AFRICAN WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT : INCOME PRODUCING FEASIBILITY STUDY

This special contracted evaluation covers the period 3/77-1/80 and is based on document review and an interview with the AID/W desk officer for Upper Volta. This feasibility study, which prepares for the Training of Women in the Sahel Project (6860226), is a subproject of the African Women in Development Project. The feasibility study was submitted one and a half years late due to budgetary constraints within VSRC and the necessity to travel great distances over poor roads to obtain research data. At the time of submission, project 6860226 had already been designed, funded, and partially implemented. The study does provide a comprehensive overview of Sahelian women's socioeconomic roles in different ethnic groups. Consequently, the study may still have impact upon project 6860226. The study covers past formal education programs and recommends various project activities, including agricultural training programs and health and nutrition educaton programs. A structure for staffing and coordination of these activities is also suggested. Results of a questionnaire administered to village populations and an extensive bibliography are included. It is concluded that even if the study had been available prior to design of the project, additional data collection would have been necessary to provide more specific information needed for the design of project 6860226. Based on these findings and conclusions, it is recommended that in the future, project design studies be conducted shortly before arrival of the pre-design team.