Grassroots Women’s Strategies for Secure Tenure and Sustainable Land Use: Lessons from Uganda

Joyce NangobiSlum Women’s Initiative for DevelopmentPamela Ransom, PhDMetropolitan College

World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty 2015

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Goals•Organizational Context •Challenges Faced•Our Solutions•Challenges• Lessons Learned

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Slum Women’s Initiative for Development• Jinja, Uganda•Sixty miles east of Kampala•Vital advocacy organization •Started 2003•Women in slums •Mobilize, organize•Response to forced evictions

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Our Mission and Goals• To improve on the quality of lives in Jinja urban slums and rural communities through empowering them to meet their social, political and economic needs in a sustainable manner (SWID, n.d.) • An empowered community• A home for every women•Huairou Commission partner

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Challenges for Grassroots Women in Jinja:

2008 SWID Survey

Large numbers impacted by

HIV/AIDS

Increasing rates of divorce leave women without

property

Increasing numbers of women and child headed

households

Violations property rights

by relativesMarch 26, 2015

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Grassroots Leadership Case Study: Joyce Nangobi• In 2003, realized losing home • Land going up for sale • From housing to low-wage manufacturing • Neighbors in the cold• No resources to purchase land• No official titles in name for loans• Constant threat of eviction• Our Choice: Fight or flight

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SWID Baseline Survey 2008 • Jinja 192 respondents- mixed male/female

• 77% had knowledge of property rights/can define violence related to property and inheritance •Only 29.2% males vs 47.8% females

• 10% women sampled had rights violated over property or economic issues

• 23% of the sample had experienced wives or mothers chased off land

• Sample of officials report awareness of property rights violations of women and that standards in this area are weak

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Support Systems in Land Struggles for Grassroots Women• Jinja sample 2012-2013

• 5 focus groups, 44 surveys collected by SWID in UNDP/Huairou study

• The problem:• 42% women respondents threatened with loss of property• 50% experienced domestic violence

• Sources of Support for Those Seeking Help:• 1st choice: Village Chief• 2nd choice: Community Paralegals• 3rd choice: Community Organizations• 4th choice: Formal Court

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Grassroots Women’s Strategies for Secure Tenure and Sustainable Land Use: Lessons from Uganda9

Revolving Loan Fund Strategy•Started 2003•Rotational borrowing •Groups of grassroots women members access loans• Loan repayments lent to other group clusters•Savings and borrowing linked•Borrowers required to have 20% savings•160 grassroots women funded

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Our Solutions

•Revolving Loan Fund•Climate Smart Agriculture

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Revolving Fund Status 2015• Fund still operational

• Continued Huairou Commission support

• Fund scaled up to three women’s groups : •Walukuba Slum Women’s Empowerment Association • Budondo Post Test Club • Empowerment for Women Association

• Fund increases as borrowed money/interest is returned

• Other groups model success with savings and credit strategies• Buwenge Development Group for Women Empowerment • Kakira Community Initiative for Development and Practical Rural Women’s Association

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Regional Climate Change Challenge• Changing temperatures Uganda

• 20-60 years –temperature projected to increase 1.5-4.3 o C

• Floods

• Droughts

• Less predictable weather patterns

• Food insecurity

• Combined with other regional environmental problems:• increasing population growth• resource depletion• absence of long term planning with

respect to sustainable growth

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Women and Climate Change• Surveys of farmers in Uganda affirm 99% observe a change in the climate in the last 10 years

• Research shows male headed households respond faster than females in developing coping strategies• CLEAR NEED TO WORK WITH WOMEN ON CLIMATE CHANGE• Grassroots women backbone of agriculture in the region

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Climate Smart Agriculture Program

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• Started 2011• Program to enhance women’s knowledge

and skills• Community mapping • Two communities• Problematic farming methods found• Huairou Commission begins funding

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The Climate Smart Strategy: SWID Response

Demonstration GardensEducational Training

600 Grassroots Women Farmers

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Strategies for Replication and Training

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Mixed Cropping

Mulches

Terracing

Organic Manures

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• 6000 fruit trees planted• Planted by 210 women• Budondo, Buwenga• Increases tree coverage• Absorbs carbon• Improves nutrition

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Fruit Tree Strategy

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Energy Saving Cook Stoves

•400 out of 600 SWID women •Get energy saving stoves•Mobile•Save 50% cost of fuel•Combats increased use fuelwood, charcoal • Links to unreliable power generation-lower levels Lake Victoria•Forestry cover diminishing with fuelwood reserves

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Accomplishments

•Improving community health•Increasing equity•Improving income•Changing women’s lives•Improved resilience•Increased empowerment

Challenges

•Resource limitations•High demand•Old practices/cultural norms•Land access•Agricultural advisory service limitations

Lessons Learned

•Change gradual•Collaboration and partnerships key•Need strong leadership•Training must be sensitive to women’s complex roles

Thank You2015