CREATING A "WOMEN"S COMPONENT"; A CASE STUDY IN RURAL JAMAICA

This case study documents the genesis of this component and offers suggestions for its potential replication. After a year of operation, IRDP staff were concerned that unless women were involved in project planning and implementation, the IRDP"s scope would be restricted to the soil conservation activities which are its main focus and not address the larger concerns of improving the lives of the area"s 5,000 families. A WID inquiry found that the daily nutritional needs of the target families were being overlooked because of governmental emphasis on export crop production. To counteract this emphasis, the women"s component was designed to increase the production of crops which not only fulfilled IRDP goals, but also addressed people"s nutritional deficiencies. The Family Food Production Program emerged to help women set up family vegetable gardens that were well-suited to the land available and produced nutritious foods complementary to the local diet. Young women from the project area were recruited as home extension officers to teach participants the techniques of gardening and underwent a month"s training in the use of nonformal extension teaching techniques, the principles of nutrition and health, and vegetable gardening. Despite initial logistical problems and negative attitudes on the part of project staff and the people at large, the women"s component was a success -- in only 9 months, 20 home extension officers had made 4,207 home visits, and 540 gardens were started. To replicate this model, the authors suggest that it be added to IRDP"s during their first year, when there is still flexibility and available funding. They also stress the need to institutionalize the component"s gains by linking it to original IRDP objectives, employing local women in its design and implementation, and enlisting the support of project staff. Appended are an 8-item bibliography (1975-80) along with descriptions of the women"s component"s goals and guidelines and a list of its training faculty.