only group brea.d nas

itseLf at the nore profi table retai l price of 3sh ?O cents.

ind-ivid.ua1 baking was stopped. altogeiher.

io be soLd. in Bomani

fn ear3-y 1986

In late 1985 the group was responding to its marketing problems tryr seeking

to establish its orrn retail, outlets. In llarafa ihe wome!:. planned to open

a storel to be rr:n by a paid assista.nt alrd. selling Bornani brea.d. as weLl_ a,6

fresh vegetablee. A suitable build.i-ng was located. but permission to go ahead-

vdth the ente{orise was blocked W the 1oca1 chief, a former qr:.stomer and. hotel

owner hirnself. More pronising were plans to buil-A a. sma1l kiosk in Gongoni from

which to selI bread and hot and. cold. d.rinks, again using a paid. assi.stalt.

fhrougb the efforts of the 3r4 treasurer a plot was gre.rrted. to the group free of

cbarge and. pbrmission to buiLd. was g?arted. in December b,y the chief of tr\:nd.i.sha

location. MeanwhiS.e, the group had opened its ou.n hotel- 1n the bakery building,

realising an ar:nbition d.ating from 1!J!. fhig was achieved. with the help of

I -_-

131

Tototol which bad renewed its active invoLvement r,rith SonEJri follorring a

plea made W the chain+oman and 3rd. treasurer in ea,rly 198j. flrd hotel was

officialLy opened btrr lototors Director in Octoher, a^nd the group presented.

rrith utensil-s a.nd. ingred.ients -for the irritiation of the enterprisei Taking

it in turr:s F'core of active nembers bega^n selling tea, sometimes scones

and. other kinds of sweCt breadr. and. loaves from the bakery. Ingredients for

the tea were bought as need. arose from the local sh.ope whiLe other produets

were provid-ed. by both group members alrd others. Tbe erbra 2o cents gpined

$r seLling loaves at retail prices was to be retauined in hotel accor:nts, kept

sepa.rately fron those for the bakery, but th-is has not bappened.. scones

baked. in the bakery are being so1d. for individuaJ- rather than group profit,

thus negating the pronrised. benefit from orodusb diveisificaiion into ar.eas

free frorn governnent price reglrlation. Fo11ow'ing the inter,rention of Tototors

Lutheraa volutteer the wolneo bega.n purchasing manJr b.ote1 ingred.ients wholesa.Le

in Malindi. Eotel profiis, bowever, remain small: in April 1986 it maj-e

just r:nd"er 4O?sh, subsequenily invested. in the pu:.chase of more utensils.

There are 2 other hotels in Borna.ni and tf,e cLientele,is smaI1, a ihizd. to a

ha.1f being group rnembers themselves. Members worktng in the hotel have not

been renumerated. for their labour, r*hiLe a lot of purchases ale mad.e on cred.it

and debts of llsh or mo(e are accr:r,n:J.ated. everynuek.4

Ihe group has also returned to anothen early enterprise: cultivation of

a collective fie1d.. In 1984 group members started cultivating a Z acre field

in nearbtrr Marikebwril renteC. from a Swahili owner for l5Osh a year. The

resulting sesa&e crop was sold. for 5OOst and cotton for 1r2OOsh. 5OOstr of this

wa's spent on polythene wrappers and. flor:r for the bakery, all of which

spoiled. Hla.:ns were afoot to d.iviile the remaining 112O0sh between the women

wbo had worked the field accordlng to their d.j.ffereat labour lnputs: but by.

the end. of L9B5 this had stil-l not been done. In 1985 the group failed to

132

obtain secarne seed. and instead greil a. crop of maj.ze, most of which was

stoLen from the stalks before it could be ha,rrrested. Ehe cotton crop was

sti1l being picked. and sorbed at the encl of the year. fn 1985 the group

also &iscussed. the possibility of grolring pio.*pifes at !{akal-a1 narqr rniles

inland of Bomarui and near the home of one of the members. rrlhil-e a processing

antl canrring factoqy i.s curently being pfanned- for the area, the wonen

erpressed. resenrations about the diffiorlty of inarkeiing tbe cropl whicti is

br11ry a^nd otherrrise wouLd havs to be traasported. quicicly to l{alind.i.

IIOUSEiOLN; ECOIIOIfT

Members a.nd tbeir bouseholds

Tables dP-42 surmoai.ise inforoation (a6e, nan-talfchil-d-bearing ieistory,

and esbended. houseb.old composition) on l-2 active a.nd. inastive members and- the

household.s to wh:ich tbey belongo llost merobers are Giriarna from i;he hini;erl-axrd.

of Malindi" 0ne, the 2nd. treasurer (now inactive) I is SwahiLil while the

4th treasurer was borrr in Somani to a Dununa father and. Giria^na mother (also a

group nenrbe:r). tr'ew have ha.d. anqr scbool educa,tion and a nurnber were first

married. in their early teensr some yeats before they bore childreno Bridewealth,

paynients ralrge between 4rOOOsh for ant r:ned.ucated.-d.aughter and. BrOOOstr for a

sc&rool leaver, and may be parbly paicl in cattle. Polygrrly i.s practised.

regardl-ess of relig'ious affiliationl a^nd 11 members (fOO were co-r.v'ives. In

1985 26V wete either widowed. (l5f) or divorcea (ff%) I anC. the interviewed-

sa^mple had an'avera€€ age of 36. Resid-en?ial anangements are sirnilar to those

in Dla.ni a.nd. Jiba.nal al-ttrough members househoLd.s are rather more d.lspersed and.

only hal-f of tb.e wone! live itr Bom:ni itself"

| _,_-

fasrE 40

t>tg 2a-24A@ IN IEARS

30-34 35-39 &-44

133

fr..54 5>rg 60-642>29 4>49

2_

TABTE 4,1

acE, @u6t. st lI 0 cl F * # n 3 # s 5c,

L9

2l std..?

22

30

3L std.z

32

35 sta.3

A 1

, 1+L

46

47

54-

M

D

u

i{

.r{

lt

D

11

1,1

l{

ld

II

1

1

z

z

I

I

2

1

1

1

1

2

1

1

A

3

7I

B

11

3

1

z inacrtive

secretargr

corunittee

active

inaotive

active

active /

inactive

inactive'

3r.d treasllrer

lst treasurecinactive

chai::,1'iomanr

1____

1

1

1+6

5

3

1+O+5

B

10

L 5

,

>+0

1

1

5

2

1

1 2

z

l_

1 2

t_

1

1

1

I

!

1

a

1

n 2

2 ' l

1 1

2 3I

I

key as in Tables 7 and 27.

mearl nurnber of narriages = 1o 3istiLl aLiv.e = 5i mortalitlr rateW the woman herself) = 9.2.

nearr nr:rnber of children = 5.5i= 9fr; me'Yr nurnber of depend.ent

mean numbert -

c.fl]-lclten l\ oorn

l_34

rAsrg 42

Rg,agrol{BEN}IffiNE(Tn{Du)IIOUSE{qT,NS

r\O.0FGROUPMEMBERS]

ADULT$

male female

CIiILNRBI TOT.AL

headed bry ana.n with 2rrives inseparatehouseho].ds

I

1

3

( r )4

1

2L

3

2B

4

( '

i-;

3-:;i

iacluding a.son lrith 2wives inseparatehouseb.oLd.s

7

1

1

( r )

2

1

10

?

t2

headed- by anan wii;b 5nives in Zseparatehouseholds

L

(: .)

2 1L

2

6

11

L2 1B

1 2 2 1 0 1 4

- _ -

t 5

221 AI +

3

5

2g1 B

[oTtL$ T+ 20 36 1L0 166

( _ _

1 3 5

Gultivation

. Boroa.ni lies r.ritbin the lO-crile strip forurerly he1d. by the sr.rltans of

Zaaz;,rba,r r:nder British administration. Inland of tbe strip are 3 ertensive

settlernent schemes: t1a€ariai, Strauri liloyo and. Ra^ura.cla, the first of which

was initiated. in 19?B ir:.th assista4lce- from the -lustralian governmeni. Land.

on these'schenes ls being consolidatetl into 3O acre plots for r*hioh title

ca.n eventua,lLy be secr:red W palrmeni of 6rCOOsh. Most of the Land. rrithj-n the

lO-miLe strip is still- owned. by people the 1oca1 Giriarna, refer to as SwabiLi

or Arabs, while some patches are d.esignated. as Crowr (governmeat) fana. As

a conseqlience tnost resid.ents of Boma^n:i a.led the sui^round.ing villages live a.nC.'

cultivate on l_end which they d.o not. have title to. soma bav.e, reached

agreenient liith the Swa.hiLi landovrners a.nd. orl-tivate ihe la"nd. for free; others

paf a yearl-y rentr-often nominalr for i ts use" Ttre najority of landoiqners

are absentee, living and. n:nning businesses in lfalindi, Mombasa and. other

tor^nrsl and. nary Giria.na cultivate as souatters without reference to the

oi,rnerst This bas resulted. in a secondary tier of 1a^nd rights and rowrershipl

operating among the Giriama themselvesa land. anrd trees are bougtrt qnd. solcl

regard-less of fu11 legal ownership. Large areasr of land remain uncleared. and.

some loca1s have obtained. ertensive holdings ihrouglt clearing busb, nore'

ertensive than those available in other coastal d-istr icts. There is, however,

considerable insqcurity over'1and holding. tr'rom ti.nne to time Swahili l-and.owners

press their clainns: to repossess land they only have to compensate squatters

for the trees they have planted. Loca.l resistance manifests itself in the form

of ritchcrafts on€.Swahili family in Boma^nl rithdrew tbei"r claincs after their

father su.ddenly fe11 111 a^ncl d.iecl in the course -of

an attennpt to repossees his

l-and.. fnsecurity is greatest over-resid.ential plots- ar:,d. this has fostered. a

higil rate of resid.ential rnobility in the area. Even tbougb the woments group

has title to the bakery plot tbe former owner6, luoluding the inactive 2nd.

( '

136

treasurerr continue to bold d.iscos on it from r.rhich they alone reap the

profits.

ftrltiva'bion and related. activities are conducted alnost continr:ously

thrrcugh the year. ldai-ne, the rnain subsistence crop, is often interpJ.a.ntecl

il:ith sesane and. its haruest in August ca^n be folloffd'oy the plaaiing of a-

second cash-cropr cotton. tr'o11owing the cotton hanrest the cashewmrt

season beginsr lasting througti to the long rains and the start of the nert

yea"trs agriarltural cyclo. l{ost agricrrltural labour is performed. tryr women,

assisted. by their childrea ia the school hoLidays. Table 4j surrnarises the

agric'ultura^I enterprises of L2 group members. in, l!Bj, a.rrd. shows a consid.era.ble

variatiou, related. in pazt to differential Erccess to pr.rrobased. a.d. othertinputso

TAsLt 43

Me Fi PLA0E OMIER.SEP

A8E]Lclll,$.lllACNES, LASOIIR CROPS, EAR\TEST COi,ff'IN.{TS

A,B ,C .

1 Ka^nagoni husband. IO( to teincorporateil

- in settlemeatscheme)

z Ranada

co-w'ives andchild.ren,weeded. once

as above

as above,weed.ed. twice

maJ'ze 20 sacks( B a c r e s )

no fert i l lzerused., randompla.nting

for homeconsumption

crop d.=-ied up

3 Bomani

husband.; 7borrowed( to 'oe

incorporatedin scheme)

husband.; 4bor:ght from (ofSnahili 62)owner riith2 other men

COrlFpeag

(6 aores)

n4ize:

beanrs

naize

cassava

cashewe

f sacks

2{ sacks

none

poor plantsdiseased-, cropeaten straight

- from field..Only enoughrnaize grewn onal-l fiel-ds tol-ast 6 months.

[.[3LE 43 (cont)

Me Fi PL&A0E O}NiER,sEP AREA LA30iri.

137

T

Cn0PSj HARVEST COIII.IE{TS

A t 4B,c .

Kaerobeni husband 10bought frqro -a Giria:na;gover::ment1a^ld

as abover, with cashewshelp frornbusbancl

whole l9B4-85cashew cropsoLd. for4r500sh forhusba^nd.

(

5 Marikebuni husbandoays Svrhi 1i

' or"rrlel 2Jsb. ayear

6 Boma.:ri

1+ with sonrewife andcb.ildren;belped. by afemalecasuallabourerpaid. bgr iier

poor

pesticidebought bybusba^ncl; notso1d. tryrDecember

l- saclc a good. crop,so1d. for 2@sh;monq; tohusband.

33 sacks enough maizei;o last mostof the year

rg84*85cashew cropsold. for2 r 6 O 0 s h ' f c rhusband

najze'

cotton($ acre)

.1,.-**

sesame

ma].ze

cashews

cashews

casnewg

I'laja-ba,zitj'

husba.nd.r 2bought f:'om (ofSriairili o'*.-lt€r 62\r.;ith 2 others( sane plot as3r above)

husba.nd., I2zbought froma Giriarna;on governmentland

cul-tivated. byiracior,plarrted-

i;hemselvesand- lreed.ed.once b3r casuall-abourers; allpaid. by husbanid.

B l,tisufini husba^nd., 15bought froma Giriarna;Svrahili 1and"

E 9 Mapimo cleared. t6r 1+husbancl a.nd.his 2 brothers;Swahill 1and.

with husba.ndt sbrothers I

wives

maize

ges€une

poor

none

no fert i l izer

not weeded orha::rrested.because all 3wonenpregnant

cleared. t5r 1ber; Swallil lowner

10 Mapimo as above maize poor

tagrE 43 (cont)

lds Fi PLACE OI{NER,SHIP ARE& L.ASOUR

I38

CROPS{ HARVEST C0lrll{BITS

E 11 l{apino cleared- t6r I ashusbandr sbrother;Swabili Iand.

maize poor-

cottou DOOr

eni: ire'naizecrop eatea tyDecember

no pesticid.e;crop soJ-d. forlOOsh forbusba^ndt sbrother

above

tF. 12 - Marjjrebuni ctrltivated 2 with

uith (of 3) chi-Ldrenpe:missioor of andSwahi Ii, owner' husba.:rd.

worked alone

naize

cotton

cashews

cashe$s

1 sack no fertilizer;poor'harrresta.:cd depeaderrtupolr. shops

poor no pestioide;' sold. fo:r lOoshb5r husband.

1984-85 cropsold. for 4OOsh.by husbard

t

13 tlarikeb'rni sb.e bought Ifrora a,

Giriama;Swahili 1and.

G 14 ltlarjlebuni borrowed-fron Swahiliowner

b cultivated. by maize,'i;ractor forl2Oshr paid byher. .llso pa;id.l80sh to 3Giriama wonenand 1 rnarr. top lant ar td weed; - - - - -^further belped.

sesarlle

by mother (E)and sisters

10 sacks cor*-d.ungspread oa f ield:

' harvest pooledwith her rnother(n), r i .ving inthe samehousehold.

crop sold tolocal- shopsfor 2 j lsh; hermoney

8 15' Sosoni oleared withhusba^nd-;Swahili land.

4 cultivatedr as naiae JB sacks(of o ther f ie lds,LZ) r. i . th' the help of'a permanent rna.Le

tork"r, pai& o. cow-P€as none

lOosh a week t6rher husbandl margo€s nonesometi-mes her.lieed.ed" tr+ice,

co@nut Parm8

harrrested with oashewschildren" Treesplanted t6r husband.

all fleld.sspreed withcow-dr::lg

eaten 'o6r

catt le

low rainfall

pla^nted. ln 1983

TABTE 43 (cont)

Me El PLACIIE AREA LABOI]R

139

CROP$ SARVEST COMMHIITSOI.INEB,SHIP

H 16 Maoiroo

l7 ltlapirno

LB Bomani

bormwed Zfrom Swbhili.owller

she boggbt 3from a (.orGiriaroa; T*)Swahili owned

borrowed 4fron hermother whohad. earlierobtained.perrnission tocultivatefrorn theSwatrili oilner

she bougbtfrom aGiriana;Swahili or,nrecl

cleared bgrherl SwahiLiLand

cultivated. bytractor for4BOsh; 12Giria^oar ] merr.a^nd 5 woaenpaicl 3OO.sh, toweed.. Eusbandalso beLped.

"otti,ttted b'Ytractor forl?Oshi sarnecasu,allator:rers paicl3OOsh to weed..Other wor{<;especial1y onithe sesamecrop, Cone t6rhousehoLdmembers.

crrltivated- Whousebol4members

51 saclcs

llt saclcs

35 saclcs

eatiresesa$e cropso1d. for116oosn;mon€[r tohusba"nd.

for homeconsumptiom

a lot of thecrop eatenstrai-ght fromtb.e field..The totaI,household.rnaiae crop of2{} sacks issufficientfor homeconsumption.In 1984 40?sacks wereharrrested- a.rrd.th.e surplusgiven to herhusbaJd.r'sbrother.

mai-ze

sesalne

maize

sesa&e-

ca-ssalra

cashews

rnaize

19 Mapino oashews

pla^nied the cashewstreas herself

20 l'lapirno

*

I&

TABLE +3 (oont)

Me Et PLACE OHMERSIII? A3'EA LISOUR CROPS EARVES{I COIrtsIBllt$

E 2l Mapimo

22 illapimo

23 Mapimo

husband.cleared;Swa.hi1i1and

husband.cleared.;SwahiliLaad

husbandcIeared.lSt"rahiLi1a&d-

pl.anted byhusbarcl

plarried bryhusband

planted byb.usband.

cashews

oa,sneltg

ca.shews

L)BQ-$5cashew cropso1d. for3eJOOsh for.her hu.sbaltd.(a gpod yea.rbringe in?-Brooosn)

t 6

L

( - I 24 Bomani sbe 1+borrorvedfrom theSirahiLioliner

25, Kaembe:ri she bouglit', ltfrom a (or 5)Giriana;Slrrhil i Land

w-rth: ber maiae' J saclcschildren cassava

'rritb childres maiae 3 sa,cks

casherrg Door

Giriama rnan maizepaid. 35osh.tryr her toclear thefielil

{ saclcs26 ShauriMoyo

bomored l+from herfstberr sbr"other; onthe settlementsoheme

o1d trees;1984-85 oropso1d. og1 herfor c"2B?Eh

ha:rrest pooleclrritb herfathert s;sufficient tolast all year

J ,K

27 Kaembeni - husband.borrowed'from Strahil!oHner

cuJ-tivatecl\r tractorfor 48oshaad 5oerrnanentworkers (3SanyecoupLes)paiil c.{Oosh,each per nonthby tbeirhusband' co-wlves a,lgoworlced.

2_( o fB)

maize

sesane

good

TA8LE 43 (cont)

Me, El PLASlts OWNM,SHIP ANEA LASOTIB

141

CROPS H.mj/EsT co!0,IENTS

J ,K

28 Ntsanga,- husba^nd.; on .Imall sett lement (ol

scbeme 30)

co-flf-vesalone

co-ll'ivesand.perxnasegtlabourers

salze 3 sacks harvest kept:with another'co-rife atb.ousehold. inNtsa.nganali�

toial cropsuffi.cient\olast all Yeac;stiI1 ea"ti-ngthe 1984 crop

entire cropsoLd. t6rhushand. forc.1 r B:iQsh'

q a q t m F

naize gooA29 MtsoLo husband.bougbtoutrigbt

3(o f6)

(I

sesejtre good

{ -- ' '

L 3O Marikebuni sbe PaYsSwahiLiowner 120sha year

31 Shauri.T.oyo

32,, Sosoni

,, Sosonl

she oleared;on g0vernneJltLand. on thesettLenentschene

she bought 16fr.om aGiriana;Swahili lard'

she bought. 4frvm aGiriamalSwahil-i land

she paid aGiriana naaa.rrd woma.rlLOOsb tocultiqalie'and. weed.;also workedherselfwith sontsllife

3 Giriana.men pa^id. atotal of1110Osh toclear and.lreed

naize 10 sadcs(t acre)

sesaJne(* acre)

cottos' good(t acre)

rnaize, 6 sackg

ca,ssava

cashews

Oor+_rh:agspread onfield

crop sofd. bYher for 20oshi

crop sold bxrher for c"55osh

poor

1984-85 cropsoId. t6r herfor o.574er'.

cashe*ls

r42

Income

As Table 43 indicatee income frrom casb crop sales is usualLy taken W the

heed of the householdr regardless of land ormership or labour inputo Most

household hea.d.s are nen (aff tut one in Tab1e {2) a^nd- for mantrr of thero this is

their urajor sou.rce of income. Catile oldnership is geaerall-y resi;ricted- to nen

wbo a.1so have some forn of employment. fabLe 44 shows the occupation or

othenrise,of group rnenberst husbands. It should be noted. that rna,rSr women

rrith.out, busba.nds, especiai-J.y divorcees, live in e-tlend.ed. hoLsehold.s hea.ded. b3r

otb.er male kino

( - *

fasrrE 44

NO IIIJSB.AII-'

widowed. divorced.

iiLrsS.gJ{D El'iPT,orm

own seLf:business enpl-oyed

IiUSBAIID UNB'trT,0fm

other

r96B

L >16L+

no.of husba.nd-s = 49t nooof group mernbers (past and. oresent) = 55

Susbandst controL of inconre is not confined. to the proceeds from crop sales

alone, but ertend.s to all pr"oducts of theil r.ri.vest labour. In l-ocal Giriama

practice their control of incone is absoluter- thoug! bow they choose to

exercise tbis control and what portion of her income a rife may be allowed to

retain are subj6ct to v.ariation. Tbj.s is the most- important factor in

d.eterrnining what effect group *"*iu""t income has; most of thern are first and

foremost members of bouseholds which they d.o not head. [he group itself doee

not trave the power to d.eterrnine what happens to the incorne it prnvid.ee for its

memb.ers. Ind.eecl tbeir very rnenbership cf the group is typically conditional

upon the agreement a.nd support of their husband.s a.nd household heads. Thue the

( - -

143

formd.er of Somanirs adult ed.ucation clasa, who. ba.d. bis 2 wives join in L9?3.

When the bakery glas in operation he paid. for a.nothgi' householcl memberr his

recentl3r wid.owed motb.erts sister, to joia the group a^nd. when she d.ropped. out:

througb illness bis yor:agr thirdr wife took her pIace" the:rl in the wake

of tb.e 1!83 crisis, he pul1ed a3-1 3 wives out of active participation in the

gloupo

Ironically it r{as the sanre pattenr of househoLd. control w}r-iob. contributetl

to tbe denrise of Sonan:i Progressive Hents group. fhis was found.ed in 19?9 aad.

later adopted t6r Eototo lritb a fishj-ng project. whioh proved. soroewhat inappropriate.

to. local. coaditionso Very few members were experienoed. fisbe:xr_en a,r:d tbe rest

were- r:n1rilling to r:nd.ertake the ctifficult work of -fishing at nigbt far a,+ray

from horne on -i;he Tana river. Dissatisfied. ,iih ihis state of affairs members

bega^n taking group fr.:nds io invest ia indiv:d"ual noney-naicing gchemes. Among

then 'nras the adult classts formderr wb'r,ook mone6r to trade it rnaize" A.long

with others he end-ed. up in d.ebt to i;he grnup. tJnabLe to reach coll-eotive

d.ecisions a^nd. rmbappy with the smal-1 income lshich tbeir collective enterprise,

produced. the grbup, d^issolved into inactivity in 1!83. In effect. the rnen we1g

wrable to adapt their roles a.ncl (rnonetary) e:qpectations as indirridual household

bead.s to the ver:f aifferent conditions of a groupr a"nd. a^e a. result it failed.

l{omen are rather nore accustomed. to co-operation ( a,ad. being toLd w}lat to do), and

a,S second.ary earners of househoLcl income ar€ llpre readil-y sat'i.sfied. by the flriit-s

of collective enterprise, hovrever smal1 they may be.

UnLike the othel g?oups studied. in this report Soma^ni ltas a long history of

prrcvidin€ lts memberg witb incorne tb.rougb its enterprS.see. Tbe chairwonait

eqrripped. by h.er personal. stnrggle to 3ecure an& control an ind.ividuatr income

( see above) 1 played a.n importa.nt role in encoura4'ing her fellow rnembers to

follow suito Hlren the neclclace enterprise was r:nd.ertiay she pressed. produoore to

sav6 sone of their income by investlng lt in gpatgr arrd in some oaces she kept

( -

tM

mone5r d-ue to individuals r:ntil they had acottu'.t1ated. enougb to do so. fbis

policy met witb some successr a^nd. some rnembers began to invest in stoclc (see

Table 46 below) , af i;hough there ltas no guarantee that the,y would be allowed.

control of the incoure from iheir herds rather tha^n being o-o1iged. to speud. i-li

on household need.s whi.ch their husbancls oitgnt otherirj.se be exaes?ed. to provideo

Sigrlificantlyl wh.en money frpm necklace sales was brought by [ototol the

r.romen were encouraged to show it to iheir busba.ad.s before bring'ing it back to

tb.e chairvioura,nr a,n act of obeisaace to tb.e real stnrqbure of oontrol designetl

to forestall a.qy objections. One woman recalls that her husbaad. freely

slarrghtered. her goatsl kept together rrith bj.s orae herd., for household

consumption, although she salr notbi:eg wroag rit_h this.

Since 1!8O nost income provid.ed. by the group has eome from the bakerXr,

both from baking for individual profit and froin d.ivision of coilective group

profits, The relation between individ-ual a.:rd group baking a^nd. the effect this

has had upon the efficiency of the latter bas alrea$r been discussed.. Saking

rosters are not enoloyed. and there ,i.s consid.erable variation in the frequency

of baking from one member to another: one constrai:rt upon membersr participationr

is tbeir ability to buy the ingredients for individua.] baking and so make ihe

effort r+orthwhileo Tabl-e {J showe ind.ividual contributions to gqoup sales

between Ja.nuary 1984 a.nd August 1985. Gi,ren the fixed. ratio of group to

ind.ividua,l baking (Z:1), individ.ual. profi-ts are estirnated. at oae-sixth-of group

sa les (see Tab le 38 above) .

rABrE 45

1984Me tIB G$

1985}[B G$

TOTALIIB ffi.

6t.PROFIT

PER OVERI'IONTH -ALL

1 4

L4

1 . 92 . 9

6t jz

5oo6

2:f,,o

3000

8652

Boo6

TW

1334.335

5

I03 72.\Q conmittee

95.30 66.71 commlttee

TA3LE 4q (cont)

1984I{B GS

1985I'(B 6

TOT!LMB GS

ESf.PROFIT

PERi,IOt{fE

I

t45

OVffi,-.ATLMe

3, 12

4" 11

5 " 96 . 4

7. 10

8 0 7

9 " 810. 7lL. 10

12. g

1 3 . 7

14" 6

L ) . )

1 6 . 6q . B

1 B . 6

! 9 . 6

20. 32 ! . 2

2 2 . 423. 524" 525. 5

26. 427" 428. 529. 3

30. 3

31. 2

)2 . 2

3 3 . 3

34. 2

6228

5876,

4/ f ,o.

3198

!47652fr4336

418'

346'l

3972

3362,.

334022gB

29402A22

tg25

2310

t466-

1232

7go20r.]-789"&1832t245l-4?oLTl .2

9841050

1050

1050

820

530

gt2

4Bor7542Bg"

r393.go

720B5L

852

180

n+

996

492

840

9721J44

24D

3go

24o120

7].40.,oJ)o

&rq6w5869.n52frfr56.5o3? ,4319

4t52

3866i,

3340

29402022

2nB23ro2n622o4

2t34

2050

2o2g.4D

1832

1635

1470

L352

1104

1050

1050

1050

820

530

r.19'o,1059.33

to2r.66.101_5

9?8.31875

842.66

839.50

7 1 9 . 8 369z

644.33- - a a /) ro . oo

54949o487403385384.33367.33355.6634t.66338. z3

305.332 7 2 . p245225.33

184j . 7 5

t75]-75l-36"66

105

7 9 " 3 3EB.z7

?8. BgI12.77

69"87

t2584.26

93.2755.3769.2o8o.54

92.7778"42O r a ? 'O I o O Q

&.87

fr.3764"t6

64.0,

6]-.22

50,BO5 8 . 3 3

56.37

50. BB

45.415r.25

37.55

46

59.3387.50B7.F

45.15

52.F

i 9 .n52.96

5t;28

n .7548.91

43.75'42.13

4r.9735.9934.60

32.3127.83

27.45

24.9

24.35

20.r5.

t�9.25

rg.2l

1 8 . 3 B

u,7Bu.08t6.gt

r5"26L3.62

l .2 .25

IL.26

9"2Q8 . 7 5

8 . 7 5

8 " 7 5

6. B3

) " a )

3rd treas.

€3-COlEDo

eX-COmm.

ex-vice-cb.a;i:31o.

conmittee

4th treas.

committee'

\ i :Lce-sec.

committee

3

I

4

4

L

2

3

1

1

3.̂+

3

I

1

1 t '

1 ? .

9L+

710

1 3

10

B

6n{

6oo

6

o

6

6

7

56

6

5

46

+

32

2

32

t ---

t -

TasLE 45 (cont)

1984It[e Irts GS

TOT.[LI'{B G$

1985m GY-,

EST.PROFTT

t46

PER OVM.I,IONIE -!I,L

3 5 .36.37 .38.39.40.

41.

5754n420

420

z]-.o

24D

24D

31

1

1

1

1

1

575&oPO

PO240

2N

z].:o

9 5 .831 Al v

l u

7oNp

3,

3

1

1'tI

3t .94 4 .79

7O J .5O

? o 3 . 9

?o 3 .50

N 2

N 2

3 5 L . 7 5

secretarXr

chairvom=n

I

t -

MruI{ 23M.79 540.33 2BBB"12 481"35 74.20 24.0.6 sb

key: Me = memberl lrlS = nurnber of months j-n which. baked; GS = contribuiioa togroup salesi SI.PROEII = estinated individual orofit over the whole periocli

PF.R :iONfIi = estirnated. indivi.dual profit per month baked-; OIJERILL = estinated.individua.l prefit ove:r tbe whole period. (2O months).

Hhile the returns upon actual labor:r are reasonabler these figures indtcate

that over tj.me income gs:ined. from individt:aI baking is quite sma11 compared with

the sources of income arrailable to some wonen (sg,Ie of 2 boitl-es of rnilk per d.ag;

wouldr for exarnple, bring in l8osh a rnonth). From tiris point of view it is

significant that some group members have continued. rrorking fron time to time as

casua.l labor:rers at the sal-t works nea,r Congoni, where they ca.n earn 4O-8Osb ia.

a datr a.nd. up to 5OOsh j.n a fortnight. Among iU""u wonen a're members 6, Z.Z, Z7

and.- 35 in Table {l; 3 of thera divorcees. a.rrd. one whose husband is r:neropl-oyed'.

In general-1 however, woments opportr:nities for earning casb in Somanj. are

linited. and some are consid-ered. be6rond the pa.1e by the active core of Cbristian

(and lftrsllm) members: pa-id agricultural labour carries a hear4y stigma and meuize'

beer brewing ls proscribed. for them (the ohairwoman gave up beer brering a^nd

converted to Chr{.etianity a,fber od.ucating her son). Saking catt prcvid.e roucbi

need.ed. oash, for-the housebolcl. In this respect bousehoLd. heads stand. to benefit

r47

as smch as the women themselves. One woma.:l was pr:l]-ed. out of the group by

her uaemployed. husba^rrd. because she refused. to give ldn the proceed.s fron her'

baking. As-i* cond-ition for her possible return he d.emarid.ed. that group officials

come to discr:.ss the matter wi',h him; an offer which they rejected. ldale

contrrcl of womenr s income ca;n aqt as a {isincenij.ve io individr:a,1 baking. Ote

active member only bakes for the group because her husba^nd, an eatreprenellr

r,ritb a shop and- 2 grinding mach-ines, takes nost of tbe money which sb,€ eams.

Her youngei co-w'ife, rather more adept at- persuading hin to let b.er retain a

sbare of her income, continues to bake botb. for herself and the Soupc

Bakery profits _have

been diwided 3 times. Iur 1!BO members received l0Osh

eacho In 1982-83 they received varying sun6 accord.ing to th.e nrmber of times

they lwi baked.o in Mal i '198d-lOrOOOsh'tras divided oa the sane pr inciple r ,r i ih the

help of the fechnoseffe auditor. liembers were g'iven llsh- 50 cents for their

first baking anct'lLsi: 5O cents for each subsequeat one. The incornplete recorriti

which sunrives shows ibat: they received d.iffe:r'ing arnounts up to 3l6sh 40 cents -

tlris for the equivalent of 29 days' l-abour. TabLe 46 outlines tb.e uses to- which

interviewed. nembers put the money- fron ttris a.:rd earlier d.ivisio11.sd.

TA3LE 46

*Me YEAR AI.'IOUNT

RECEf,\TgDUSE

t -

1g80 1OO-sh spent on buying a yolmg cogt1985 sh.e hpd 4 cows a.nd wasa da6r for a tota"l of 6sh.husba^ndt s herl"

from her husba^nd; Wselling 2 bottLes of mi11c

The cows were kept in her'

H add.ed. to 4o0sh from her individua.l baking and boqlhta cow. By 1985 had. bred. J others a.nd was seI1ing. 3-4bottLes of milk a datr for Jsh each. Cowe kept i:r herhusband.t s herd; a herrisboy paid 220sh a nronth b3rherself, her husba;ndr a^nd her daugbterl e.

lgSo lOOsh

148

(

TABLE 45 (cont)

Me YeAn AUOUNf USE

B 1982-83 2fish. spent on llood at-home.

g 1982-83 250ph bought 2 goats. 3y 1985 'nat 6, kept for slaughter.

( - .J 1982-83 SOsh bougbt a yo,.rng goatr r+nich died-.

A l-9B4 350sh spent orr her sonrs second.ar5r school fees.

ID. L984 ?Osh spent on daily bouseholcl needso

n' L9B4 3OOsb bor:gbt 1 acre of cashews fron a Giriama for 2OOsh;th,e oroceed.s from the crop are taken b;r her h.usband.

( --- Renrain:ine l-OOsh soent on food.

H l_9B4 3OO+sh h.elped. husband. pay second.ary school fees for theirSOIIo

1 1984 lrrcr bought 3 gpats which she t..ate:r so1d"

J 1984 rl or. bougbt clothes for herself a.nd. her chil-dren'o

x l&ters refer back to Table 43

Wornenr s income tend.s to be invested. in ibe househol-dr either voiwttarily

oi in accordance with the rishes of the househoLd head. When it is not

transferred. directly to the householcl but invested. ln indlvid.ual enterprises

then it is 15Jce1y that the profiis from these rs"iLL be used. to the genera"l

benefit of the householcl - in some cases to the particulac benefit of the

household. head.: the net effect being mucb the sarne. l{onent s acocss to incone

does not necessarily cha^nge their status or increase their bargainingbpowor

within the houeehold: these tend. to be subject to other, eristlngy

considera.tions. Tiris ca.n be seen in the case of the }d treasurert

( - ' .

r49

E ln Tables 43 a.nd {6, one of the nost active a,nd. enterprising o.f group

nembele. Apart from those given a;bove hel sourcee of income iaclude the

sale of water (lringing in sone ?Osh a dry) brought from another village

to her household. by her soas ( stil-l at primary school) using'2 d.onkenrs

ouaed iry b.er husband.. In 19?8, with tbe consent of trer husband., she bought

2 fieLd.s of cashewnut trees for a, total of Lr206-sh. Eer busbaad. contlnued. to

tad<e the proceeds from the sale of cashews from these field.s a^nd one other

wb.icb she had. cleared herself some years before. fn I9B5r horrever, he

d.ecidecl that she coulA benceforth keep tJre rnoney herseLf. Els reason for

d.oing this was to make his.Fanagement of this and anotb,er wifers householat

easier: instead of taking tb.e noe€fir a^nd tben harring to give nost of it baclc

'bo his ',iife for various household etrDensesr it nade sense to let her'd.o 'Lb.e

bud.geting berself. Enployed on and off as a nasonr owning a herd of cattle

and. rnanaging aJ1 agricultural eaterprise sustaj:red. by bousehold membersr

-incone and labou= tbatr met all of their basio subsistence reqrrirements;

sufficient income was l-eft for hiin to be able to oorafortabl-y reLinquish some

oi ttis e,ontrolo Bhis was not a consequence of his wifers income or group

membershS.pl but tbe outoome of a more genera"l: understanding bettireen tbem ini

a situation in which there was compar:'ativeLy little pressure upon the

househoLcl.

One of the factors underlyins this uld.erstaltding aJId their entrepreneuriail

enthusiasm was shared membership of one of the Local Pentecostal churches:

Ptr'A, Pentecostal EVa.ng€lica1 FeLlowship-in Afrj.oa. They were both lea'ding

'members of the looal congregatioal sta.nda;rd. bea,rers of rigbteousness in the

commr:nityo The attitude tbls fosters ie illustrated. in the folloning inoiilento-

Ore d.ay in 1985 the ex-treasurert s yowrger br.other anrnor:nced tb her that he

had made 3lOOOsh fr.orn his work a,a a, builder a.nd sbe offered. to take 2rOOOsh bf '

this and buy cattLe for hln ae a sensible ievestment. lhrch to her 'llsgust,

| - " *

150-

bowever, he spen',, all of i;he money in 3 dayg in bt5flng beer and. aistributing'

g-rfts to his friend.s; anr actior, consisteat ldth the redistributional: ethoe of

bouseboLd economilr and sharply at odds r,ritb her protestant ethlo. flie loca1

firndamen'i;alist churches (fm't, PAG - tbe Pentecostal Assemblies of Cod,

Saptist and Seventh, Dary Ad.ventist) encoura€e nembers to pay i;heir social dueg

througb the church, and. to this end ask then to surrender lO$ of aL1 iheir

income. Tbus ncost of the active members of the womenr's group give portions of

their ipdi-1ridual incone to the churches tbey belong tor tb.ough bow strictlg

they a.dhere to the nrLe is d.ifficult to sayo Cburch merobership alone is not

sufficieat to foster the restrtrcturiag of gender reLations and. household-

obligationel an& nost ghristi.ans remain closely tied- to traditional- praotice.

Thr-rs the situation of the other member shot':r in TabLe 45' (f) wiro bad no control

of her casheg incone: hgc husbard, othe*rj-se 'unenpiotrred., rras the PAG pador

in Mapiroo

Tbe sonenr s group itseLf bas cone increa,sing!-y under the control of women

whose furnestio circumstances permj.t tbem a degree of freed-om nc'ti enjoyed- by

the nrajority. Againl thls is not so nuch a conseguence of group membership

as the reve?se! although menbershi:p does prcvide such'women lrith opportunities

for lea.dership a^nd entrepreneujrial- acti\rittr nore ertensive t?ra.rt those available

to theu at home. The new rr,r:€ESr:a€r, no; one of the rnost' active of group

members, is the r,ri'fe of a Irhrslim oonvertr a shop and grinding-machine owner

in Boma^ni. the secretarlt ie the daughter of her predecessor a.nd a young

divorcee with a re$rlar sourc€ of j.ncone from her nurserXr a:ld adult education

teachj.ng-in tbe villageo the ohairrroo?ur; :nea.nwhile, is now the hea.cl of her

own houglbold a^nd. enjo,ys the supporb of .her working son: the suoceseful

o.Jtcorne of a long battle aga;inst the repressive controls of .household econorl$o

151

Notee

' L. No rritten accounts su.rv-ive fron tlr-is period. and.1 while agreein€ upoa

1 the general. outliae, group members interrriered. in 1985 gave wiclelyd-iffering accorrnts of parbicular activitiesr their chronologr and. the'-sluls of none6r involved. l{here such disa4reemeats arise th.e accor.urtgiven by the groupf s first secretary a,nd adr:-lt ed.ucation teacber isfo11owed."

I 2. See. lforeen Clark, Ed.ucation for development a.nd the nr41 womg13r YoI.II (New Torkr Worf fetra;ining a.nd its inmedia-,,e effects.

3. fiiis is-Panga^ni wornenrs gToup, nea.r Kaloleni. Personal communica.tion: 1'rorn Candace Nelsoa (fgg:) o .

(4. Info::nation on the recent d.evelopmeat of tb.e botel wa^s provided by Peter

Eckart (lgg5).

( ' - -

153

INCOIM GN'IERATION AI{D ITS; EflT'ECTS

HOW TO GS{ERATE INCOI'IE

In order to establish major j-ncome-generating enterprises vromenr s gloups

rely heavily upon funding and other forms of assistam,ce d.ispensed t6r erternal

agencies and. they invest considerable resources in sectrring suoh support"

lfithout it they calrnot hope to free themseLves from the various constraints

vrbicb opera,te upon themo These constra;ints stem from both the- character of

Iooa"L household eoolo;qf (subject to various forms a.nc[ degrees of capital'

penetration) a.ncl the constitution of wonoenrs groups aB registered agents of,

the state. The state plays an arnbivalent role in this process: on, the one

ha.nd it places a nxnber of d.ema.nd.s upon g?oups and the households to whioh their

members beJ-ong; on the other j-t offers thern a. cha.nce to escape these d.emancls by'

distributing ftrncLs to groups and W provid.ing conlacts rritb NGOJ a.nd so access

to the largpr resources at these agencieJ d'isposaI.

Woment s groups thernsefves have acoess to the Laborrr of iheir memberg- a,ncl

cash provid.ed. by them or their 66ussh6!d.s. fthe amount of income which tbege

householcls (a;1it women as household. membem) are prepared. to invest in groups is

conditiongd W the sun of 'demand.s rrpon them, their ability to meet theser - aJIA

the retu:ra thqp ca^n expect from this as opposecl to other investmentso Investment

in a group typically prcmises no more than a long-term returnr espeoiall'y when

subscriptione are spent of fund-raising events a^nd on enterbaining visitors" As

a resl1t group subsoriptions are usua^LIy srnalJ" - smalLer tha,n the sr:ms invested

in different kincls of individual. savlng orgsised bf groups - artd' often difficult

for members to susta|no Labour investments a,re subjeot to a similar set of

constralnts, as is the time which membere are prepared- to d.evote to group

meetlngon Groups d.o not possess tho power'to sepapate members frprn thelr

L54

househ.oLds or enforce partloipation. Untlsr these oircumstances it is not

easSr for glroups lroiklng alone to establlsh rriable enterprisee.

NonetheJ-esse encouraged. b'y the government to help themseLveg befo:ee

soliciting he1-p from outsi-de, young g?oupe tlo experiment r,rith a wicle range

of enterlprises. The comrnoneet of these is colleotive cultivation Th:is form

of enterprise receives explicit etate support in the form of advioe a.nrlr in

the Jase of sorne favoured. cash oropsr free seed.l both d.ispensed. t6r governroent

agric.rrltural ertension officerso As such it is an irnportant aspecft of womeatg

groupFr appropriation as locaL agents of the sta,te, d.isseminating agricultlra{l-

techniqueg a.nd. policies in parts of the cornmunity where other agentsr except

the prinrar-jr school-s1 rareLy r-eacho Howeve:er the support given is genera3-Iy'

insufficient to turn tb.ese enterprises int-o lucra,tive money-spinnerso l{arqr

groups canno.t afforcl tbe purchased. inputs which they are advisecl to use a:rd

cultivation remarins a. rislcy businesso. Labou.r inputs are restrictetL W the

constraints aLready outlinede a:rd cultivation of colleotive fields suffers

from competition with membergr household- a€nic'tt1tural, enterprises being'unden-

taken at tb.e same time. Perhaps more importarrt I the acreages und.er coLlective

cultivation,axe typically smaL11 often l-ess th.an the area worked. by individual.

households. The government d-oes not nrLe intet:vene to make plots availablet

and. groups have to borrpw or rent fields. Such land is not always easln to

obtain or hold on too The net effect of these constraints.is tbat groupg reap

Little reward from their collective fields. From this point of vlew it is

interesting to compare Amkenita agrj.cuLtural- enterprise before a^nd after

receiving tlorld Vision-supporto Even after this intervention the grouprg a^nrutal

inoome frpn cultivation remained smalL oompared. with the fruits of ertensive'

investment in palmsr ol1 a scale nore appropriate to the r'equlrements of

capitalist enterprlseo

L55

Tlle groups stud.ied. in this reporb also erperimented. rrith other forms of

enterprtse. Bomani meurbers sold'their collective agrlc'ultura1 Ltabor:r to

looal household.sr a temporary e:rped-ient, which reproduced. existing relations

of production and gendero Mkw'iro memberg producecl corrie necklaces and.

failed- to find. a market which d.id. not oven-erploit their labour. Amkeni

members triecl selling chapatL in en area- where there waa scant d.ema^nd.

Agrriraye members tur':led. to the prod.uction a^nd roarketing of ma^tsuti" In rnanXr

wa8rs this was the rnost .pronrising of theeqenterprises, b'ecause the group

a.d.optecL the role of a niclcllernan in selLitrg a. protlucrlt, for which there was (afi.d.

i") oonsid-erable dema^:rdo However, furtber d.evel-opment of this enterprise.

wouJ.d. have required possession of transporb and. storagt facilities, enabling

the group to br4y makuti when and where the prioe rva,s low and. sell thern when

a&d. where it rvas hi&. This in tr-rrn wouLd require a"rr outlay of capital l*rich

the group d-oes not posseets. Like the other enterprises mentioned here it was

cliscontinued. in favour of other prcjects.

llone of these smal-I enterprises, except aguirayers, was lilcely to

attrac;b govenrnent supporto Each grorrp ha,cL, however, attractecl official

attention through their self-help and fund-ra^ising efforts" In the case of

the 3 older groups this was not difficuLtr each was the first group to be

formetl in. its respeotive area, wtrile onel Amkeni, wa,s forrned. d.irectLy at

offioia.l instigationo The same 3 have. slnce recelved goverlaent grantsi

Amkeni for a; welfare proiest, Bomani for a.n income-generatlng pr.ojec# a:rd.

Mklriro for a conbinatlon qf bothb Amkeni a.nd Bomani received. these gllalrtrt

after they had- obtainetl the support of N@s3 while Boma.nil ltke Aewtlayer

wa's flret intrccluoecl to lts N@-al1yr Tototoz through,offLola]. contastso

ldost gra^ntg made by the government a^nd. tbe Mlni'stqy of 6\.rlture a^nd. Soclal

Servlceg ln particular ar6 compara.tlvelp snallt the orr:rent no:m ls lOrOOOah,

r56

although 'there are some notabl-e exoeptions of whicli. Ankerd i's one.' Groups

can raise similar s1trnE, sometimes morer bry hosting hararnbees w'lth official

support: at suoh eventB the larger contributions tencl to be nade b5r other

womenr s grcups ancl N@s. [']rese sufiIs are often i:rsufficient to estabLis]t the

prrcjeote lrhicb. groupo have in rnind; anct this !s where, the N@s come into

their omwn" I

The NGgs have mucL more to offer-than the capitaL which larger enterprises

requireo In the case of N@s operating r+ithin Kergra, they play a^n aqtlve roLe

in pLa.nning and advising or a,ssisting woment s groups ln the opera'tion of their

enteqprises. Sucb internrentions are necessarTr because the d.evelopment of these

enterprises frequentl-y represents a- radica.l departure from the prevailing

conditions of housebold.eoonomy, althougb tbe inte:rrentions which are made'

are not always apprrcpriate to these oonditions" Collective womenrs onterprises

bave no for:3&atio3 in th-e historical economy of the Kenyan coastr and woments

gsoups themselves have been'formed'.ancl organised on the model provid'ed' W the

ggvernnentrs womenls group prog?amme. I{ornenf's. primary experience is in- ntnning;

or provicling the Labour for enterprises und.ertaken t6r or for the housshold"

Even rqhere these enterprises a,re their or+rl they general-Iy have littJ-e' control

over what happens to the products of their labor.m: if the product is not takenr

from thesl, then almost certair0y they wilL be obliged to invest it in the

houseboltlo Th-ls experlenoe togethe:r witl! its coroll4ryr the genenally Iow

leveI of womenrs educatione Leavee the majorLty of wonenls group members

i3-3--prepareil to :rur what: a"re in, effeot smalI-soaLe capitalist enterprlges. llbe

managprial a^nd technical requirements of theee enterprises preeent repeated

diffislrlties. As a consequenoe groups often com6-r:nder the aontlrql of members

who arg better equipped. for the task: thig is a posltlve outcome in terms of

the logio of enterpr-Ise developmeyrt, but one whlch sltg uneasiJ-y with

oolleotive an6 partlolpatory ideologr. Even so1 oircumsartbed. by householcl

t57

economy and. threatened. t6r other capitalist interestsr enterprd.see n:n tho

continua.L risk of failrrre; a situation from wbich they ca.tc-onlXr' bope to be

resoued t6r NGOs.

fhe IIGOs concerned diffbr r.rid-e3-y= in their approaches a,rrat in some cases

tb-is resuLts j-n friction between then, though this is rarely expressed operrly.

Those ba,sed- in llair.obi tend. to remain at some dista.nce.from the groups wtr-ich

they heLp. In the case of Amkeni this alLowed t?re gnoup to'appropriate the

set:\rj-ce6 of Worlcl Visionts sta^ff a^nd. d.ivert the fr:.nds they managecl towar"cle.

group enterlpr.ises. Thid has been much. to the benefit of these enterprisest

though not exactly what l{or}d Vision b.ad in mintl. In Boma^ni Te6]inosertre'

introd.ucecl a corirplex set of accounts and pressed. for other reforms in tb.e

the bakery enterprise. A rather'different approach is offered-

l,Iombasa-based. l{@ lrith its ovrn 5-ntegrated. womenr s group

progranune in Coast. Province" Fron Tototots point of view both of these

intenrentions have been inappropriatei Arnken! was spoifitd W t{orlcl Vision

fund.inge Leaving d-ecision-rnaking-concentrated. in the hands of the cha-iruoma.:rr

And while Tototo agreed. on the need- for reform in Somanir it ttisagreed. with

technocratio natr:re of Technose::vets input and laten sent- out its olwr

rroh.:nteer to work more olosely r.rith the group. ThesF judgements are rootetl in

Tototots participatory methodolory artd long erperience of'wor{<ing with

womenrs groups on the coastl the frults of ertenbecl co-opera,tion with a U.So

orga^nisationl Wor1c[ Eduoation Inc. Study of Eototo-afflliated groups

indicates, however, that, the suooess of its methotl is attrd.butable not so

muoh to nonformal eclucation itseLf as to the close ard. repeated contast

between its staff a.nc[ the groups. ftre groups themselves tenaL to be prlmarlJ-y

interestect in the capitaL whlch fototo ca:rr secure for thern from intenxational

NGOs, though they also weloome Tototors advlce and. support. fhe case-studles

ma^rragement

by fototoe

o f

a,

158

sbow that tluis eupprt doee not tra,nslate automatioall.y into entrepreneurial

succesn. Tototor's resoupceE antl smal] sta^ff ars now stretchetl over more ttralr.

@ groups, while tbe staff themselvee have not been trainecl in.the kincl of

skills which enterprd.ses require. Tototo and. similar agenclee arer- howev.er;

in a muoh better position tha,n othen organisationE to take.effeotive.action;

and Tototo llas al-rea.fur respond-ed. to this and. other recent evah:e.tion6 W

restl:ucturing its progrsrrme' of work with groups a.nct btrr accepting the' services

of, a business advisor employed. t6r l{orlcl ftluca,tion. ta train and. clisc.:ss possib!.e,

action with lts fielcl staffo

fltre case-str:dies indicate that enterlpr5.ses are mor6 likely to be successful'

if they az'e chosen with respeot to loca1 economic conditions. In shorb',

enterprises r+hich reproduce existing processes of indigenous capital accumulation

prornise better resultso llarrdicraft productionl vrid.ely pronotecl as an appropriate

r:nd.er*'aking for womenng groupsr d.oes not.faLl into this categoqf. .Two

of the

groups studiect, Mkw'iro ancl tsoroa,nil have prcduced- ha^nd.icrafts for [ototors shop,,

in Momlie,sauo In both cases this pr.ovid.ecl women with a,n important short-term

source of incomel sometimes more thalr they cterived. fron other errterprises blrh

rmrch less over tine tha^n a f.iving montifly wage. Producers in Mkr'riro po'cketed.

(and spent on theiil householcls) most of the income which thie brought tb.em. In,

Bomanl a. portion of the income tras transferred. to ths greup and constitutecl a.:r

iraportarrt lnput toward.s oonstnrstion of tb,e firsb bakerXr buiLcting"; Ini botb'

ldkwiro and. 3orna.nl, the ltand.icrafbs prod.uced. were based. upon eristing: forme of,

ha^nd.iora.fb. procluotion unalertaken by tndlvicluatrs. Neither was a major Looal

industry. [buee when tbeir ord.ers w@e o'urbalIed t4r Tototol botb ra.n into

probLems. One rea,son Tototo stopped. these ordere was becausa the women- were

prod.ucing mloh mor€ tha.n they ooultl seLl: 6 yeara later BomanJ. necklaoeo are

sti$ gtoolcpLLed ln Tototot's storer waiting for a buyero In the a.bsenoe of

L59

alternatLus narksts that aouLd a,bsorb the noLune of produotlorr thenr litt was

inevitable.'tha.t th.ese enterprises sboulcl griDit to: a halt.. feither was

orga,nlsed a,E a, colleotive enterprise (in nhfch, for erarnpXe; the group

wouLcl purchaae bosio naterials)l they: f\:nctionod. ingUead. as ertensions of

honoe pr.otluotione puttiag pr.oducers at the merosr of a.rr unreU:able ma,r{certo

I{asdicraft production ditt not get off the grouncl at all for Agwiraye

because the form of production which iototo tried. to introduce had no basis

in loca1 econorny. Elterprises which are new to a cornmunityr particrrlarly

tbose which are ca,pitqfL intensivel are difficu.lt for groups to operate

suocessfully. First, because they lie.far outsiale the experience of group

mernbers, who tbus require, conti:rued inputs of advice from erterrra,l a,gencioso

Th-is problem is magnifiecl in the case of enterprises employing compler

technical processes incLu.ding. machiner?:r r.hioh may also be diffioult for

groups to maintain or expantl without further injections of oapital frorn tb'e

outside. Third, such entefprisee are characteristicalltrr bor:nd.ed W officiaL

oontrels (inclu.ding: state-reguJ-ated. pricing of their raw material-s a^nd. produots)

and, especially wbere they employ coLiestive Labour, it nay be clifficrrLt fon

them to compete with rivals in the private sesto:ri Ag a result it is not eaq;''

for them to remain eoonomica-lly viable. Bomanits bakery has been afflicted try

al-L of these pr$b1ems. suen though it was the first to opera,te in the !'lalindf

a*.a, it subsequently losb, rnarsr of its markets to competltors from Kilifl ard

f\:rther afielcl ancl now has 1itt1e hope of rnatchi'ng the performa,nce of a bakerXr

recently esta,bllshed ln Mallndt town ltseLfi Somanirs nlra.l l-ocatiorad'oes not

belp in thls reepeoto Mknfu"ors ferrXr serrioe is rather better pLaced a^ncl in

mar{r wa{rs very appropriate to looaL cond.itions; It hast houever, be9:r

diffiouLt for the group to rr.rn d.thout the intenrentiong of men (ae well ae

NGO') and has yet to be ertrloatecl fron tb,e close embraoe of traditional

Lfi'

relations of'prod.uotionr and- gendero '

It fs inter€stLng t9 note that the groutrl

ma.de as mroh l.f not more from the enterprisa when they rented it out to sorneong:

elss. This. prcvicled.e oor€ev€f,1 a fixed ancl reguS-ac'incomer stra:ightforward.

to record alcL not so easil3r misapprroprlated. G,ven the various @nstraints

v&ich operate. upon coLleotive enterpriseg sucb m:inima"l involvement in their

d.ay to ctay rurrning: p?eseats a solutiou, to nran3r of their problemso [lte

replacement of (unpaid) colLeotive Labour t6r forma3- wage labour is a,nothe:e

means by which grea.ter effioiercgr rnisht be achiered.l 48 BomaJd cliscovered'

wben they enployeel a schoolboy in their botelo

Ttre simpl'est way to avoid seare of these constraints is to choo8e the right

enterprise, in the first p3-a,ce. flie easiest enterprises for groups to ]run and.

mainta i : t 'a , rearguabl l r thosewhiobreproduceer is t ingprocess€sofcapi ta l

accunqlation in the 1ocatr commr:nittrf. As such their viabjl-ity, ts prtve:rr the

knowleclge, needed. to nrn therro i's rea.dily arra^iLab1e1 a,nd theg requi,re less

support fron erberrral agenof;eq .Ankerriits specru-acular acq:rmllatiom of assets in

pa1i1s atd i:ts exparsion irrto other enterprises at the expense of inctivid-tral

entrepreneunn, outsmarting lforLd Vision i3l the processr, provides a striJcing

illustratior1 of the ad.va.ntages of this stratagem. The conditfous of capitatr

aoo1;sru1ation: varSr from pltace to plaee: investmeat ir. palms would not; for

exanpXel be. as appropria,te_ in Lianj..l wbere this forrn of capita.l accunulation

has now beenrdisplaced. lgri"ayets recent d.ecision to bu-il-ct a bouse with rooms

to Let is muoh rror€, in tr.r:m wlth Local- devel-opmentsr which have brcught large

nr:mbers of migrant worlters ltrto the areao RentaL houses are not difficult to

bulld, reqrrire re1atlv€ly 11ttLe rna*tntenancer do r:ot utilize coLleotlve

labour a4d. provid.e a regt1.lar inoome. B3r eetabLlshiug sucb enterprises woments

groups are rnuoh mor€ likely tha,n othe::wlse'to fr:LfiL1 their promise as

corproate entrePrensultsc

161

ECONOMIC MFECTS

In so fa.:r a"s tbey are able to escape the oonstraints of houireb.olcl

( economy groups antl thei.r enterprises become mrbject to the logLg of

' capitalist d.evelopment a.nd acbl in effec# t &a agents of economic

differentiation. They do this in a number of .ways. Rlrst; by shedcting' or

t -' exol:ding members whose domestio circumstances a,r€ s:troh that they find it.

difficult to sustain group roeNrobersbip and tb.e tlena.ntLs upon cash-, ancL lal]ou:r

whiab it entaiLso fhis particu3-arly: affects divorcaes with yodng 'chilclren.

(' In the urainla.:ecl comuritieg where viriLocal marr{'age' is the rrr}e the

residential- mobility of women trporr, divorce or remarriage adcls a furtb.er

oonstrariut upon their abili:ty to sustain membership. Initiaa recn:titment(

tend-s to cover a broad spectnurl to -the exclusion of young r:ama:ried. womenl

the ofd and infirml those who are sceptical of group success or whose

husba,nd.s ane resista.nt to them joiningr ancl foreigners to the commu:dtyrI

As a resglt marry womeg in the Least; fortr:nate categories rema:ir outsicle of,

gsoups;

Seconcl1y, groups whj.cl! are lrodcing: free of householcl econonsf tend to

come increasingly under the'contr.ol of rnembers wbose backgrround ,rri ao*""tio

ciro-unstanceg rnake them better equippect to n:rr their enterpr5'sesi- rrn o-ther'

words their d-evelopment favours women vrllo already occutrXli a rel-ativeltrr fortunate

positioa in their tlousehoLds ancl/or the conror:nity. This inolu'des women who a,re

eduoated and. thue able to keep group reoords. It aLso lnolrrdes women who inr

one vrada or another have suooeeded in: eecaplng: some of the restrlotlve

oonditlons nornalllr affeotlng thei'r gender.' The chair:trornen of Agrriraye,

Ankenl a3d Boma^nl' - aLl $rithr grown ctril.dren to supporb then and. free fron tbe

control,of thelr (fn .Z oases fo:mer) hugbands" Group membership prorrid-es such

uomen gdth a.n opportuntty to €xerolse ard further d.eveLop thelr entrepreneurlal"

L62

talentsl ancl theSr' "t".1JJce136 to beaeflt from.thel-r positi'on much more

than thelr oolleaguee" I:r some case6 they magr do so i3.J-fclt1trr; tlr

rnisappropr:iatiJrg f\rads; a^nd. while d.aruag:irxg to group enterprJises ltu tlls.

short-term thie erpeqlenoe may eventrral-Iy ha.ve a positive effecfi lr{)onr_ thei;n,

orga.nisatior; as tlle history of, Bomani showsl

Thirdlyr where enterprises a^re succesgful they sril-l inerritablg pJ-ay a

Partr however sma111 in transforming the structuree of housebolcl economg:

whioh tb,re:lten to appropriate them in tur:u The d-evelopment of Amkerrire

enterpriseer promoting a p_roc€ss of differentiation which f,avor:rs only some

women and their householdsr points olearly to thls possibility.i- .trlthougth

the benefits of tbis process are not equally feltr it raigJit be noted. that

certain types of capitalist- d.evelopnent do not necessartly result in a

wofiiening of wornenrs status: in ma4r waysthey ma6; be considered. better off.

when householcL ecorrcny f;s destroyecl, if not wh€rr, ft is prese:rred. in

emascuLatecl form as a, reserve of cheap labou:r'i; l,leanrihile tlte role of womep!,s

groups as agents of capital-ist d.evelopment, givee sone lromeu: a ohance. to

partioipate, in thf;s proc€46 on.: favourable ter"msl a chance whtch tbey rai4{r

otherrri'se not llavdo'

In generale thoughr groups and. thelr enterp:ri'ses remain severeJ-y

constrained by housebola eoononqr. Eew succeed. in generatiag substa.ntia.l

profits a^nd. few provicle thelr member$ lr'ltb lncono on: a reguTa"r basfs. I{hen.

they cto the amounts are ustrally so snal,l- as to comprJ.se only a fraqH.on of a

livtng lra€er al.though: thls should not be taken aa a, measun€ of their valua

to the women oonoer.ned. l{llat'happens to thl's lncome ancL what effeot it ha^a

are agaJ.n d.etermined W tlte stnrotur€ of,'household. eoonongro Woment.s inooroe

Ls usua,l1y treated. as income for the household., whether or not it le

approprlated W the householtl head or ilhetherl irrdeed., the woma.:rr heads hea3

163

oror househol-d. As suoh lts \raLue is not negllgible but ltt foms alx

important supplened to. otber sounoes of inoone available to womear in

some instaloes clisplaclng tbm. In some cases it magq di'splaoe, the income

pltovicted' bf a'husband.g orr to put it. a.notb.er wagr., rouxd, mailr red.uc6 the

husbarxdts obligation to contribut€ flom big orcr pockote thue lea1ring him

oilh more inoome at his tlisposat. -'Wlter:r

income iB hand.ed. over or otherr,rise

fincls its way back to husband-s t]iere is no gua,ra,ntee th.at wornen lri1l play a

roLe. iq tletemining how it is iavested., or whether it wiLX be invqsted. ln:

the househoLcl at allo Contrargr-to the naive assr:mptions-of inoome

generation theory (it it can be spoken of as such), womentis- poss€ssibrt of

income d-oee not arrtomatical-3-1r improv.e thei:r status or barga.irdngtpo.fler.

r'rithin tlre tlousehold; This is more 1iJcely to o-ccu:c' if at aI1' where

overaLL bousehoLcl inooroe is aJ-readtrr higb and sufficient to cover basio need.s.

The' smalil arnou4ts of incorne provid.ed b'y l.romen- from their grcuF errberprises

are r:nlilrely to tip the bataace. Againl this fav6.to* those who are a^lreaftr

more fortr:nate *nT average. In other respecbe the income which tniclcles

dol.m through woment's groups helps to insulate householct econorny frorn the'

pressurss aoting upon it frtm the outsid.eo; h"onical\r the women most in,

need. o.f thi* inoome, those w:ith young children and w'ithout husba.ledls, a.re

the ones whor partly because they have littJ.e monetrr in: the first pla.ce,

find lt difficult to remain in wonent's groupsd

SOCIIL ffiFECT$

'lfhis reporb has not examined. welfare projects in d.eta.ilr tb.e oonditiong

of -their establishnent are similar to i.ncome-generatlng pr.o jeots a.nd. their

immed.late effects ar€ generally obvious and not iliffiqrlt to evaluate. Eopes

hale also been ra^ised.r howevory - that womentrc group membership aJd income-

genera'ting efforte nay foster moro general. soolaJ. a^ncl welfa,:re benefLts. O:rc

L64

najor intereet in this regard. has their possible effest upolt attttudeB aud.:

beh.avlour. relating: to fertiliffr lnoludireg receptivltfg to famtly pla^nnLng.

This topLo is treated. at some lengtb here both beoaugo it formed. a.:rr importanlt

corntrrcnent of ear.Lier phases of this stud5r and because the resultirrg'fildings

have an eoonomic erplanation; relatilrg tlirectly'to the characts:s'oE hor:seholtl

e@nomsro

Population: gowth: and the,need for fani-l-y pla.nning are. subf,esU-s of'major

canoern i:r KerSya" In L986 Keqra has an estinated. poprrlabibn of over' 21

uril-I.iorc peopl-e and a,n, estiroated a.nrruiil grorrth rato of 3.8S.1 Variorrs measrunes

are in hand. to limlt population grorth: in August, 19gI the Presid.stdi

d.eclared. that" parents shorrld Limit themseLves to 4 children.- wometh bearingr 5

or more children were hencefortb. to be d.enied. materrritSt Ieave.z The 1p8{

Kerqra Contraceptive Prevalence Su:rre5r showed that whil-e b$ of women lrere

.aware_of contraceptive user only 29/" han' ever uEgA thero: fig:r:ree whicb" wett€

?.fou:rd. to be lower arnon'g th.e Mijikend.a peoples of Kerqrats.coast.J Inr response

to this situation the' gover?merdi has annorlrroed that it lr:iIl spend BOOi miLLiorr,

sh orr faniLlf planning progtarnmes ovel the nert' 4 yeare.4 Womenf's gtoupg

have been iclentified. as one possible, vehic].e for gettiag tbis nessag€ €lorroEoe

To thig encl theSr arle occasiona,lly visited by govemnent ertension offlcers

andr in exceptionaL .casesn have.beoome the focus for -f*ify

planning cl-iniceo

One Tototo-spon€orecL group, Idakiwoe holcLs monthJ-tr1 cl-irrics supported. b6p GI$PA

(tne Centne for Development and. Poprrl.ation Activities, based. in;llashS-ngton

D.C.) end the, Minlstry of Eealth: in L985 6 group memberer atl of then aged

between 2l and, Jg, were reported. to bs u.sing famlLy pLannirg-(ttrere were. 38

iottve. members ln the grorrp).5 In generall bowever; reoeptivlty to farntLy

planning ie lowo A su:rrey of 13 Tototo-affillatecl woments groups conducted. W

l{orLd Ed.ucatioir in 1983 showed. that contracept!.ve uste t6r thelr members was tnuolh

Lower than the national'. avera€sr whLle olose +o 9ofr knen about; some form of

L65

birtb controll Legs thaa i-llt{rc iIlrai. ever r:sed contraception a.nd. lesg tha;n 6fi

w9!6: Crrment userg.

Ilr interpreting this result various factors ha've to be taken into a,ccou:rte

anong them the fact that ovsr a third of the gToup members surnreyed. were over

QJ yeata of agel r+hile' 2L/, were widowetl, separa,ted. or divorced. This does.

not explainl however, the low receptiviff to family p1a^nning given the higb

lpve1 of awag:enessi a^rr alra^reness stimul'ated. t6r gov_ernrnent progra&m€s ald.

disserdnated throrrgh organised neetings a.ni[ the med.i3. Ehe 1984 Kirq;:a.

Contraceptive PrevaLence.su:rrqr showed. that on averag€ l{ijiJcend.a women-wanted.

famillee of ? ohiLd.ren; one more than the nationa,X anrer rg".6 tfhile the

Sunre,lr recogrrisog the'influenoe of ed.u.cation a.nd residence upon attitud.es to

family planning - ed.ucated. urba^n dwellers are 1ike1y to be more receptive - in

g€neral- there is little r:nderstarrding of the structural' d.eterminaats of this,

nsitu.ation.r It isl in f,act1 not bery cl-ifficuLt to explain. Irr the context

of housebold econorqy ohildren are'treated. as an investmentt rrot only cto they

provid.e art inporba.nt labor:r regdr:rce for the houseliolcl but they al.so hol-d the

pronis€'of rfgture, teturns providing parents with oasb, a.:rd' socia.L security

rrhen tbey are, oldera One Agrdraye rnember mad.e this abuncta.ntly clealt

complaining that her seoondarXr school-ed.ucated. son had provideA no retunr at

aIl to b.er since,he had. Left school antl become,a beach-boyo "Given a cha.ncetrl

she said., rrl woul-d open a ba^lrk acoounts but now my childrefu are'the balkrr.

Rather tbarr chang:ing attitudeE in the nrral- area,E ed.ucation has been sucked-

into the pr.oce6s. While it ls trtre that chlld.rsnts ed.ucatlon lrithclraws

Iaboun.fron the householcl thie is oompensated.-for'in othor wailrsc Sriclewealth

pa6rments cLema.ncted. for clarrghters refleo-b the costs of their ed-uoation, whiJ.e

the more educated. chiLclren are the greater the cha^nce that they will seslrre

good. mplotrrment ancl prowld.a thelr parents ltlth lnoome'in the years to @me.

Tb,e lmportanoe.of thls has alrea.dgr been touohecL upon in tb'e,oaa€-studl€s'

t66

thus the reLation betweeu the chairrronen of Agrlraye ard Sona.rlt aad. their'

chj.ldreno Parents ar:e unb.apg;. shouJ-d. gror.m-up ohlltlren fai-l- to meet these

expectationsl ancl in, som€D cases the tend.eno6r for educated claughtem to

marqy a3d leave home before rrepayingr their parents fo:r their eduoa.tf.on Ls

given a,s a; reason fo:r not sencling tlaughtere oc. to: second-argr school.

- Ihder these circunstances it is not surprising ttrat family planning

progta^mnee have a l-irnitecl inpact in the nual "tL"" and- among womenrs groul'

menbereg the more chiLclren they have then the greater tbe returts. [']r!s

e@nomi,o Logio is supported W a. rangg of belief6 and attitudee. Parente

with Large faniliee enjoy ldglL etatusr infer-tility aroong: ltomeh 6axrfes a

hearry stigrna (intertitity arnong men is diffisult to substaatia#e).. In Diani

women mairrtain that pr^oLonged. sexua,L abstinence can result in l$ness and

oau.se the body to seize up. Sinilar feare surround the use of contraception.

Women believe, with some justificationl that coa,traceptive pial-s can resuJ.t:

in higb bLood pressure or multiple birbhs when their use is stopped., arl.ct that'

injections of Depro-Provera, can produce infertiLity. Sorne resentr quite

rightlyl the fact -that they and not nerri at€ the maSn objeats of oontra,ception.

0ther beliefs have lese foqndationo Imported. yellow ma.ize' fron Norbh Am'erica

is widely believed to contailr contraceptive ,tnrgs and cause'infertility. A

sirnilar-.a^nd r,riclely publicisetL scare br.oke outi in Kergra,ls Central Provj.nce 1n

ea,rly 1986 when it was rumoured that the gpvernlnent wae laoing the miLlc ,supplied

to scbools with contraceptives. The vcidesprea,aL ourenoy of such fears are some

measur€ of the resistance to famiLy pLa^nning ln rura;I €lr€Bsr 41tr the indioations

are tha.t Euch Teslstanoe.r,r!]-l petsist untl1 householtl €oorlomy undergoes majon

tra.nsformationo In theory womenls groups are inL a position to oontribute

towarrd.g suoh a, tra,nsformatlon: in praotic€ the majority l€main'tleeply enneshed

in tb.e resistant stnrotuTeg of householcl eoonoqi. Thlg ls not to say that

t67

family pJ-anning prograrnmel b..t nq sffecUo I:r the short-teru tU"y oau hope

to effect seleativc irE e of' contraception Sr womeni (a.nd rnen), wherL theg

recogrrise tha,t clrcu:nstantces aftt appropriatal s5'gntfica^nt Li:nltatioa of

fanrily sizer howeverT remarias a c[lsta:# pa\ospecftb

It is clear that r.roment s groups a.nd. their enterprisee ca$not. be expestetl

to effeot socia:L a^nd ee,onornio change ovenaight. This shoulcl notl however,

be the only criterion upon r.thich they a're evalua'ted. For'women themselves

they provide: a. r€mgc of opportr:nitieg which thqf- are sustonprily-d.eniect. Not

least of these is arc' opporbunity to participata j.:r cormunisa affairs and

dwelcpnent" Womern take considerable pride in their graups ancl the recognitiorr

whicb, thls bringethen. As long as'they continr:e to recelve supgort fnon the

goverr:ment a.nd other agencies r,romenl s groups r+iLl continue to serve as a:r

importa.nt tool. iu Kenya.lr ?IomenSE stnrggLe for sel-f-d.eterraina.tion.

Notes

1 . These figr:res are proJections from tbe 19?9 censuso sorrrcer office ofthe Ministry of Finance and. Pla.nning; I'tombasa.

rFour'child.reD'1inlit1 nrlee l&itr lea.d artiols (bf, Ne1son'Qsienn) in TtieStand.a.rtl (Uairobi) I Saturdagr 3 August 1985. the nr}ing on rnaternity

f f i . r ! .yaf feo isemp1oyedtovrr r - ldweJ. Iere1arrear t1rmofepreC[ isposed.toward.g family planning tha.rr n:ral women and their farnil-tes"

rContraoeptive.use disappointLy lowt, article-by Job Glthinji in the.Daily Nation (t'tairott), !{ed-nesd"y Z3 April 1986, po21.

rsln 8OO rnill-ion slated. fon farnily planningf , a:rtlole bry Job Githinjl ln

the DaiLy Nation (Uairotf) r Thursd-ay 16 Jarruary 1986r p.lo

Luoy Langstaff, personal oomnunlcatign (f985). Se_e also-tindse6r E[].sum,in"LoUinE out io yotng wonent.in the Interrrational. P1a&rred. Parenthood

For:nclatiJn'" &:L9 EIr 2- (L985) o -

Feferenoe oitecl ln note 3 aboveo

r,,peopLe ln Kenya favorrr large. famillesrtt eays N.AoKeyonzol the researohdireotor of Kenyals famil-y welfare centrel 'rflre reasons are baffllng to

us'rr, quoted. btr June Kronhol-2, rAnguish Ln MrLoal Kergrata future dims

as population "ir"g"" and eoonoqn falierat r ' lrhe Wa"l1 Stnest Journal (New

York), i londay 11 ApniJ- L983r p.In

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