Women in forestry for local community development

WOMEN IN FORESTRY

EOR

LOCAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

A PROGRAMMING GUIDE

BY: MARILYN W. HOSKINS

FOR: OFFICE OF WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT
AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
WASHINGTON, D. C. 20523

GRANT No. AID/oTR-147-79-83

SEPTEMBER 1979
FOR INTERNAL DISTRIBUTION

WOMEN IN FORESTRY

FOR

LOCAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

A Programming.Guide

by Marilyn W. Hoskins

The views and interpretations in this publication are those of the
author and should not be attributed to the Agency for International
Development.

AID/otr-147-79-83

PREFACE

M" interest in the role of women in forestry programs began during the five

years I spent working for the African Center for Research and Development (SAED)

in Ouagadougou, the capitol of Upper Volta. As chief of the Department of Culture,

Tradition, and Environment and as a senior research director in the Department

of Social Issues, I organized a series of studies and seminars on the impact of

development on Voltaic women. During one of these worKshops the women expressed

great concern over forestry issues and their frustration over the way these were

being handled.

My interest grew while working on studies for the Voltaic Ministry of

Environment and Tourism and during a number of regional planning, program evaluation,

and social impact assessment studies in Africa. These studies included an FAO mission

to Senegal to assess, with the Senegalese Forestry Service, the potential for

Forestry for Local Community Development, and work in Rome with the FAO foresters

interested in the community development approach.

This paper is in response to a concern expressed by Arvonne Fraser, director

of the Women in Development office of AID. She stated that there was a growing

awareness of the need for more fully including women in AID programming efforts,

and program designers were asking for information on how to do this. This paper

is also in response to foresters asking how the community development approach

could strengthen their programs. This paper is, then, an exploration of ideas on

how to include women in programming community participation in forestry.

I wish to thank the WID office and especially Kathy Staudt for support. i am

also grateful for the encouragement and idea sharing given me by many pect le

including Brahim Ben Salem, David French, Tom Great house, Michael Benc. Sam

Kunkle, Patrick Fleuret, Carol Ulinski, Irene Tinker, Grace Hemmings, an i others

at FAO, AID, Peace Corps, the World Bank, and in several host country forestry,

agricultural, and extension services.

I owe a special debt of gratitude to Fred R. Weber, well known as a superb

forester and sensitive humanist. He generously shared his expertise and :ime with

me in discussing many of the ideas in this paper.

WOMEN IN FORESTRY FOR LOCAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Table of Contents

Page

I. Forestry for Local Community Development........... 1

II. Women in Forestry ........................ ..... ... 6

Fuel Use
Other Forestry Interests and Expertise
Forestry Activities
Local Needs
Taboos

III. Problems and Issues.............................. 16

Competition for Land
Integrated Resource Planning
Integrated Programs
Land Tenure and Forestry Product Use Guarantees

Timeframe
Delay Between Investment and Profit
Conflict with Planting Season of Basic Crops
Migration

Spatial Considerations

Unfamiliarity with Forestry
The Forestry Service and Local Residents
National Support Services
Local Administrative Support

IV. Project Ideas ..................................... 34

Participation
Benefits
Indicators for Project and Area Selection
Two Basic Approaches to Forestry Projects
Model I
Model II

Page

V. Project Management Agreement..................... 45

Goals
Integrated Resource Plan
Start-up and Maintenance
Benefit Distribution
Evaluation and Follow-up
Format for a Management Plan Agreement

VI. Conclusions ..................................... 51

Appendix............................................ 53

Selected Bibliography ................................. 56

I. FORESTRY FOR LOCAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Until recently forestry efforts have been focused on industrial plantations

and on reserve and park-land management. Land-use decisions were made and enforced

by technicians and local residents had little or no role as either decision makers

or beneficiaries.

Currently, however, the concept of community forestry with local partici-

pation and control is gaining center stage in development issues. It is there

partly because demand for forestry products has risen dramatically with increasing

population, with industrial development, and with environmental changes that have

reduced thousands of acres of bush and forest lands to desert. It is also there

partly because the top-down approach used in forestry project design is not working.

The new focus in forestry programming is the result of the convergence of

two separate movements. First, national governments and forestry services are

becoming aware that their forestry needs can only be solved with the support of local

residents. Second, AID and other donor agencies are putting new emphasis on

meeting basic human needs, on local participation in solving local problems, and

on benefits reaching the poorest of the poor. Together, these movements have

formed a strong new interest in developing programs in forestry along the community

development model.

Forestry for local community development, often called FLCD, is coming

to mean more than simply changing the local resident from an invisible being to a

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pawn in someone else's plan. It is a new philosophy calling for new definitions

of forestry projects and new roles for foresters as well as for local residents.

No longer are forestry projects confined only to dense stands of trees ("forests").

Now they may pertain to any tree or shrub planting, care, or product use, and

may be integrated with other agricultural, development, or traditional needs or

interests. The greater part of the new forestry agent's time will no longer be

confined solely to management, control, and rule enforcement. These activities

will shift wherever possible to the local community, leaving the forester free to

play a technical advisory and support role. The resident is now to be the

central actor. The purpose of the program will be to help local people gain control

over local problems.

FAO has been a leading force in this community approach to forestry which

they define as follows:

...any situation which intimately involves local people in a forestry
activity. It embraces a spectrum of situations ranging from woodlots
in areas which are short of wood and other forest products for local
needs, through the growing of trees at the farm level to provide cash
crops and the processing of forest products at the household, artisan
or small industry level to generate income, to the activities of
forest dwelling communities. It excludes large-scale industrial
forestry and any other form of forestry which contribute to community
development solely through employment and wages, but it does include
activities of forest industry enterprises and public forest services
which encourage and assist forestry activities at the community level.
The activities so encompassed are potentially compatible with all types
of land ownership. While it thus provides only a partial view of the
impact of forestry on rural development, it does embrace most of the ways in
which forestry and the goods and services of forestry directly affect
the lives of rural people. (FAO 1978, p.l.)

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This new approach is undoubtedly more difficult and time-consuming

to design and to execute than the former blueprint approach. Local residents

must be informed of the options and encouraged to participate in deciding what

is appropriate and affordable within their economic and social environments.

Programs will therefore be area specific.

Some of the first attempts in this approach have failed because of a lack

of understanding of the new definition of "forestry" and the meaning of "community

participation". During a recent FAO study of the potential for FLCD in Senegal,

foresters related their failures in getting community participation. The forest

service had directed local residents to plant cashew trees as a firebreak around

a national forest and to maintain the trees, promising the residents they could

harvest the nuts when the trees matured. Foresters described their frustration

at finding locals deliberately destroying the trees so they would not have the

responsibility of coming to the forest to maintain them. Program managers and

foresters in numerous countries exhibit similar mutilated, burned, or uncared for

trees saying, "Local community participation does not work, look at this failure,"

when in fact the project was not FLCD as it was imposed on residents, was not

a high priority project for them and provided little or no benefit guarantees. The

same Senegalese foresters who remarked that FLCD did not work, also report being

unable to keep up with the growing demand of residents to purchase fruit tree

seedlings from the forestry service nurseries. The trees, planted around the

homes to increase shade and food supply, have an almost 100% survival rate.

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These foresters did not realize that while the first project was not a genuine

example of FLCD at all, the second was a real successstory because community

members were voluntarily using forestry to answer their own needs. In

Burundi, foresters report that local residents have been stealing seedlings from

a government nursery, Using the FLCD approach, this would be seen as a

positive show of local interest. Instead of increasing surveillance over the

nurseries, they would make more seedlings available, and increase extension

and tecl ical support to help residents make the best use of their trees.

Two examples of the failure of the top-cown approach to community

forestry were documented by an especially perceptive World Bank report:

In Niger, a Bank-financed rural development project, which
included the establishment of 500 hectares of village woodlots,
failed because, as fast as the trees were planted, the village
people either pulled them out or allowed uncontrolled grazing to
take place. The main reason for this, was because they them-
selves had not been involved in formulating the project and because
they perceived the village woodlot area as a traditional grazing
ground, access to which was now precluded because of the project.
In the Caqueta project in Columbia (a project for settling about
3,000 families in an area of tropical high forest), a project component
which aimed to preserve some 20,000 hectares of natural forest.
in the middle of the project area, as a source of future fuelwood,
poles, and building materials for settlers also failed, because
the settlers themselves regarded the area as being better suited to
agriculture than forestry and they forcibly occupied the protected
forest area. (Spears, 1978, p.4)

With the new awareness of the need to include local residents as major actors

in efforts to solve local forestry problems, program designers are more conscien-

tiotsly talking with community leaders or village councils. These leaders,

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almost invariably are men. Unfortunately, this still ignores one group of essential

actors---the women. Program after program has failed because participation of

women, so essential to the projects success, was overlooked. For example, in

regions where men plant and women perform the maintenance tasks, the trees

that the men agree to plant will certainly die if the women lave no interest, time,

or perception of the real benefits to come from their input. Enthusiastic partici-

pation in any project only comes from those who believe they have something at

stake and who are committed to the project's success. Women can be this

supportive of projects only after becoming involved in all stages of FILD from

the design through the benefit sharing.

This paper is written to explore ways in which women can be brought into

FLCD. This is not a state of the art paper as there is so little experience or

documentation about women's role in this new focus on forestry. Neither is it a re-

search paper, though it includes a number of observations made by the author in

several countries, particularly in the Sahel. Rather, it is an exploratory work

to examine many of the problems and issues related to women's participation,

and to develop possible useful approaches to project design. It is written in the

belief that women can effectively use their expertise and their concern over

shortages of forest products to help plan, support and benefit this new approach

of FLCD. It is written with the hope that current and future successes and

failures will be documented to help strengthen our design capacity so that in-

creasingly effective FLCD programs can be initiated.

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II. WOMEN IN FORESTRY

Fuel Use

There is one aspect of women in forestry where their role is direct and

highly visible. In most areas where firewood is used as the basic cooking fuel,

women are its very visible collectors and transporters. Publications are filled

with photos of women bent under heavy piles of wood on their heads or backs.

Studies of fuel use offer a familiar scenario wherein women collect wood near the

house and when the supply is depleted they walk greater and greater distances

thereby spending more time and wasting greater amounts of energy carrying

the heavy loads. When the distances become too great they have to start buy-

ing wood from men who usually control carts and beasts of burden. At this

point the women, and thereby their families, have lost control of the fuel supply

and have an added living expense. The growing cost of such fuel has become an urgent

problem in many areas, and in west Africa a common saying is that "it costs as

much to cook the rice as to fill the bowl. A similar saying comes from India.

(Shah, 1978, p.1)

Descriptions of the genuinely difficult and time consuming task of carry-

ing loads of wood seldom point out that during this process women are also

experimenting and innovating, turning to alternate fuels such as local plant stalks,

dung, and even imported charcoal. Women are not only victims of changes in

firewood supplies but they actively seek everyday solutions in locating and

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conserving fuel and are the local experts regarding burning qualities of various local

woods and of firewood alternatives.

When available fuels are scarce, women also change their cooking

and eating practices. For example, in Nepal, diets are reportedly including

more and more raw foods due to fuel shortages and in Guatemala families are

changing their diets due to the lengthy cooking time required for their traditional

beans (see Tinker, 1979). In eastern Upper Volta local officials are distressed

that soy beans introduced in a large scale development scheme have grown extreme-

ly well but women are not accepting them. This is not simply because the women

prefer the commonly grown cow peas, but because they find soy beans require

much longer cooking time. Throughout the Sahel people are turning to rice instead

of millet, especially in urban areas, and women report this is largely due to the

fact it cooks much more rapidly. In the peanut basin of Senegal one woman

remarked, "One can starve with a full granary if one has no fuel with which to

cook the meal". This woman is probably not starving. She has, however, given

up serving two hot meals a day to her family. First she served just one, and

then one every other day. She now substitutes cold left overs when they are

available or serves water mixed with raw millet flour.

The actual extent of these changes and their impact on nutrition needs

to be evaluated. The impact of such changes on health should also be examined

because there is no refrigeration for leftovers and the increased consumption

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of raw foods and unboiled water may cause an increase in.otherwise avoidable

diseases. This information should be available to local women and men and

to programmers alike, when discussing local priorities and evaluating local

needs for forestry in community development.

Other Forestry Interests and Expertise

Women have other interests in forestry that are often overlooked. In

many regions of the world women raise small ruminants around the compound as

an important source of household protein and/or personal income. In areas

where the protein rich aerial forage supplied by bushes and trees is the basic

diet of these animals, the same pattern demonstrated by the firewood exa mple

is repeated when forage becomes scarce. First, women walk their animals

further away until the distances are too great, demanding too much time from

other required daily tasks. Then, women lose out to local men and then to herders

who can function further away from the household. They, again, lose control of

an activity important to the well being of the family and a source of personal

income.

In many countries a large amount of the nutritive value in meals comes

from leaves or fruits and nuts collected by women. Women are concerned over

forced changes of diet, but they are aware of the alternative foods when favored

foods become scarce. When women farm and garden, they are aware of decreases

in the carrying capacity of the land. Often they are knowledgable about tree species

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that hold or improve the land and others that poison the soil. When

appropriate species for hedgerows and windbreaks are introduced, women as

well as men are interested in ways to improve their yields if it can be done

within their own cultural and economic framework.

In certain ethnic groups women use wood in house construction. In

many areas they are the herbal medicine experts. Frequently, craft items

for household use or for sale are made by women with the use of forest products.

In short, beyond the frequently laborious task of carrying firewood, women depend

upon forestry products to fulfill their responsibilities for the well being of their

families and in some regions, for personal and family income. Though they are seldom

formally trained in forestry, they are frequently the local experts on the current

and most appropriate uses of forestry products.

This forestry expertise was dramatically demonstrated in a seminar on

the effects of development on women in Upper Volta. Though forestry was not

on the agenda for discussion, it came up spontaneously and was expressed with

great emotion. Participants, who were women social workers, teachers, business

women, medical professionals, etc., were quite aware of a wide variety of forestry

issues and were very outspoken about forestry practices. Participants stated

that foresters should not clear even old trees and shrubs without taking a close

look to see which of these provide food, medicine or other products either in

normal times or in times of shortages. Participants not only knew the local

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traditional trees but discussed imported exotic species. For example, they

spoke authoritatively about a eucalyptus variety then being planted in Voltaic

forestry projects. They knew that the burning leaves kept away mosquitoes

and that boiled leaves gave a broth useful in treating colds. They mentioned that,

because the tree grows rapidly even with little water and is resistant to animal

damage, it might be necessary as a temporary solution for emergency fuel

problems. But, they felt that many other types of trees are better for more

typical situations. The disadvantages they mentioned are that this

eucalyptus is completely inedible for humans and is not good for animal food.

The wood is difficult and time consuming to cut and, though it is lightweight, it

is sticky and awkward to carry. Also, it burns rapidly and therefore more of it

is required. Its oils give it a flame that is very hot and difficult to control for

long, slow cooking of the local dishes. The oils in the smoke impart a vcks-

vapo-rub" taste to foods and damage eyes. When planted near gardens or fields

they.find this tree damages other plants and poisons the soils surrounding it.

This is not an illustration to open a debate on the qualities of a con-

troversial tree. It is given to show that women, both urban and rural, with no

formal forestry backgrounds, could spontaneously demonstrate an expertise, a

concern, and an awareness of forestry issues beyond that of many foreign and

local foresters. It would seem to be quite a waste not to tap this knowledge and

enthusiasm for potential support of local level forestry projects.

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Forestry Activities

Not only is women's expertise generally unnoticed, but sometimes

their forestry-related activities are invisible even to local village men. This

is important to realize and it means that program designers must make an extra

effort to inquire beyond the more easily available answers offered by male

village leaders. For instance, in response to the request to talk to women,

both men and women gathered in a group. When asked questions on fuel

problems the men answered while the women stood in what looked like silent

agreement. Several spokesmen gave the information that wood was getting more

and more expensive and told the figures on the weekly cost of fuel wood per

family. Only after observing no wood and requesting to see a fireplace was

it possible to see the wives alone and discover that there had been no wood

available for a number of months. Women were, in fact, burning dung which they

remarked would have been better used as fertilizer on the fields had there been

another alternative fuel. In the area there was no taboo against cooking with

dung: the lack of firewood had never been noticed by the men. The women's

chores had been invisible.

Women's forestry activities are frequently underestimated. In Senegal

a regional forestry officer, concerned about starting community forestry programs,

was insistent during discuss ions covering several days, that Senegalese women

did not, indeed, could not, plant trees. In the evening, chatting alone with his

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wife about sayings or beliefs that might limit women's desire to plant trees, it

became evident that her grandmother, her mother, and she had planted trees. In

fact, all the trees in the forester's own courtyard lad been planted by his wife

and she remarked that where there were trees in courtyards, women had probably

put them there. At that very time, in the capitol city, women's organizations

had hung banners across the major streets in celebration of the "Day of the

Senegalese Woman" proclaiming "For Every Woman a Tree". They were officially

encouraging women to plant more tiees.

Roles women can take in forestry projects differ not only by country and

by ethnic group, but sometimes vary from village to village. In some communities

only women may put seeds in the earth while men do all the other planting and

harvesting chores. In others, they have individual fields and both do all planting

tasks. In some communities, men and women do complementary work, and in

others their projects are completely separated.

Because women's household activities are generally not noticed, because

their forestry activities may be misunderstood, and because their roles may be

specific to a village or even specific to a family situation, each project must

include local women in the project designing stage.

Local Needs

Local needs may also be difficult for outside experts to identify. In one

region of Upper Volta land ownership was such that residents could only collect

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fuel from land owned by their own family. Even if dead wood was on adjoining

land it could not be collected. A forestry report spoke of this area as having no

fuel problem as there was dead wood visible around the village while a local

woman potter discussed having to abandon her craft oue to lack of personal fuel.

Many other villages in the area had the accepted rule that any forestry product

from a "God-given" tree (one not specifically planted by someone) was available

for the taking. Women in a Senegalese village complained of a shortage of fuel

but there were large wood piles visible. In this village women collected wood

during a two-month period to last for the year due to the inaccessibility of their

supply in the rainy season. This village had a different collection pattern from

one 20 km away whose supply was more accessible. Some reports from the coastal

urban areas discuss "African women" preferring to cook inside without taking

into consideration that this is progressively less true as one goes into drier

climates, especially in rural areas.

The responses people make to filling their needs are not always chosen along

environmental or ethnic lines. In communities where women have always been in

charge of collecting firewood some families consider fuel the responsibility of men

when it is no longer a "free good" but has to be purchased. At other times this

becomes a divided responsibility. For instance, when one family moved into the

city of Ouagadougou, the man took the responsibility of purchasing firewood for

family meals. His wife, freed from this task, started to make shea nut butter for

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her family use and for sale. From the residue of the nuts she made a highly

valued fuel. She reported that she almost never cooked with this fuel as it-

was now the responsibility cf her husband to provide fuel for everyday meals.

She used her fuel for making more butter, for cocking at celebrations in her own

home village, for cooking meals when her husband was gone for long periods of

time, and beyond this,she traded or sold the surplus to purchase family or

personal items. This woman's interests in forestry projects dealt with obtaining

more shea nuts and with the technology to make the butter more simply. Woodlots

were no longer a high priority project for her. It is difficult for an outsider to

know, before consulting potential participants, which individuals would have

something to gain from which types of forestry projects.

Taboos

Local taboos must also be understood. As new projects are presented

sometimes women are prevented from participating by taboos which, when under-

stood, may be overcome.

For instance, in Kenya women "could not raise bees" because there was

a taboo against women climbing. When the hives were lowered women gladly

participated. Taboos against specific trees may relate to local knowledge such as

snakes being attracted to them.

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Other taboos based on local religion may be equally strong. In the

Cassamance area of Senegal several locals remarked that a proposed project

of planting cashew trees around the village was bound to fail as cashew trees

were known in that community as the homes of ghosts. A Peace Corps volunteer

who had lived there several years predicted the trees would be planted but that

before they matured there would be a "bush f ire". Had project planners asked

what trees the local residents wanted to plant around their village, cashews would

never have been chosen.

If forestry with a local community development approach is to

include women successfully, informed women must help design the project. No

simple "women's programs" can be designed in any capitol city and dropped down

fullblown on a community. Not only is the negative true, that failure to include

women from the beginning often assures failure of the project, but the positive

is true also. Inclusion of women who are knowledgable and concerned about

forestry problems, community priorities, and their own roles, adds a valuable source

of information and potentially adds enthusiastic support for program success.

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III. PROBLEMS AND ISSUES

This new approach to forestry brings with it problems and issues which

are yet to be solved. Many of these are the same for projects where men ana

women work together, where men's or women's groups work separately, or where

individuals alone participate. Land tenure, social structure, political and

economic organizations, and capacities of extension and forestry services to

support such projects are all under scrutiny.

A number of specific questions are heard over and over from technicians

designing and working with forestry projects who are interested in encouraging

community participation. Where land is scarce and being over-utilized just to

gain daily subsistence, how is it possible to interest farmers in dedicating a

parcel for tree planting ? How is it possible to get farmers to plant trees during their

busy farming cycle and to maintain them during the long time period of their

growth? Can environmental improvement projects without direct economic benefit

to participants be done on a communal basis? Can rural people be motivated to see

forestry as a potential solution to some of their problems, and on the other hand

can forestry technicians be motivated to become support and technical assistants

to FLCD projects?

These are basic questions for any FLCD project. There are, however,

some special aspects of these which are more specific in the case of women.

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Women frequently lack control over land and are described in some circum-

stances as tenants on their husband's land (Chaney, Simmons, Standt, 1979).

Women are more apt to be illiterate, the least served by extension services

especially in non-homemaker subjects, may have the least flexibility in time

use, have the least mobility, the least financial resources, and may be invisible

as to their inputs and needs. These facts make it imperative to include a

fine-tuning in examining the issues in light of their potential participation.

What specific problems do women have in gaining and retaining access to land

or use of tree products? What specific time, financial, or other constraints may

have to be overcome to free women to participate? What types of assurances can

women have to receive benefits they value from projects? In what way do different

social structures allow women to participate as individuals or in groups?

These are all complex questions and there are neither simple nor universal

answers. Part of the key lies in examining each question within the specific local

and national environment and designing the specific programs with local residents

and institutions participating. There are, however, specific constraints which

are universal in introducing community forestry projects. Discussing these con-

straints may give insights into understanding and dealing with the reason for the

questions. Foresters, agriculturalists, and developers from a number of countries

identified four major constraints as being basic in any forestry for local community

development programming. (FAO 1977). These are: 1. Competition for land;

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2. Time frame for forestry; 3. Spatial considerations; and 4. Unfamiliarity

with a tradition of forestry. These will be discussed separately.

1. Competition for Land

An increasing population using available land more intensely and there-

by reducing its carrying capacity has created a well-known vicious cycle. Even

though farmers may realize that trees are necessary for retaining the productivity

of their land, for fuelwood, etc., their immediate need for food may be so great

that they hesitate to dedicate land for a long period of time to forestry projects.

This increasing competition for land underlies the need to look at three sub-issues:

integrated resource planning, integration of forestry and other agricultural and develop-

ment projects, and land tenure and forestry product use guarantees.

Integrated Resource Planning

Land-use and resource planning ideally begins on a national or even

regional basis. For instance, it has been the experience in the Sahel that

where wells are not carefully located from a regional point of view, they may

attract so many animals that the resultant overgrazing leads to desertification of

the surrounding areas. In another example, charcoal production can be encouraged

in particular areas only if the national taxes or the development of regional

transportation networks support its distribution.

Some countries have developed land use policies relating to trees.

In China, for instance, the famous "all-around trees" sometimes called "four-around

- 19 -

trees" project encouraged citizens to plant trees all around the fields, all along

the roads, and in any unused space. This has also been the approach in India.

In Korea the government encouraged tree planting on steep slopes that were less

profitable for crops and that had serious erosion problems. (Spears, 1978)

The fact that forestry has a more slowly maturing crop than other

agricultural projects makes comprehensive national and local considerations of

land use especially important. Where regional or national guidelines for land use

are available, local projects should be designed within them wherever possible.

When such guidelines are not available local residents should look at current

and potential areas for forestry, grazing, and agriculture, at current and potential

water sources, and they should evaluate current and future needs for food,

animal feed, fuel, income, etc. The World Bank and in some areas UNICEF have

dedicated funds for support of this type of basic planning.

Integrated Programs

Along with integrated land-use and resource planning is the need to

integrate forestry with other programs. In the Sudan, a farmers' association

demonstrated the value of planting windbreaks in reducing wind damage to crops.

Farmers who were at first reluctant are now requesting seedlings and technical

advice for establishing their own windbreaks (Kunkle and Dye, p. 12). A number

of projects have combined woodlots with between-row planting of food crops for

the first few years. This technique, called taurigya, has helped solve the

problem of weeding and care for the young seedlings and offers a food crop during

the waiting period for tree maturity. Some trees fix nitrogen in the soil and thereby

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increase crop yields. Trees can be used to prevent soil erosion in fields.

Trees used as live fencing can help protect gardens. All of these uses involve

cooperation between forestry and agriculture technicians. The use of trees for fuel,

food, building materials, and income producing projects will affect other

activities. If one introduces animal raising, one will need to consider shade

and forage. A new fish-smoking cooperative calls for increased use of wood.

When residents find other priorities more important than forestry,

forestry projects will either have to be supportive in working along with those

priorities or if major priorities in no way include forestry then forestry projects

will have to wait until these basic needs have been met (see Example 1, Chapter V).

Land Tenure and Forestry Product Use Guarantees

Land tenure has been considered by many the most difficult problem for

forestry. Tenant farmers will have little interest in planting trees if they are not

sure they can retain the land to reap the benefits. But land ownership and land use

may not oe simple and clear cut.

In many regions of Africa land use is given to a family that can retain

agricultural use rights as long as the land remains in production. Unused land

returns to the community. However, trees and products of trees may be classified

differently than crops and may belong to a chief, or to the family of the original

- 21 -

settlers. Where tree planting signals ownership of land it is forbidden, to

those who do not hold titles even when they have continuous land-use rights

for crop production. In some countries, trees come under the forestry service

and farmers fear they will lose control of their land if they plant stands of trees.

Many projects are developed on lands given by the government or by

a local chief only later to run into problems with a former tenant who wants to

reclaim the land he left fallow for a few seasons while earning a wage in the

city. If lands are offered for forestry projects by religious or traditional leaders,

even when community members participate in planting, they may know benefits

"for the community" really mean "for that leader and his family".

This is a subject which takes careful study and design to assure that

those who participate will be guaranteed the benefits of their labors. Develop-

ment schemes often encourage fixing the title. This may have the positive effect

of making the owner more willing to improve his land, but it may also have the

negative effects of creating an owner class and creating absentee ownership.

Title fixing frequently has a negative effect on women who are seldom given title

to the lands they farm thus making them less secure tenants on land which can

now be sold. (Also see Brokenshaw, 1978).

For women, all three of these aspects of competition for land are important.

Women are frequently responsible for providing many basics for family well-being

and it is important to consider their priorities and concerns in the original

- 22 -

land-use plan and in the design of integrated projects. Because they may lack

political strength to request, get, and keep a piece of land, it is important

that the land is carefully chosen and agreed upon by all concerned. For example,

a situation in Upper Volta occurred where the village leaders gave a piece of

land to a women's group for a garden. The year after the women had made the

land into a profitable garden, the leaders took it back and gave the women a piece

of land further away. Forestry projects would be ruined by this kind of treatment.

It is imperative that sites chosen for forestry planting be adjudicated and be

understood to be dedicated for the life of the project (see Chapter IV).

2. Timeframe

The timeframe is a typical problem in forestry because planting seasons

are often short and because of the two-to-five year minimum time between

planting and tree productivity. This timing creates three problems: delay between

investment and profit; conflict with the planting season of basic food crops: and

problems caused by either seasonal or permanent migration.

Delay Between Investment and Profit

Delay between investment and profit is one of the major differences

between forestry and agricultural projects. It accounts for the question of whether

or not to pay or give incentives to participants to plant their own trees. It

accounts for the question of tree protection especially in the agricultural off-

season.

- 23 -

Incentives. Seldom does the idea of payment enter a garden develop-

ment scheme. Participants are generally highly enough motivated by the

potential profit once they see gardening as a viable investment. However, when

farmers dedicate their time and land and sometimes money in forestry projects,

they may need an alternate source of income for several years. Before deciding

whether to pay the participants to plant and care for his trees the designers and

participants need to be clear who are the beneficiaries of the project. If it is a

project imposed by the government for the benefit of the national ecology but

without individual economic or product benefit, it is important to identify it as such,

and reasonable to hire workers not only for planting but for any necessary upkeep.

If it is a mixture of both, it is important to include residents into the project

planning before assuming they will willingly offer land or take on tree maintenance

for a benefit identified by someone else. In some countries such as Tanzania,

projects can be identified as being fcr the benefit of a national goal and all residents

are expected to contribute. The project will still have a greater chance of success

if residents personally identify with the project goals. (Muzava, 1977).

If you pay a man to plant his own field he might assume that you now

owned part or all of his crop. One problem that arises with paying workers to

plant trees appears to be that the trees and their care frequently are not personalized

by the workers. An AID study of farmer participation 'found projects involving

local support and follow-through are more successful when the participants identify

- 24 -

the potential benefits as important enough to commit their time and/or money.

(DAI, 1975). When, as with fruit tree seedlings in Senegal, individuals

purchase the trees, they generally see that they are protected throughout the

growing cycle. Once farmers are convinced of the value of a certain tree they

will often request it for their fields or yards. In a small church run woodlot

project in Maradi, Niger, and in a windbreak project in Sudan (Kunkle and

Dye, 1979) farmers, doubtful at first, saw successful projects and then requested

seedlings and technical support, planting without asking to be paid. In

Burundi they see the benefits so clearly they reportedly steal seedlings from the

government nurseries. (Personal communication with Fred Weber, 1979).

A further problem created by paying the participants is that it limits the

number of acres governments can afford to plant and may have a negative effect

on future voluntary efforts. An example of this is a CARE dune stabilization

program in Niger. The villagers knew the dune was blowing into their village

and covering their garden areas. They knew that this environmentally focused

project was basic to their survival and, according to project organizers, were

eager to participate. However, a Nigerien governmental official told the

residents they would be paid for the bundles of millet stalks they were saving for

the project. When the technicians arrived, the locals would not participate

until paid. Though this was not in the budget, CARE felt forced to pay the

residents to keep the project alive. Other project designers in the area fear that

neighboring villagers will now wait to be paid to stabilize their dunes. There is

- 25 -

no way that all the threatening dunes can be stopped if residents wait for

financial aid from outside organizations.

But the issue is not as simple as to pay or not to pay. Some projects,

for example, pay workers with food. When food is used to create meals for

workers and their families for a community effort, it may fall within the well-

known pattern of a host treating workers to a feast. This may have several

positive effects. It may free women to participate as they no longer have

meals to prepare at home. It may provide the extra calories required for the

energy used in project work. It may allow workers from greater distances to

remain longer before returning home. It gives a festive air to a communal

project. It may not.be adequate motivation, however, for sustained work

projects if it is not a high priority for the workers.

Food given in bulk in trade for work is simply a substitute for money.

It is an advantage to workers only when local food is not available to purchase

though it maybe economically or politically advantageous to the donor. If a

project draws farmers away from their fields during the agricultural season,

these workers may need to be paid in food, but great care should be exercised

in this case that the community is not put at risk.

An interesting experiment was tried by a peanut production and marketing

organization in Senegal (SODEVA). Farmers who were paid to plant Acacia albida

seedlings in a project to improve their soil experienced well over 70% loss the

- 26 -

first year. The following year the project did not pay farmers to plant but

after six months to a year they paid 100 FCFA for each living tree, and 50

FCFA and 25 FCFA per tree each of the following two years. The cost of

planting and maintaining each tree until it was three years old came to 175 FCFA or

about $.88. SODEVA agents report that this model yields almost 100% living

trees. Since the goal was living trees rather than planted trees, the new

reward system was more appropriate and effective.

In a community where local participants need money during the interval

between planting and harvesting, this type of plan might be modified to be an

advance toward the future product. The trees still belong to the farmer but he

has sold some of the product in advance just as is commonly done with grain.

If money sufficient to tide them over would not be a heavy burden to repay in

case of a poor return, this could fit into the philosophy of community development,

Depending on the goals of the project the returned money might go into a revolving

fund for project expansion or other community development.

Plant Protection. Related to the problem of timing is the problem of plant

protection. The use of barbed wire has become a major issue. Farmers in

developing countries usually protect their crops and their gardens without the aid

of barbed wire. It is basically the fact that trees need protection for a longer

period of time that many foresters claim no forestry project can succeed without

- 27 -

wire fencing. However, if all tree and shrub planting must wait until there is enough

barbed wire to protect it, community development must depend on heavy outside

funding and there could simply never be enough money to adequately solve the

urgent fuelwood and other forestry needs. The type of protection needed depends

upon many factors including farmer-herder relations and relative harshness of

the environment. The community should give major consideration to tree protection

before beginning any project. Even when plantations are surrounded by multiple

rows of barbed wire goats still enter unless there is strong community control.

For group plantings, the boundaries of each project need to be clearly

marked especially in areas with migrating herds. In some projects residents make

a plan to pen, tie, or otherwise control their animals but there must be strong

institutional backing behind participant control. In considering women's projects

this is especially true as the women may lack individual or group political

strength to keep animals owned by men from damaging their trees. For area

fencing, the type used locally for gardens or fields might be considered. For

individual trees, rush baskets or thorn bushes, etc. are often used (See Weber,

1977). No matter what fencing is used, the participants will probably have to

arrange for someone to act as guardian.

Conflict With Planting Season of Basic Crops

The coinciding of the planting seasons for trees and crops is often

described as limiting the ability of farmers to participate in forestry projects

- 28 -

and needs to be carefully studied. The planting season is so short in many

areas that farmers hate to take on extra work at that time. This is one

explanation of why projects with herders in Senegal have proven successful, as

herders are not overly busy at planting season. It also makes any men, women

and young people not regularly involved in planting good candidates to partici-

pate in community forestry efforts, as well as the landless if community land is

made available. However, a good deal of work can be carefully scheduled

before the busy season--seeds collected, nurseries established, and the soil

prepared. Some communities chose to pay workmen to do the actual planting.

Experience has shown that in one day a man can plant an average of 80 seedlings

in plastic bags into prepared holes. The time and labor for actual planting,

therefore, are not extensive. FAO has some technical suggestions on selecting

species to help ease this time constraint (FAO, 1978).

Weeding and caring for the young trees during the rest of the busy

agricultural season is perhaps a greater problem. Some project directors find

the tauncva system of inter-row planting of trees and crops is greatly appreciated

by farmers as it eliminates weeding a second field.

Migration

The length of time required for trees to mature raises the very difficult

problem of mobility. For instance, residents may not want to invest in a

forestry project if they expect to leave in several years. The more frequent complaint,

- 29 -

especially in the Sahel, is the seasonal mobility customary in certain areas.

For example, in the peanut area in Senegal, the farmers protected their newly

planted trees while they had crops in the fields. After harvest, however,

both men and women went into urban areas. A number of men stated they go to

the towns for a few weeks of recreation and then to find a job, but women

claimed they would rather not go to the towns if there were employment near

home. This is the exact season when scattered water holes dry up and herders

come into the village wells for water. They traditionally let their cattle

browse in the harvested fields and fertilize them. With no one left to protect

the young trees nearly all the trees were destroyed or damaged. This brings out

the need for a well considered protection system, perhaps hiring a guard, or

perhaps exploring with village women the idea of a companion money-making

project designed for off-season employment so that some residents could stay

to protect the trees. The same problems caused by migration patterns are

well described in an evaluation of a tree planting program in Chad (Weber and

Dulansey, 1978).

3. Spatial Considerations

A number of needed forestry projects are designed to improve ecological

conditions away from the planting site--silting river basins, dune stabilization,

etc. Many of these desirable projects are of little value to the area in which

the trees are planted and may in fact occupy precious land in one area only to

- 30 -

improve a distant area. Once again, the planners should clearly define the

beneficiaries. Even if this is identified as an environmental project not

suitable for community development with voluntary action, the residents and

employees must understand the value of the project. The examples given

earlier from Columbia, Niger, and Senegal show dramatically what may happen

when local interests are not considered.

A second spatial constraint deals with the distance from the villages

or farms at which land may be available for forestry projects. This may be

especially handicapping to women who are more likely to lack transportation.

In some projects carts are introduced to help women haul wood. Where the

control is not carefully monitored, men frequently take over the carts for their

own purposes as has happened in a number of sites in Upper Volta.

4. Unfamiliarity with Forestry

People who live where trees grow in the wild often feel trees are "God

given" and not something one plants. Herders from one project (Labgar) had to be

taken on a field trip to believe that gum arabic trees could replace the wild ones

that had died in the drought. There is also an antagonism toward trees by some

of the farming communities which have had to clear the land before planting.

The Hausa ethnic group in Senegal identifies the oldest and more prestigious

people as those who had the "right of the ax" or "the right of fire" meaning they

had been the first to clear the land of trees and shrubs.

- 31 -

Granting that individual familiarity with trees and tree planting is

important, there are three other elements to this lack of familiarity with

forestry for local community development which augment the problem:

relationships between the forestry service and local residents; lack of

national support services willing to co-operate with each other in FLCD

efforts; and, lack of local administrative support.

The Forestry Service and Local Residents

Forestry education is for the most part intensely professional and

includes learning Latin names for local and exotic trees, botanical science,

and some military training, but no extension training. Foresters wear uniforms,

sometimes carry weapons, enforce rules prohibiting fuelwood collection on

certain lands, enforcing gun prohibitions, taxing locals for cutting certain

trees or making charcoal, etc. It is difficult for a forester with this background

to wish to come or to be accepted in a supportive teacher role. Forestry

services may wish to start work through extension services and local grade schools

while at the same time strengthening their extension capability and changing

their image.

Forestry research also has focused on tree growth more than local uses

of plants. For example, a research station in north-central Senegal had large

stands of a low-growing Australian variety of eucalyptus introduced as a potential

forage plant. After several years the foresters could show a number of healthy

- 32 -

stands under various growing conditions,but had never invited in goats and

sheep to see how it would be accepted as forage by the local animals and how the

plant would react in realistic situations.

Success for foresters has been measured by perfectly straight rows

of large beautifully green trees. When foresters see a local community effort,

they are apt to see the few trees that died rather than the greater number that

lived. Foresters will have to convince potential participants that their interests

are now to help villagers solve their forestry problems. Forestry institutions

will have to support local efforts focusing on low cost tools and simple technology

and procedures to introduce to villagers. Women will have to be encouraged

to enter the field of forestry so they may help local women become meaningfully

involved. All of this may be difficult when forestry offices are usually under-

staffed and underfinanced. There are countries moving in this direction, however.

For example, the Indian government has now established a school for foresters

specifically stressing extension. (Shah, 1979).

National Support Services

Other national institutions have not focused on forestry as an important

element in development. Several Senegalese extension officials recently remarked

that tree planting and forest fires were the business of the forestry service, not

of the farmers. There appears to be much competition and little communication

or cooperation between forestry, agriculture, extension, water, transportation,

- 33 -

taxation, education, legal, and financial institutions. (See Spears, 1978).

Where this is the case forestry officials might be encouraged to increase

contact and information flow between its service and other agencies. Forestry

services might introduce seminars and offer educational materials and

technical support packages to grade school teachers, agriculture specialists,

and extension agents. Because funds for this type of material development and

training are difficult to obtain, three to five percent of the funding for each

project could be dedicated to each of these efforts. If all projects contributed

to increasing the forestry service capability it could greatly strengthen future

efforts in FLCD.

Local Administrative Support

Local administrative skills in integrated resource planning, tree pro-

tection, benefit guarantees, etc., are frequently not well developed in relation

to forestry projects. This is one aspect which should be considered in site

selection and project design.

The World Bank has considered the weakness in national and local

administrative and support structures the most serious handicap to their efforts

in establishing FLCD. They are offering some of their financing for institution

building and for strengthening local capacity to support rural forestry projects.

(World Bank, 1978).

- 34 -

IV. PROJECT IDEAS

It is the experience of community developers that projects introduced

in a community which build on existing skills and accepted practices have

a better chance of success. It is, therefore, a sobering fact that communal

forestry is common neither in the developed nor in the developing world. This

means donors, designers, and participants have very little to go on in the

way of experience or models. No wonder it has been difficult to establish

community participation with locally controlled benefits in forestry projects.

The very term "forestry" calls to mind either forests controlled by foresters,

or hired labor working in industrial lumber, coffee, rubber, etc. plantations.

To increase the difficulty, in neither picture does one see women designing,

controlling, or often even participating. Perhaps this is why it is common to

hear foresters at international conferences remark that women do not or cannot

participate in forestry projects.

There are two aspects for women in potential projects, their role as

active participants, and their control of benefits. Due to the invisibility of

women's activities and of their needs, it is important to examine potential

forestry activities for women in both these aspects.

Participation

In order to see projects that are likely to succeed in incorporating

women into the active participation of the project, one should start by looking at

women's traditional activities.

- 35 -

In most parts of the world women plant fruit or shade trees in their

yards. In many areas women already collect tree seeds for food or other uses,

and may sell the surplus. In most regions they have an active part in raising

agricultural crops, and frequently in gardening. In areas where wood is the

fuel they usually "harvest", collect, transport, and store their family's supply

and may trade or sell any surplus.

Many projects can be introduced to expand women's normal activities

or to make them more profitable. Some of these projects are: to raise seedlings

in the courtyard or garden area; to increase the number of courtyard trees; to

plant trees in the market for shade; to collect tree seeds for sale to the forestry

department or to a local nursery; or to improve the harvest, transporting, or

storage of wood. If trees are approached as just another type of agricultural

crop except that they take longer to reach maturity, tree planting by women who

already plant crops should not seem startling. Actually, the most startled by

this approach to forestry may be the forestry technicians, host country and ex-

patriate alike, who have gained a mystique of exclusivity and elitism through

their rigorous and intensive training.

However, it is not a good idea to overstress. women's participation in the

act of planting, transporting, etc., without looking at the total picture. Just

as it is unfortunate to plan projects with men, over which women have no control

but their labor is expected, it would be unfortunate to draw up arbitrary rules on

- 36 -

women's involvement in projects. In areas where women have already over-

charged work schedules, men may be willing and able to physically plant the

trees for his family or community while women may be able to do support

activities and may profit from the benefits.

Benefits

More important than who physically plants the trees is the issue of who

needs and will benefit from, and who will control use of the product. In a

Peace Corps project with women in latin America, women purchased fruit tree

seedlings and paid men in their community to plant them, but it was the women

who chose this activity so they could profit from the fruit. In areas in the

Middle East where, women live inside walled compounds, sons may purchase

fruit tree seedlings and later sell the fruit in the market for their mothers

but if the women profit from the benefits, promoting this ty pe of activity would

still be considered a legitimate women's program.

There are difficult issues to consider, however, when the work is not

under the control of women. For example, in a project in Niger, women provided food

and support for men while men planted trees in a woodlot. The wood was supposed

to go to the man who planted the tree to give to his wife or wives. Although this

system would benefit women, a woman's share of wood would depend entirely on

how many trees the man plants and how many wives he has. A woman with a lazy

or an absent husband, or a widow would have no way to receive adequate benefits

- 37 -

from the project. These types of issues in benefit sharing have not been

adequately addressed. They must be examined in the design stage of each

project and be spelled out clearly in the project management plan.

Indicators for Project and Area Selection

Any FLCD project must be based on the technical, administrative,

economic, and social information required for any forestry and any community

development project. There are, however, indicators which will give program

designers clues if a specific area holds strong potential for women's active

participation in FLCD. There is some general information that can be collected

from certain key people and from a brief library search. This can serve as

the first step in determining what options might be appropriate for different areas,

or on the contrary, in identifying problems or even areas where FLCD starting

FLID projects might need to be delayed. Key resource people will differ by

region, but women grade school teachers, leaders of women's organizations,

women social workers or extension agents, wives of male teachers or foresters,

Peace Corps volunteers, local representatives of private voluntary organizations,

as well as sociologists can be helpful in this first line of questioning. Four

general areas might be pursued: motivation, active participation, benefit control,

and administrative support.

- 38 -

1. Motivation

A. What relationship do women have to forestry and forestry
products now? Is this changing?

B. What is the relative need for forestry products in relation
to other basic needs?

C. What major problems could forestry help women solve?
Which women would benefit?

D. How would others in the community be affected by a potential
project?

2. Active Participation

A. Do women have access to land and to forestry products?
Can this access be assured for projects of long duration?
Are the women (the men) mobile?

B. What is the woman's place in the social structure of the
family, and in the village? For instance, are there age groups
of women who normally work together -or do women work by
themselves or with other family members? Who organizes this?

C. What is the woman's role in agricultural and other work
activities ?

D. What are the woman's time constraints on a daily basis and as
they relate to seasonal work?

3. Benefit Control

A. What is the woman's current role in the economy.of the
family and in the community?

B. How do women handle money and other resources?

C. How would any suggested project affect the economic situation
of the women and her control over resources ?

- 39 -

4. Administrative Support

A. Could women get and retain land, water use rights and
other needed materials and resources for a project?

B. Could women get information and technical help from extension,
agricultural and forestry services, from other agencies, or
from Peace Corps volunteers or private voluntary groups?

C. Have the women in a suggested area had any previous experience
in forestry or other development projects? In neighboring areas?
What happened and why?

D. Would there be community support to help protect trees, etc?
Are there women leaders to help?

The answers to these questions will indicate where problems may lie.

For example, if a group of women have participated in previous projects which

failed, it may call for careful presentation of a project not demanding much risk.

If women usually work separately, a project of individual plantings may be

indicated as a first step or as an alternative to collective activities. If one cannot

count on community support to help protect trees, special protective measures

may be indicated. Forestry would probably not be indicated if there were other

basic needs women felt had much higher priorities, unless forestry could be

integrated into a total program to solve these needs. From this general level

information the potential for either the integrated approach or the various separate

forestry projects could be examined.

Women who have not been involved in project planning or decision making

may have a difficult time imagining project ideas for their community or indeed

- 40 -

expressing their own needs. One expatriate forester in Niger was told

"It is for the men to say, or "It is for the chief to say," when he asked

women what they would like or what they needed in the way of forestry products.

A Voltaic woman sociologist even had difficulty eliciting project ideas from women

in her own home village. A list of apparently viable options could be drawn up

from the first brief information and presented to start discussions. For

example, if the women are herders and there is not enough forage, if the

community might assign them land and help protect it, women might be interested

in the option of raising forage trees. If women gardeners have problems with

animals attacking their gardens, they might want to develop a live fencing

project. If women have a garden plot near a well and find it too small to be

profitable for vegetables, they might wish to turn a portion into a nursery which

requires limited space. Options of these types of appropriate projects could

be made known to the women.

After they find projects in which they are interested, local women can

help identify information they would need for selecting between options. They

themselves could help identify and fill in missing information required in

designing any good project, and information needed to write a management plan.

This is not to say there is no need for professional socio-economic analysis

required in all projects. It is to say, however, that the project could be

strengthened by the input of participants at the information- eoleeting-stage.

- 41 -

Not only would a better understanding of the reason they are being subjected

to questioning elicit more cooperation and probably more honest answers, but

since the goal is to help local people learn to identify and solve their own

problemsit is a step in producing more informed participation.

Two Basic Approaches to Forestry Projects

There are two differing approaches to forestry programming; the

integrated and the special project designs. In the integrated approach, the

designer starts with a community and designs the various-projects to fit the

needs of that community. When properly run this can produce exceptional

results. The second is to offer one or several forestry project packages, such

as support for woodlot development, and find a community which could profit

from this type of project and then mold it to fit the circumstances of the specific

community. This can also be effective when flexibility is built into the design.

Model I

An example of what appears to be a successful integrated community

development project is at Labgar, Senegal. This is a mixed community,

largely Peul, semi-sedentary pastoralists. In this community the pastoralists

have participated on a voluntary basis to plan and carry out a forestry component

of an integrated community development program. This example has the following

elements:

I. An outside funding organization committed to integrated
community development approach.

- 42 -

2. Senegalese project director experienced in extension and
government agency functioning who lives in the region.

3. An indepth sociological study of the potential development of
the region.

4. Self-selection of the village by positive response from residents
of the area, many of whom live scattered around Labgar.

5. A woman extension agent and later a forester residing in
community.

6. Open dialogue between the director, the agent, the forester,
and the villagers.

7. Priorities chosen by area residents. Residents offered to
provide labor and the donor organization and the government
helped provide material and personnel. The projects were:
a well with a pump, a dispensary with a nurse, a teacher
for the school, and technical and material support for establishing
a women's garden.

8. Identification by the villagers of problems that still existed
for them, and made them dissatisfied with their current life-style
as compared to life before the drought. They reported they had
less food, less income from gum arabic, and their small animals
were not as healthy.

9. Selection of a project with the help of field trips to see
possibilities of tree planting and with the assurance they would
own the trees and could not be punished by the forestry service for
accidental animal damage to the trees. They selected the species
from information provided by the forester and from past experience.
They selected species to provide fodder, shade, income, building
poles, and firewood for future needs of this growing community.

10. Time and labor scheduling with the forester. Villagers prepared
soil ahead and at the appointed time, the first rain, herders came
from many miles around. Men planted the trees while women carried
water. They planted the area and chose to increase the area planted
the following year.

- 43 -

11. Many neighboring villages have requested similar projects.

This project had elements in which local community residents defined

their own goals and priorities and the extension agent and forester acted as

facilitators. The woman extension agent took the interests of the women into

account, and women participated in the project design and expect to share

in the benefits. There was fllow-through and flexibility especially with the

facilitators living in the community.

Model II

A second type of project, also in Senegal, is much more common.

A parastatal group (SODEVA) designed to increase peanut production, dis-

covered that the carrying capacity of the soil was decreasing and that planting trees

was necessary for soil fertility and for local fuel use. There was, however, a

serious shortage of seedlings. SODEVA officials decided to support individually

owned backyard nurseries to provide needed seedlings. A female extension agent

and a male forester contacted various groups, including women'.s groups in

several villages, informing them of the possibility of operating nurseries and

presenting the technical and labor requirements and potential risks and benefits.

Women in Ngodiba, Senegal chose to take this as a project, planting small

nurseries and selling the seedlings locally. Women found it profitable and

plan to continue in the following years. Both individual and communal woodlots have

been started in the region and women and men participate.

- 44 -

The key to this type of project is an appropriate technical package

being presented with appropriate extension methods and forestry being a felt

need in the community. This project also has the advantage of a female

extension agent interested in women 's roles, of a forester giving technical

support, and of the necessary material support.

Both model projects were based on the participants selecting the

program, setting up the work plan, retaining the benefits, and on continuing

support or follow-through. These elements can be part of any project by

building them into the original design in the form of a project management

plan or agreement.

- 45 -

V. PROJECT MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

In line with the new philosophy of forestry for local community

development, local citizens have responsibilities and duties toward the

project as do support agencies. It is therefore reasonable to approach project

management with an agreement which is signed by all persons touched by the

project. This agreement would contain the five following sections: 1. long

and short range goals; 2. integrated resource use plan; 3. start-up and

maintenance plan; 4. benefit distribution plan; and 5. evaluation plan with

feed-back and flexibility potential for altering the program. The importance

of this type of document would increase with the size and complexity of the

program but these five elements should be considered even if the project is

carried on by individuals on their own land. The format will vary depending

upon the country, the agencies involved, the local administrative structure

and on the desires of the participants. Most FLCD projects that fail do so because

one or several of these elements was not clear to all those involved from the

beginning of the project. This type of document is important to all parties

but it is crucial for women who have frequently been overlooked in identifying

goals, have had less control over land use, were often not considered when work

schedules were designed, have had less assurance of receiving benefits, and

seldom had a voice in project evaluation or strength in requesting that other

parties produce their promised inputs.

- 46 -

Goals

Local participation in setting-goals for a project implies participants

are informed of options, of risks and of techniques, labor, and finances

required. It implies that participants have chosen reasoned goals for short

term and long term aspects of the project. This is particularly important in

forestry projects which are apt to call for lengthy investments of limited

resources. Participants should be encouraged to make these goals flexible and

realistic and written in such a way that they may be used in mid-term evaluations

to see if re-focusing of the project implementation may be necessary. The

time necessary for the goal identifying and the size and complexity of the

project will depend upon experience the women have had with extension

projects, local administrative support, strength of the extension service, and

possible support from outside agencies, Peace Corps volunteers, or private

voluntary organizations. The process will be greatly handicapped if there are

no women foresters or agents working with the local women during this process.

Where this is the case project designers may want to locate a local woman

leader or leaders and ask for their help.

Integrated Resource Use Plan

Because most forestry projects require a lengthy commitment of

usually limited land and resources, it is even more essential than for other

types of activities that forestry projects are co-ordinated with other activities

requiring these same resources. Examples of women given land one year and

- 47 -

having it taken away the next, of being given poor or unsuitable land, or land

dedicated by the chief to which the title is not clear, illustrate what women

have to gain by careful community planning of land use. Even if personal land

is used, the participant should consider site selection and alternative

uses. The following points may be important to consider:

1. An inventory of land resources and needs including current and
projected needs for water, human and animal food, and
income crops.

2. An inventory of current and projected needs for energy and for other
forestry products, biproducts and tertiary products.

3. An examination of this plan in relation to regional and national
plans when this information is available.

4. Using the above information as a base, participants and all those
affected by this land use choice should consider available options.

Project funds may be earmarked to help communities or individuals take

these steps, if this is needed. After considering the above information a site

should be selected which can be generally agreed upon by all those affected

and there should be complete adjudication of land rights. A village council,

the forestry service, regional government officials, village, or clan chiefs,

and/or individual owners will be involved in differing areas, but no stone

should be left unturned to assure that the land use is clearly agreed upon for the

life of the project. Nothing can ruin a forestry project like the loss of planted

land or an angry former landuser with a match.

- 48 -

Start-up and Maintenance

Failure of many projects comes from a lack of clear understanding

by all parties at the beginning of the project, just how much the project will

cost in labor, materials, and funds, and a clear commitment of those involved

to playing their role at specific times. Nursery plants delivered too late by

the forestry service, villagers planting huge fields with banana or other trees

without understanding the required maintenance, villagers disputing mid-

project over which work is to be done by which family, donors paying for

planting and disappointed when upkeep does not continue voluntarily, are all

common types of complaints in projects gone sour. This is especially true of

village projects where, as mentioned before, women were not consulted, but

their labor was necessary for the success of the project. Successful management

agreement planning requires dialogue between all parties having any responsi-

bilities during the project period. Any agency, agent, government service,

outside group, as well as local participants, who are expected to have an input

in building a road, installing a pump, providing plants or tools, providing labor,

etc., during the entire life of the project should agree to and sign a time

scheduled plan. A structure should be made to bring pressure upon all parties

to respect this agreement but at the same time allow for flexibility needed to

assure the success of the goals. For instance, a spokesman for a participating

local group could be named, and lines of communication set up, for contacting

- 49 -

the forestry service to remind them the delivery date for seedlings, etc.

In case of break down of local communications, a direct method for participants

or local leaders to appeal to the donor agency might be established. This

would be particularly helpful for women who may have no political power or

established communication network with outside groups.

Benefit Distribution

From the beginning of the project design, participants should be

aware of the potential range of benefits and risks. Keeping these in mind as

well as the long and short term goals of the project, participants should arrive

at a fair and desirable distribution of benefits. As part of the management

document the range of expected benefits should be described with details on

when they are to be obtained, in what manner, by whom, and how. Some projects

end in great disappointment or anger as project managers had been thinking of

re-investing the profits while participants had expected early personal benefits,

or as those who worked hard resented sharing benefits with those who had had

little input. These are problems to consider if some families leave and new ones

come in or local young adults marry and start new households. This is the part of

the management plan which will make clear what benefits women will receive

for what participation. If the project is a mixed community project, care should

be taken to see that participating women find it just.

- 50 -

Evaluation and Follow-up

Because community development with local participation is not static,

a blueprint model of project design would be undesirable. Flexibility must be

built into the original design to benefit from feedback evaluation. Here again,

though this is important for any type of community development, it is

especially important for the longer term forestry projects. The management plan should

describe how the project expects to meet the long and short term goals, when

evaluations are to be made, and how all concerned parties are to be represented.

Probably this will be done by a committee of representatives of the participant

group, technical agents, government, donor, or other interested parties. It

outlines channels of communication between appropriate structures or individuals

and procedures to follow if the committee feels the schedule is not producing

the desired goals and they wish to recommend a change. The evaluation should

contain an examination of how benefits affect the community and how they are distri-

buted, noting if the project is developing in a way to become self-sufficient after

outside funds have ceased. It could allow for the identification of potential

projects being generated from the successful implementation of the original plan.

Finally, it could look to see if the project is helping the community solve its

own problems in a way that it gains more control over its own future.

The appendix contains a suggested format for a Project Management Plan

which may be useful in project design.

- 51 -

VI. CONCLUSIONS

Just as it .is important to have evaluation with feedback built into

a specific project design, it is most important to have feedback evaluations

to develop and improve our project designing and implementing capacity.

Currently all that is sure is that growing demands for forestry products are

putting an alarming strain on the environment and that forestry projects are

having an alarming rate of failure.

The new approach to include community participation is an attempt

to change the top-down approach in forestry and to enlist local support; to

have local residents participate in solving their local problems. The very need

to discuss women separately is an indication they have been consistently over-

looked. It is simply to make women as visible as any other members of the

community in relation to forestry. Because women are knowledgeable about

forestry products and community needs, and because they are apt to be the most

involved with forestry product use, their inclusion in forestry project planning

is essential to FLCD. But the steps to take to obtain this participation are not

as obvious.

This paper is an exploration of ideas on how to develop programs, while

recognizing the problems already identified by foresters and designers. It is

an attempt to formulate beginning steps for applying this new people focused

approach at the same time being sure women are included in the process. There

- 52 -

are many questions raised in this paper. Others will become evident when

designers start to examine specific projects, and still others will surface as

designs are implemented.

The next step is for everyone involved in FLCD projects including AID

personnel and consultants, local participants and host country foresters and

officials, and other donor and voluntary organizations to evaluate and document

successes and failures. Since there is no central office for this information, AID

should make a serious effort to distribute this information broadly. Only frcm

trying these and other ideas on an experimental basis, modifying and developing

new techniques, and working together, can developers and participants hope to

solve the problems in time.

- 53

APPENDIX

Suggested Format for a

PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN

1. PARTICIPANTS

This would include all participating members, not, for example,
just family heads if women and young people were expected to
have input. It might include or limit the possibility of adding others
wishing to become participants later because they see the
potential benefits more clearly, because they have moved into the
area, or because they are young people of the village who have
married and established new households. It might establish criteria
for participants so that there is a clear understanding of responsi-
bilities and a method of reclassifying those who fail to continue
fulfilling their responsibilities.

2. LONG AND IMMEDIATE TERM GOALS

This would not stop as many projects do with the number of trees
planted, or even the number of trees living, but would consider
the desired impact. For instance, the goals could be to make the
community, or a defined group of participants, self-sufficient in
home cooking fuel wood in X number of years by planting and
maintaining X hectares of X (species) trees each year for X years.
This way if the goal of self-sufficiency for fuel wood appeared to be
in risk of failure because of increased requirements, etc. steps
could be taken to increase the area planted or the species might
be changed, etc. If, on the other hand, the introduction of
modified cooking stoves reduced the demand for fue the species
could be substituted for those that produce fruit, charcoal making
could be introduced, extra wood could be sold, or the project modified
in other ways. If different groups or agencies have different goals these
might also be expressed here.

- 54 -

3. DESCRIPTION OF PROTECT

This will include an elaboration of step 2 telling how it is to be
carried out and establishing a timeframe.

4. PROTECT SITE

This would be a description of the site chosen, how it is to be
used, and any time or other limitations on its use. It is to be
signed by anyone who is giving up rights to the land, those
responsible for distributing land, and those who will participate
in its use.

5. START-UP AND MAINTENANCE

This section would describe needed inputs, identify who is
responsible, and establish a time schedule identifying inputs
required at a specific time and those that are continuing
responsibilities. For example, repair of a water pump may be
under the direction of the government water service or a local
repair man. If a working pump is necessary for project success
then the party who is responsible for its upkeep and repair
should be part of the discussion of participant expectations and
acknowledge their role if they take on this responsibility.

This part of the plan might be written in a schedule format and
copied in a large well displayed schedule to remind participants of
steps to be followed. If responsibilities are by group, such as
all male participants are to prepare the soil in April, a represent-
ative of the male group could sign that part and be responsible for
reminding others when it is time to start. This would be signed
by any party or representatives of any agency or group with labor,
money or material input expected during the life of the project
such as the forestry service agreeing to supervise planting or to
deliver X number of seedlings at a specific time.
Responsible
Time Input Party

6. BENEFIT DISTRIBUTION

A. Range of potential benefits (considering possible risks).
B. Formula for benefit division including the time framework
(who, when,what how).

- 55 -

This will be signed by participants and others responsible for
the development of the project and for benefit distribution. It
will often be important that the forestry service, chiefs, or others
who participants fear might want to intervene or appropriate some
of the benefits sign, though they themselves are not supposed to
be involved in the benefit sharing. This may strengthen participant
confidence as well as their actual ability to retain ultimate control
over benefits.

7. EVALUATION FORMULA

A. Identification of an evaluation committee.
B. Description of when evaluations are to be made.
C. Description of how the report is to be made, and by and
to whom.
D. Formula for how the goals are judged to be reached, an evalu-
ation as to whether all parties are up-to-date on their inputs,
and an evaluation as to whether benefits are being distributed
as planned.
E. Prescribed procedure if there are complaints by participants
or others, if the evaluation committee feels the program is
missing its goals, or for any reason needs to be changed,
or if agencies or participants, etc. are not fulfilling their
part of the contract.

- 56 -

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Argal, P., 1978. "Role of Wood Energy in the Rural Economy of India."
Paper presented at the Eighth World Forestry Congress, Jakarta,
Indonesia. October, 1978.

Brokensha, David and Bernard Riley, 1978. "Forest, Foraging, Fences and
Fuel in a Marginal Area of Kenya. Paper for USAID Africa Bureau
Firewood Workshop, Washington, D.C., June, 1978.

Benge, Michael D. "School Gardens, Animal Husbandry, and Nursery
Projects. Viet Nam: International Voluntary Service.

Carr, Marilyn, 1978. "Appropriate Technology for African Women."
ITDG/UNICEF.

C.E.S.A.O., 1977. "Projet-Test de Plantations Villageoises d'Arbres
dans la Sous-Prefecture de Kombissiri. Bobo Dioulasso, Upper
Volta: CESAO.

Chaney, Elsa, Emmy Simmons, and Kathleen Staudt, 1979. "Women in
Development" in Background Papers for the United States Delegation,
World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, FAO,
Rome. Working Group on WCARRD. Washington, D.C.: Agency for
International Development.

C.I.L.S.S. 1979. "Grandes lignes de la Strategie du Programme revise de
satisfaction des besoins de la population en products forestiere et de
lutte centre la desertification." Reunion de 1'equipe Ecologie et Forets.
Niamey, Niger, June, 1979.

Development Alternatives Incorporated, 1975. "Strategies for Small Farmer
Development: An Empirical Study of Rural Development Projects."
Vol. 1. Washington, D.C.: USAID.

Dulansey, Maryanne, 1979. "Can Technology Help Women Feed their
Families? Paper for the AAAS Workshop on Women and Development,
Washington, D.C. March, 1979.

Eckholm, Erik, 1979. "Planting for the Future: Forestry for Human Needs."
Worldwatch Paper 26. Washington, D.C.: Worldwatch Institute.

- 57 -

Ernst, Elizabeth, 1978. "Fuel Consumption Among Rural Families in
Upper Volta, West Africa." Paper for Eighth World Forestry
Congress, Jakarta, Indonesia, October, 1978.

F.A.O., 1977. "Report on the Third FAO/SIDA Expert Consultation on
Forestry for Local Community Development." Semarang,
Indonesia. December, 1977.

F.A.O., 1978. "Forestry for Local Community Development." FAO Forestry
Paper No. 7. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations.

Freeman, Peter, 1979. "Deforestation and the Use and Conservation of
Forests and Woody Vegetation; Policy and Program Considerations."
Draft Report, U.S.A.I.D. July, 1979.

Kunkle, S.H. and A. J. Dye, 1979. "The Effects of Forest Clearing on Soils
and Sedimentation. Paper for the Conference on Agricultural
Hydrology and Watershed Management in the Tropics, International
Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadon, Nigeria, November, 1979.

Muzava, E. M., 1977. "Village Afforestation in Dodma District." (Tanzania).
FAO Second Expert Consultation on Forestry for Community
Development, June, 1977.

Peace Corps, 1979. "Notes of the 1978 Peace Corps Forestry Conference,
Niamey, Niger. Office of Programming and Training Coordination
Information Collection and Exchange, Peace Corps: Niamey, Niger.

Poulsen, G. "Man and Tree in Tropical Africa." 1978. Paper IDRC No. 101e.
Ottawa, Canada: International Development Research Centre.

Shah, S.A., 1978. "People's Participation in Forestry for Community
Development in India." Paper for the Eighth World Forestry Congress.
Jakarta, Indonesia, October, 1978.

Spears, John S., 1978. "The Changing Emphasis in World Bank Lending.
A Summary of Recent Experiences and Problem Areas of Relevance
to the Eighth World Forestry Congress Sessions Concerned with
'Forestry for Rural Communities.'" Paper for the Eighth World
Forestry Congress. Jakarta, Indonesia. October, 1978.

- 58 -

Tinker, Irene, 1979. "New Technologies for Food Chain Activities."
In Impact of Technology Change on Women. AAAS Symposium Vol.;
Washington, D.C.

Ulinski, Carol, and John Earhart. Peace Corps Forestry Policy Paper.
Forthcoming.

USAID, 1979. Airgram on Village Firewood Production and Other Cooking
Fuels. AFR/DR/SDP. 7/3/79

Weber, Fred, 1977. "Reforestation in Arid Lands." VITA Publications
Manual 37E. VITA: Washington, D.C.

Weber, Fred and Maryanne Dulansey, 1978. "Midpoint Evaluation Chad
Reforestation Project." Washington, D.C.: CARE, Inc.

World Bank, 1978. "Forestry Sector Policy Paper." Washington, D.C.:
World Bank.

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