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VOMEN'SGROUPENTERPRISES:

A STUDYOF THE STRUCTURE


OF OPPORTI'NITYON THE KENYA COAST

Jeanne McCormack
Martin Valsh
Candace Nelson
World Education, Inc.

P r e s e n t e d a t t h e A s s o c i a t i o n f o r l . I o m e ni n D e v e r o p m e n tc o n f e r e n c e
Vashington, D.C.
ApriI L6, 1987

Purpose of the Study

An early concern of development planners, in the post-War effort to


improve econonic conditlons in the Third Vorld, vas the reduction of the
rate of popuration grovth. Durlng the last 25 years, knovredge,
literature, and hypotheses have accumulated in university libiaries and
f i e l d o f f i c e s o f d e v e L o p m e n tw o r k e r s v h i c h i n d i c a t e a n u r n b e r o f p o l i c y a n d
p r o g r a m a p p r o a c h e sI i k e l y t o s u c c e e d ( P o p u l a t i o n C r i s i s C o m m i t t e e1 9 8 1 ) .
One of these gathered support in the L970's and proposed that such indirect
interventions as increasing vomen's education and raising income levels
among the poorest strata of developing countries vere essential for
sustained fertility decline.

I n t e r e s t i n t h i s a p p r o a c h c o i n c i d e d v i t h t h e e m e r g e n c eo f a v o r l d - v i d e
m o v e m e n tt o p r o m o t e t h e e c o n o m i c a n d s o c i a l e q u a l i t y o f v o m e n . P r o p o n e n t s
of these tvo causes-- the one vieved as an economic issue and the oiher as
a political concern-- joined forces at the point vhere both urged that
special attention be devoted,to poor, rural vomen in their productive and
reproductive roles. They advocated that assistance to vomen be given in an
integrated fashion that reflected the vay the tvo roles are play-d out in
real Iife.

The result has been a burgeoning in the last decade of gender-specific


programs for vomen that promote income generation activities and
incorporate elements of_famiry planning, nutrition, chird-rearing,
literacy, and vocational education. These integrated prograns, i" they are
called, depend for their success,on multi-purpoie groups of vomen vho are
interested in learning the skills and information offered and vho have the
.resources(credit, contraceptives, child care) to apply vhat they learn.

@ here was rnade 5:ossible by Contract OTR-oo-78-C-oo-2313-oo


frcrn the Agency for International Developnent, Bureau of Program and PoIiry
Coordination.
I

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fn Kenya particularly,_multi-purpose vomen's groups have proliferated and


are vieved as po_tentially effective vehicles to fbstering local development
and community self-reliance.

Integrated programs for vomenare sponsored by both the state and


nongovernmental organizations (NGO's). Evaluationi of these programs
have
on the vhole been positive (see, for exampre, N. crark rggr and-crandon
1984), vhile research studies have been no.e'negative (Buvinic r9g4,
Feldman 1983) about their ability to develop vilble econonic enterprises
and to affect vomen's reproductive rore. Tire truth is that very little is
actually knovn about these multi-purpose groups, particularly in Africa
vhere they are often confused vith traditionai social formations. Very
recently, a fev quantitative studies have appeared (e.g., Njonjo et ar.
1985) vhich demonstrate the fragirity of vomin,s group enterprises.
Unfortunately, these do not provide any deeper inierpretation or clue as to
yly-srouns fail.economic?lly. There are other qualiiative studies (Mvagiru
1985, for example) that do not provide reliable figures and therefore tf,e
data are of questionable validity. In short, virtially no interpretable
information exists about vomen's programs in Africa on-vhich can be based
policy and planning concerned vith increasing the incomes of the poor
and
decreasing fertility. rn 1983, vorld Educatlon, an American NGg, began a
study of a vomen's integrated program to examine income generation as a
vorkable development strategy for vomenand its specific effects on
participants' fertility. This paper presents vorid Education,s initial
findings concerning the development, viabillty, and constraints of vomen,s
group enterprises in a particular area of Kenya.

Context of the Study

_ T h e s t u d y f o c u s e d o n t h e p r o g r a m o f T o t o t o H o m eI n d u s t r i e s a n d a
sample of the vomen's groups it has vorked vith slnce L977. Tototo is a
regional agency deeply rooted in the coast province. operating from
M o m b a s a ,i t v a s e s t a b l i s h e d i n 1 9 6 3 b y t h e N a t i o n a l C h r i s t i a n d o u n c i l o f
Kenya as.a non-profit, voluntary agency seeking to help lov-income coastal
w o m e nr a i s e t h e i r s t a n d a r d o f l i v i n g . Tototo creates Lmploymentand
income-generation opportunities through a tailoring "ou.s" ior female
school leavers and vorking women, a tie-dye and tailoring workshop that
employs vomen, a handicraft marketing agency, and a rurai development
program. The latter is Tototo's most recent addition to its strategies
to
overcome vomen,s poverty.

I n 1 9 7 7 , T o t o t o a n d V o r l d E d u c a t i o n s t a r t e d v h a t h a s b e c o m ea l o - y e a r
coLraboration reaching 46 women'sgroups and approximately 1,500 women.
The tvo organizations designed a tiaining progiim for six of the women,s
groups vith vhom Tototo already vorked in handicraft production. For tvo
yearsr Tototo staff vere trained to train group leadeis in group dynamics,
psycho-social training exercises, and problem iolving using the nonformal
education methods.. The program vas iniended to enable "orEn to go beyond
handicraft production and to establish srnall-scale enterprises. 0f the six
groups in three districts that initially received training, five are still
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operating. I n e o m e - g e n e r a t i n ga c t i v i t i e s i n c l u d e d p o u l t r y p r o d u c t i o n ,
construction of rental property, day care centers, firewood and charcoal
s e l l i n g , a b a k e r y , a n d f a r m i n g . T o t o t o a s s i s t e d s o m eg r o u p s i n i d e n t i f y i n g
Iocal resources for technical assistance, and the Ministries of Social
Services, Vater Resources, Agriculture, and HeaIth have continued to
provide such help to Tototo groups. In L982, Vorld Education and Tototo
began a nev phase of the project under vhich the program vas extended
eventually to 40 nev groups in five districts-- MombasaK , vale' KiIifi'
Taita/Taveta, and Tana River.

In 1977, neither Tototo nor its technical assistance partner, l.lorld


Education, vere experts in small business. The progran began vith an
almost exclusive focus on nonformal educatlon; nine years later, the
emphasishas shifted to the transmission of business skills and financial
assistance to vonen's groups. Tototo nov has 15 groups that consistently
shov a profit, t h a t p a y r e g u l a r , i f s m a l l , d i v i d e n d s t o t h e i r m e m b e r s ,a n d
t h a t h a v e g r o u p m a n a g e m e n st y s t e m s . T h e r e m a i n i n g g r o u p s a r e i n v a r i o u s
stages of accumulating capital to finance their projects or have operating
businesses that may pay for thenselves but do not in general provide
regular income to their members.

These smalI successes have been achieved at considerable cost and


during a slov and painful learning process on the part of the tvo
responsible agencies. Although not vithout its share of problems' Tototo
is arguably the best grass roots development agency in Kenya. The majority
of Kenya,s vomen's groups do not receive regular extension services, do not
have access to loans, and do not have frequent supervision of accounting
a n d m a n a g e m e n ts y s t e m s . T h e d e m a n d f o r h e l p t o g r o u p s e l e a r l y o u t s t r i p s
t h e s u p p l y a v a i l a b l e f r o m t h e g o v e r n m e n ta n d N G O ' s . I t i s n o t s u r p r i s i n g ,
then, that previous researchers have reached rather pessimistic conclusions
about the viability of collective incomegeneration projects. The reasons
underlying group failure are not those conventionally touted but rather
indicate a substratum of socio-econonic complexity of vhich development
planners are generally ignorant.

The Vomen's Group Movement in Kenya

By early 1987, there vere reputed to be 40,000 women's groups in


Kenya, a country of eighteen million people. fn order to understand the
strength of this movement,it is essential to understand the genesis of the
v o m e n , s g r o u p a s i t e x i s t s t o d a y . T h o m a sa n d o t h e r s m a i n t a i n t h a t i n
Kenya, vhere 'rtraditionally vomenhave vorked together in small groups of
tvo, three or four, sharing tasks according to agricultural season... the
basis for mutual cooperation and nutual enterprises of vomen's groups can
b e f o u n d i n a s o c i a l t r a d i t i o n r ' ( T h o m a s1 9 8 5 ' 6 ) . I n f a c t , t h i s i s n o t
true, for such groupings often represent sporadic collective labor betveen
kin and neighbors and nothing more. 0n the coast, Mijikenda and rural
Svahili vomenrs groups have not emerged from any traditional antecedent.
Rather, they are the d i r e c t r e s u l t o f K e n y a g o v e r n m e n t p o l i c i e s vhich have
emphasized community s e l f - h e l p a n d h a v e p r o m o t e d t h e f o r m a t i o n of vomen's
groups to provide the labor and financing for most of that self-help.
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A distinguishing feature of post-colonial Kenya is its active and by


many standards successful self-help movement. Indeed, among the first
cohort of African nations that gained independence in the early 1960's,
Kenya is unique in having mobilized the peasantry for sustained planning,
building, and financing of social service and public vorks projects in
rural areas. Much research has been conducted on this most interesting
phenomenonvhich in Kenya is knovn as harambee (Barkan 1982, Barkan et al-.
1979, Holmquist 1979, Holmquist 1982, 86f,;m't 1984, Gachuki L982, Mbithi
a n d R a s m u s s o n1 9 7 7 , N g ' e t h e 1 9 7 9 , T h o m a s 1 9 8 1 , a n d l , l a l l i s 1 9 8 2 ) . T h e b a s i s
for self-help vas originally political and not economic, arising from
President Kenyatta's early efforts to forge a structure of rule in the face
of regional, ideological, and personality conflicts that threatened to
i m m o b i l i z e K e n y a a f t e r i n d e p e n d e n c e( H o l m q u i s t 1 9 8 4 , N g ' e t h e 1 9 7 9 ) .
B e c a u s e v o m e n ' s g r o u p s t a k e f r o m t h e s e l f - h e l p m o v e m e n tt h e i r m o d e l f o r
s t r u c t u r i n g a n d f i n a n c i n g i n c o m e - g e n e r a t i o na e t i v i t i e s , it is worthvhile to
s u m m a r i z et h e c h i e f c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f s e l f - h e l p d e v e l o p m e n t p r o j e c t s .
Such projects are usually built by community members,either on their ovn
or vith assistance from the state or other outside resources. Based on
local lnltiative, p r o j e c t s u t i l l z e m o n e ya n d / o r l a b o r f r o m a 1 l r e s i d e n t s i n
a project area, virtually all of vhomvill benefit from the completed
service. Projects include schools, health centers, vater supplies, roads
and cattle dips. People in the catchment area contribute time and labor to
these projects, vhich primarily require the construction of facilities.
The people themselves bear about 90t of the initial costs, and the state,
NGO's, and other outsiders contribute the rest. The state assumes
subsequent recurrent costs and may provide aid in the form of grants.
Projects do not generally deviate from the narrov range of social services
mentioned above and emphasize their provision to rural communities rather
than the production of goods and services (Barkan et al. 1979). This then
is self-help, t h e m o d e l p r o m o t e d a m o n ga n d t a k e n u p b y c o a s t a l v o m e n ' s
groups in their efforts to better their lot.

C o i n c i d i n g v i t h t h e h a r a m b e e m o v e m e n ti n K e n y a a n d r e f l e c t i n g its
spiri.t vas early interest-Tn a t/omen's self-help program. The Kenyan
government expressed its support as early as 1956, vell before the start of
t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s W o m e n ' sD e c a d e ( 1 9 7 5 - 8 5 ) . A l l o m e n ' s G r o u p P r o g r a m m e
began in 1971 folloved by the establishment of a l{omen's Bureau in 1975,
International Vomen's Year. These innovations occurred in part as a
carry-over of colonial community development and home economics programs
for vomen but equally from the vorldvide attention nevly focused on vomen's
roles in development. llomen's groups must register vith the Department of
S o c i a l D e v e l o p m e n t t o b e e l i g i b l e f o r t h e g r a n t s t h e W o m e n ' sB u r e a u
dispenses, but they receive IittIe technical assistance in implementing the
projects the grants are intended to fund. The government does not have the
capacity to provide assistance in small business development.

Groups are generally multi-purpose and eharge a small entrance fee to


n e v m e m b e r sa s v e I I a s r e g u l a r d u e s o r s u b s c r i p t i o n s v h i c h a r e p a i d v e e k l y
or monthly. While their initial activity may, for example, be a revolving
c r e d i t a s s o c i a t i o n , s u b s e q u e n ta c t i v i t i e s c a n i n c l u d e b o t h t h e u s u a l r a n g e
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o f h a r a m b e ep r o j e c t s - - c o n s t m c t i o n o f n u r s e r y s c h o o l s , c l i n i c s , v a t e r
supFlT6Fand activlties speciflcally designed to generate income. To
capitalize group projects, the vomenseek funds not only frorn the state but
a l s o f r o m N G O ' sa n d i n d i v i d u a l c o n t r i b u t o r s . The latter are most often
reached through community fund-raising events.

Much has been vritten about Kenyan vomen, for the country offers an
ideal intelleetual setting for research on gender: ethnic and
topographical diversity, a c o l o n i a l h i s t o r y , a n e c o n o m yb a s e d o n
agriculture, a tradition of male migrant labor, and a grass roots
d e v e l o p m e n t m o v e m e n to f w o m e n . I n t h e l a s t f e v y e a r s , a n u m b e r o f s c h o l a r s
h a v e s t u d i e d t h e p h e n o m e n o no f r u r a l v o m e n ' s g r o u p s i n K e n y a . T h i s
research has varied both in quality and in availability.

Most notevorthy is the 1983-1984 study by ApoIIo Njonjo (1985) and his
colleagues vho carried out a full census of ltomen's groups in five
districts: K i t u i , B u n g o m a ,K i s i i , K i a m b u , a n d N a i r o b i . Their purpose vas
to study the structure and functioning of these groups and thelr role in
community development. From this census, they selected 25 groups for
intensive study, achieving a careful balance of active and lnactive groups,
assisted and non-assisted, rural and urban. Their data consisted of
W o m e n ' sB u r e a u r e c o r d s , t h e f i l e s o f t h e r e s p e c t i v e D i s t r i c t S o c i a l
Development 0fficer, and intervievs vith 473 respondents: 252 members
randomly selected from the 25 groups, ll0 of their husbands, 72 group
Ieaders, and 39 non-members. The picture the researchers drev of groups
resembles in many respects the one later revealed by the research reported
i n t h i s p a p e r . G r o u p s a t t r a c t e d m e m b e r sp r i m a r i l y f r o m a m o n g t h e
middle-aged (a mean age of 40), middle peasantry, Iargely excluding the
young and very poor. In this sense, the outreach of the vomen's group
m o v e m e n tv a s f o u n d l i m i t e d . T h e g r o u p s , a v e r a g i n g 3 0 m e m b e r se a c h , c a r r i e d
out a multiplicity of activities, ranging from simple mutual aid
a s s o c i a t i o n s t o t h e m a n a g e m e n ot f c o m p l e x e n t e r p r i s e s . Groups encountered
no major organizational problems; maintained their cohesion through stable
recruitment patterns, face-to-face interaction, and group pressure; and
relied on consensus for decision-making. Sixty-eight percent of the groups
operated revolving credit associations vhich were judged successful in
providing direct and tangible benefits to members. Less successful vere
the small enterprises, vhich vere virtually a l l b a d l y m a n a g e da n d o p e r a t i n g
at a loss. Lack of education, skills, and knovledge, and unsuitable
capitalization vere found to be principal causes of business failure. The
researchers, hovever, noted the impressive capacity of groups to generate
both financial and labor resources from amongtheir members: 95%of
f i n a n c i a l r e s o u r c e s v e r e c o n t r i b u t e d b y g r o u p m e m b e r st h e m s e l v e s . G r o u p s
spent betveen six and ten percent of their total funds on community
projects, especially on schools. For this reason, their activities
attracted strong community support. The researchers suggested that only
one percent of the adult female popuJ-ationreceived any kind of assistance
in these activities. T h e t e a m r e c o m m e n d e tdh a t t h e m o v e m e n t ,v i a t h e
mechanism of the Vomen's Bureau, be videned to include 25-302 of Kenyan
vomen and that income generation as a development strategy be dropped,
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unless projects vere preceded by carefnl feasibility studies and the


required skills vere clearly identified and secured'. The str-ngth of
the
g r o u p m o v e m e n tv a s s e e n t o l i e i n t h e r e v o l v i n g c r e d i t a s s o c i a t f o n s ,
vhich
provide direct support to households; in the dissemination
of knovledge
and skills; and in the support given by groups to community developr"it
p r o j e ct s .

Barbara Thomas(1985) combined L978-79 data on 44 vomen,s groups in


Murang'a, Embu,and Kericho Distrlcts vith data from intervievs vith
250
female respondents in a larger study of self-help. She ideniiiiea three
s o m e t i r n e so v e r l a p p i n g c a t e g o r i e s o f v o m e n , s g r o u p s : ( a ) i n c o m e g e n e r a t i o n
groups, vhich vere small and cohesive, consi-ting of 25'to 30 members;
these groups earned money vhich vas then divided among members or used for
a c o m m o np u r p o s e ; . ( b ) - r e v o l v i n g c r e d i t a s s o c i a t i o n s , n u m b e r i n g f r o m 2 4 t o
240 members,vhich corlected funds monthly from the mernbership"and
d e s i g n a t e d o n e o r m o r e m e m b e r sa s r e c i p i e n t s ; and (c) social security
groups' vhich provided a support structure to women,particularly vidtvs,
the elderly, or vives of migrant laborers vho otherwise lackeJ one. vomen
in all three categories vere literate (L7-4oZ) at half the rate of the
generar_femare popuration in the same locations, and 25 to
302 vere
h o u s e h o l d h e a d s . T h o m a si d e n t i f i e d f o u r o p e r a n i r " " n " o f g e n e r a t i n g g r o u p
ful9:: regurar group subscriptions of tvo to tventy shilllngs a montfi;
s e r l i n g c o m m u n a ll a b o r , v h i c h v a s d o n e b y h a r f t h e
iroups; iroceeos rrom
s a l e s f r o m c o m m u n a lf a r m s ; a n d h a n d i c r a i t s a l e s . ite iast ".s mostly done
on an individual basis, with only tvo organized attempts at collective
purchasing and marketing. Thomas, like ll5onjo et ar.l noted the groups'
startling capacity to raise and distribute funds: $gi,169 in a seven or
eight-year period, in one instance. In another location in L977, 26 groups
r e p r e s e n t i n g 1 , 0 I 3 w o m e nr a i s e d a n d d i s t r i b u t e d $ 1 3 , 5 7 7 . r n y e t a n o t h e r
location, one group raised S7,600 to buy a maize mill. rn contrast to
o t h e r s t u d i e s , T h o m a s f o u n d t h a t f r o m t v o t o L 4 7 "o f t h e a d u l t f e m a l e
population belonged to vomen,s groups, and in one location, 34y.-vere
members. she suggested that vomenvere more rikery to belong if (a)
vomen's responsibilities vere increased due to menis prolong6d absences,
and (b) the group resided in a location more tightly iinked-to a cash
economy. She identified four external conditions that foster local
development through vomen's groups: (I) a positive attitude of government
tovard groups, (2) economic opportunity arrailable to groups, (3) community
support for groups, and (4) a supportive infrastructuie (marketi, for
example). rnternal conditions necessary for success inciuded group
leadership and such systematic procedures as keeping a bank aelount. She
hypothesized that groups enabred vomen to gain contiol over a nev
technology, in the case of group-ownedand operated grain mirls, and
facilitated a changlng relationship of rurar vomen to the means of
production if resources vere adequare.

Mirricent odera (1980) reports a 1980 survey of j.0 Kikuyu vomen,s


groups comprising 434 vomenin Nyeri District, centrar province.
N i n e t y - f i v e p e r c e n t o f t h e m e m b e r so f n i n e o f t h e s e g r o u p s v e r e
intervieved, using well-planned survey procedures. itre groups vere formed
as learning groups for homeeconomics and agrieulture .nI to'establish
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income generation projects. They were assisted in doing so by the Ministry


of Agriculture and the Family Planning Association of Kenya. Sixty p"r""r,i
-
o f t h e m e m b e r sv e r e o f c h i l d - b e a r i n g y e a r s , a n d 6 7 2 v e r e m a r r i e d . Tvelve
percent had never been married, partly a function of the age distribution
of one group vhere t7'/ vere less than 25 years of age. uolt e5z) of the
vomen vere farmers, and only 20t of their husbands had off-farm employment.

Monthly subscriptions ranged from 10 to 20 shillings, a n d f i v e g r o u -p s h a d


revolving_credit associations. Odera found tvo interesting thiigs. First,
882 of all members beronged to more than one vomen,s groupl andi}z
belonged to three or four. Second, she found that group funds ranged frorn
Ksh. 700 to Ksh. 5,000, averaging Ksh. 2,029 (926g). Decisions in most
g r o u p s v e r e m a d e n o t b y g r o u p c o n s e n s u s b u t b y m a n a g e m e n tc o m m i t t e e . H e r
data do not permit concrusions to be dravn regarding the economic
performance of projects.

i'fanjiku Mvagiru (1985) studied 46 groups of Kikuyu vomen in Central


Province. Because her sampre of respondents vas smali and not
systematically selected, it is difficult to knov hov valid the data are for
the population under consideration. she found that groups, goars and
activities w e r e p r i m a r i l y e c o n o m i ca n d t h a t t h e s e v a r i e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e
agro-climatic zone in vhich a group vas located. Regular subscrif,tions
constituted the major source of funds, and groups spent their funds
p r i m a r i l y o n i t e m s o f d i r e c t b e n e f i t t o t h e m e m b e r sa n d t h e i r f a m i l i e s .

Data for RayahFeldman's study (1983) vere even more impressionistic,


consisting of visits to 15 groups in i.0 districts, intervievs vith
officials and private individuals, and published materials on women,s
groups. She found that vomen in Central and Eastern Provinces vere five
t i m e s a s l i k e l y t o r e c e i v e g o v e r n m e n t a s s i s t a n c e a s w o m e ne l s e v h e r e . She
f o u n d t h a t g r o u p s w e r e c o m p o s e dd i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y o f b e t t e r - o f f vomen and
that the young vere excluded. The agricultural projects included in the
study suffered from marketing probrems. Additionarly, they vere not
integrated into overall agricultural development plans; they vere often
seen as ancillary enterprises vhose members' only obligation vas to finance
the activity; they vere not seen as an end in themselves but were used for
capitalizing other businesses and they risked being taken over by men. Of
the non-agricultural frojects she observed, none appeared to turn a profit.
None had accounting systems, and aII had pervasive problems of unfavbrable
market condltions, lack of skilled personnel, and lack of attention to
workers' wlge! and conditions. F e r d m a nj u d g e d v o m e n , s g r o u p p r o j e c t s t o b e
doomedto fairure so long as they failed to charlenge eiisting pover
relations.

There seems to be litt1e agreement amongthe researchers on the value


of vomen's groups. Njonjo et aI. and Feldman find that the poor and young
-
are excluded from groups, vhile the middle-aged, slightly better-off are
r1!glv to participate. T h o m a sd i s a g r e e s , g i v i n g e v i d e n c e o f h i g h e r
illiteracy, a greater proportion of female household heads, and a grearer
m a r g i n a l i z a t i o n a m o n gm e m b e r s ; a n d O d e r a s h o v s p a r t i c i p a t i o n of young
vomen. Odera, Thomas, and Njonjo agree that readership is a criiical
factor in group success but do not elaborate on hov leadership operares or
links groups to the outside. Njonjo finds that groups make dicisions
-B-

t h r o u g h e o n s e n s u s , v h i l e 0 d e r a ' s g r o t t p s m a l t ed e c i s i o n s b y c o m m i t t e e .
Njonjo, and tacitly Thomas, cite videspread community support for and
benefits from the activities o f g r o u p s . T h o m a sa n d N j o n j o b o t h r e m a r k o n
the capacity of the groups to raise }ocal funds. Feldman and Njonjo point
t o o u t r i g h t f a i l u r e o f g r o u p e n t e r p r i s e s , v h i l e T h o m a sc i t e s s u b s t a n t i a l

gains through sales of cornmunalabor. Njonjo, Feldman, and Mvagiru


indicate that one percent or less of the adult female population receives
g o v e r n m e n t a s s i s t a n c e f o r t h e i r g r o u p e f f o r t s ; T h o m a sp o i n t s t o e v i d e n c e
for widespread participation i n g r o u p s , a s h i g h a s 3 4 Z .o f v o m e n i n a
specific l o c a t i o n . N j o n j o e t al. find the revolving credlt association the
m o s t s u c c e s s f u l f e a t u r e ; T h o m a ss u g g e s t s v o m e n ' s a p p r o p r i a t i o n o f
technology most promising; 0dera suggests the potential of groups for
family planning acceptance; and Feldman finds nothing good to say at aII.

In fact, all of these researchers can be presumedcorrect in their


conclusions, hovever contradictory their data may appear. This is sot
first, because the groups they studied are probably not comparable but
o p e r a t e v i t h i n e c o n o m i e si n d i f f e r e n t s t a g e s o f t r a n s i t i o n ; and second,
because the reasons for the contradictions could not be revealed through
the rnethodsused in the research. Lrhile these studies have shed muchneeded
l i g h t o n t h e v o m e n ' s g r o u p m o v e m e n ti n K e n y a , t h e v e a k n e s s t h e y a 1 I s h a r e
is insufficient attention paid to the relationship of the vomen's groups to
the vital sub-stratum of the local or indigenous economy. This
relationship explains more about the performance of vomen's group
enterprises than statistical c o m p a r i s o n so f d a t a o n a g e ' l i t e r a c y , f u n d s
raised, or numberof projects undertaken.

Methodology

The study reported here attenpted to achieve a balance betveen


quantitative and qualitative research methods in the belief that
observational data vould supply interpretation and therefore meaning to
findings obtained using quantitative methods. Three units of analysis vere
e m p l o y e d : a s a m p l e s u r v e y f o c u s e d o n i n d i v i d u a l m e m b e r so f v o m e n ' s g r o u p s '
vhile anthropological case studies and content analysis of program records
looked at members'households and at each vomen's group as a whole. A
baseline sample survey vas conducted in 1983 of 406 vomen from 13 locations
s e r v e d b y T o t o t o ' s R u r a l D e v e l o p m e n t P r o g r a m m ea n d i n c l u d e d n o n - m e m b e r sa s
v e l l a s m e m b e r so f w o m e n ' s g r o u p s . T h i s v a s f o l l o v e d b y a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l
f i e l d r e s e a r c h v h i c h y i e l d e d f o u r c a s e s t u d i e s o f s p e c i f i c w o m e n ' sg r o u p s
and their small enterprises. Group income data vere gathered from the
cashbooks kept by the groups; supplementary data relating to projects and
groups vere collected by Tototo staff.
-9-

Profile of Members

The survey data produced a profile of group menbers similar to resul-ts


obtained by tljonjo, Thomas, and odera. rncome generation groups include
v o m e no f a l l a g e s r m o s t o f v h o ma r e m a r r i e d a n d h a v e f i v e o r s i x c h i l d r e n .
They are residentially stable and vork primarily as farmers. Members, mean
age is 37 years, and their age distribution shovs a preponderance of vomen
over 40. Nine percent are vidoved and nearly seven percent divorced.
T v e n t y - n i n e p e r c e n t a r e m e m b e r so f p o l y g y n o u s h o u s e h o l d , m a n y o f t h e s e
m e m b e r sb e i n g c h r i s t i a n a s w e l l a s M u s l i m a n d t r a d i t i o n a l i s t s .

C h r i s t i a n s m a k e u p 4 5 ! / o f t h e m e m b e r s h i pa n d M u s l i m s a b o u t 4 1 Z , a n
underrepresentation given the videspread practice of Islam on the coast.
T h e r e m a i n i n g w o m e nf o l l o v t r a d i t i o n a l p r a c t i c e . The significance of
r e l i g i o n v i t h r e s p e c t t o w o m e n ' sp a r t i c i p a t i o n i n i n c o n e g e n e r a t i o n
projects is less than might be expected, because Islam on the coast does
not restrict vomenas severely as it does elsevhere in the vorld. Purdah,
for example, is not enforced, vhich leaves the entlre range of economic
activity open to vomen's participation and meansthat Christian groups do
n o t n e c e s s a r i l y h a v e a n a d v a n t a g e o v e r M u s l i m g r o u p s . S o m eo b s e r v e r s
contend that Muslim vomendo not experience the same degree of mobility and
contact vith strangers as christians, vhich in turn may inhibit their
abilities to carry out the negotiating and marketing required by group
enterprises. 0n the contraryl our data suggest a relatively privileged
p o s i t i o n o f M u s l i m w o m e nv i s - a - v i s C h r i s t i a n s . Perhaps most important is
t h e f a c t t h a t M u s 1 i mv o m e n c a n o v n a n d i n h e r i t p r o p e r t y v h i c h i s n o t a l v a y s
t r u e o f C h r i s t i a n v o m e n . A m o n gM u s l i m s , b r i d e v e a l t h p a y m e n t s a r e l o v e r , a s
is the pressure to repay brideweal-th in the case of divorce. This makes
divorce a more realistic option and, in fact, it is practiced vith much
greater frequency by Muslim vomen. In addition, there is a strong tendency
amongSvahili Muslims to viev bridevealth as money intended to set up a
household for the nev couple rather than as a contractual payment to the
vife's family. Therefore, Muslim vomenon the coast frequentry seem to
enjoy a greater degree of independencefrom their husbands than do
christians. But these differences, vhile they may affect vomen,s use of
project dividends, do not in themserves have a significant impact on
project performance.

A final point about religion is that fslam, as vell as fundamentalist


Christianity, serves as an escape route from the heavy financial burdens
i m p o s e d b y s o m e c o m m e n s u a lt r a d i t i o n a l practices. previous research
(Parkin L972) has shovn that converts to Islam avoid paying traditional
ceremonial costs associated vith veddings and funerals, thus paving the vay
f o r a p r o c e s s o f a c c u m u l a t i o n n o t n o r m a l l y a c c o m o d a t e db y t h e
redistributional e t h o s o f t h e p e a s a n t e c o n o m y . M e m b e r s h i pi n
fundamentalist Christian sects appears increasingly to play the same role.
-10-

The vomen studied are largely farmers vith access to land through male
relatives, primarily husbands. The economicimportance to their households
of their cultivation depends on the locale and on the resources and
opportunities available to the vomenvhere they live. Vhile vomen are
generally subsistence farmers, the nature of the sexual division of labor
varies across locations.

Very fev vomen intervieved had outside employment, and of those that
do, two-thirds vork as casual farm laborers. The remaining third sell
vood, fish' and charcoal. The small number of vomenholding jobs outside
t h e h o u s e h o l d p o i n t s t o t h e l a c k o f e m p l o y n e n to p p o r t u n i t i e s , t h e i n a b i l i t y
of vomento gain access to those that do exist, and perhaps more important,
t o t h e d e m a n do n v o m e n ' s t i m e o f t h e i r o w n a g r i c u l t u r a l , household, and
reproductive responsibilities.

After agriculture, vomen's major source of income is remittances sent


b y r e l a t i v e s ' p r i m a r i l y a d u l t e m p l o y e ds o n s . W h i l e o n l y a q u a r t e r o f g r o u p
m e m b e r si n t e r v i e w e d r e p o r t t h a t t h e i r h u s b a n d s a r e a w a y d u r i n g m o s t o f t h e
year' nearly 60Z report receiving remittances. Coast Provlnce is not an
area characterized by male out-migration vhere vomen are left to maintain
s u b s i s t e n c e f a r m s . M a n y m e n f i n d l o c a l e m p l o y m e n ti n t h e t o u r i s t i n d u s t r y
and either vork in tovn or on the coastal strip during the veek and return
h o m e o n v e e k e n d s o r r e s i d e a t h o m ev h i l e v o r k i n g n e a r b y .

M e m b e r so f v o m e n ' s g r o u p s d i f f e r f r o m n o n - m e m b e r so n l y i n a g e , f o r
n o n - m e m b e r st e n d t o b e y o u n g e r t h a n m e m b e r s . A l t h o u g h n o n - m e m b e r sa r e a l s o
Iess likely to cultivate and ovn land than are members, the apparent
economic disadvantage of the former can be explained by their younger age
and corresponding position in the Iifetirne process of accumulation of
assets and vealth.

Groups form in a variety of vays, often through adult education


classes. 0 n c e f o r m e d , n e w m e m b e r sa r e r e e r u l t e d f r o n a m o n g f r i e n d s a n d
relatives in a natural, if haphazardt va.yvhich produces a membership that
varies videly in economic standing and education. Groups do attract the
poorest of the poor, but not exclusively. V o m e nj o i n g r o u p s f o r a v a r i e t y
of reasons, the most important being economic gain. M e m b e r sa r e m o r e
development-oriented or committed to a notion of progress than non-members,
a n d t h i s i s e v i d e n c e d b y t h e i n v o l v e m e n t o f m e m b e r si n o t h e r o r g a n i z a t i o n s
and by the support offered by their husbands. Nearly 607, of. groups members
a l s o b e l o n g t o o t h e r o r g a n i z a t i o n s , t h e m o s t c o m m o no f v h i c h a r e c h u r c h e s
and political organizations. Husbandsin general support their vives'
involvement in vomens' groups and demonstrate their support by
contributions of labor and money.

The leaders of groups, that is, the elected officers, are similar in
age to the general membership, though chairvomen are likely to be drawn
from the subset of vomenover 40. The proportion of leaders vho are
divorced is nearly double that of other members. Sirnilarly the proportion
-lt-

of leaders'husbands vho live el.sevhereis more than tviee that of other


m e m b e r s . T h a t 4 1 7 "o f l e a d e r s a r e v o m e n v i t h o u t h u s b a n d s s u g g e s t s t h a t
leaders are vomenvho have either more time to devote to gr6ip activities
or are freer of constraints imposed by the husbands. Leaders probably are
slightly b e t t e r o f f - e c o n o m i c a l l y t h a n t h e g e n e r a l m e m b e r s h i po i g r o u p s a s
evidenced by their higher propensity to receive remittances from-relitives
and their higher leveLs of education. Leaders do not appear to dominate
groups decision-making processes, and the findings of ti'tis study support
those of Njonjo et al. t h a t g r o u p d e c i s i o n s a r e m a d eb y " o n s " n " u " .

Profile of Groups Income Generation projects

Nevly organized groups accumulate operating capital in a variety of


v a y s . M o s t e o m m o ni s t h e r e g u l a r m e m b e rs u b s c r i p t i o n w h i c h i s b e t v e e n t v o
and five shirrings a veek. Groups arso save s'eedmoneyby selring the
c o l l e c t i v e l a b o r o f , g r o u p m e m b e r sa n d b y p l a i t i n g p a l m r o b f i n g r n a t e r i a l s
for sale. Handicrafts are also a source of income, although it tends to go
to the individual producers rather than to the group. tototo frequently
a s s i s t s g r o u p s i n h o l d i n g c o m m u n i t yf u n d - r a i s i n g e v l n t s , f r o m v h i c h a
substantial amount of moneycan be realized. The moneymade from these
e v e n t s , h o v e v e r , i s r i k e l y t o b e c o n t r i b u t e d t o s o m eo i h " t g r o u p o r
community project at the next fund-raising event and so is not i reliable
s o u r c e o f c a p i t a l f o r e s t a b l i s h i n g a n e v b u s i n e s s . M a n yg r o u p s a t t e m p t t o
obtain grants from the Department of Social Developmentoi a ioan frorn
Tototo' and if they succeed, their enterprises usually receive the initial
i n j e c t i o n o f c a p i t a l r e q u i r e d t o b e c o m ee s t a b l i s h e d .

T h e m o s t c o m m o np r o j e c t s a m o n gg r o u p i n c o m e g e n e r a t i o n e f f o r t s
included in this study.are shops (9 groups), bakeiies (g groups), pourtry
raising (7 groups), and vater (4 groups). SmaII shops stocking baiic goba"
such as maize meal, sugar, tea, oi1, soap, and kerosene provid- a service
to their isolated communities and generate small amounts of lncome. The
shop with the highest volume of business averagedKsh. L4,g7o (5919) in
monthly sales during 1985 but spent Ksh. L4,476 (5895) on monthly
expenses. For 10 months of 1985, this shop shoved a total profit of Ksh.
3,947 ($244). Shops have their highest ,rolumeof sales during the planting
season, vhen the previous year's harvest is depleted and food is scarce.

Often meeting a vital need, vater projects qualify both as sociar


velfare and development projects. The provision of potable vater to a
central spot in a sub-location saves time and labor of vomen and girls
vhich can then be invested in other productive activities. Safe vater is
also important for improvedhealth and sanitation. However, water projects
are not highty profitable. Once the pipes carrying the vater from ihe-main
s o u r c e a r e l a i d ' g r o u p m e m b e r ss e l l i t b y t h e b u c k e t f o r f i v e t o r e n c e n t s .
One vater project studied had average monthly sales for 1985 of Ksh, 696
($4r1, but of the Ksh. 8,356 ($5to) in total annual sales, Ksh, 7,!4r
($44r) vent to roan payments. A second vater kiosk in the same year
yielded KLsh. 487 ($30) per month. The group operating this pr-oject had
received_a grant for the installment of the equipment, ind vitl no loan to
repay, they madean annuar profit of Ksh. 4,644 (s297>. An advanrage ro
operating a vater kiosk is the lov maintenance and virtual lack of reouired
-12-

lnputs or expensesapart from the lrater biLl. The problem, hovever, is the
high cost of installation vhich increases vith the distance of the
settlement from the source of vater. Therefore, those most in need
generally cannot afford to bring vater closer to home, and those vho
do so
vith loans do not brealc even on the venture because the labor they invest
in digging trenches, laying pipes, and selling vater is not remunerated.
The high vorume of sares, not surprisingry, "6res during the dry season.

, Poul-try raising is-a popurar choice for a project on the coast, as it


is or women's groups throughout Kenya. rt is itso one of the most
f
difficurt to carry out successfurry. First, it requires significant
start-up capital to build the chicken coop and purchase the first round of
baby chicks plus feed for the tvo months of maturation before the chicks
are ready for sale. Second, this production cycle creates management
problems as vonen have to, budget cash accurateiy from the previous
sale of
birds in order to cover the costs incurred during the tvo rnonths the chicks
n e e d _ t og r o v . I n 1 9 8 5 , g r o u p s p a i d K s h . 1 3 . 1 3 p e r c h i c k v h i c h c o u l d
then
be sold for l(sh. 35 after tvo months. In one case, 300 chicks purchased
for Ksh. 4,000 (5247) grossedKsh. 9,455 (S523). But 47 birds'died along
the vay, and the group vas unable to cover its costs. The third issue is
marketing; though the many tourist hotels along the coast constitute a
healthy market, rural vomenare inexperienced ii cultivating these eontacts
on their ovn. In addition, they have to solve the probl"r 6t transporting
their birds to market. In these tvo areas, several groups have relied on
Tototo. One group, hovever, has found a buyer vho n6t only gu.rantees top
purchase price for the birds, but brings chicks and feed tL itre group
and
transports the mature broilers back to tovn. fn contrast to the othir
p o u l t r y p r o j e c t m e n t i o n e d , t h i s g r o u p m a d ea K s h . I , 3 0 0 ( S g O ) p r o f i t
on
their last batch of broilers sold in 1985.

state-controrled prices on wheat frour and bread rimit the


profitability of smarr bakeries. Although the rargest of the
Tototo-assisted bakeries has been profittble, recoids for seven months from
a much smaller operation shov that at production levels of 25 loaves per
d a y , - t h e - g r o u p j u s t b r e a k s e v e n . H o v e v e r , g r o u p m e m b e r sa r e a l l o v e d t o u s e
the facilities to bake bread vhich they can seli for individual profit and,
in this vay, earn a small income.

. Group financial records reveal that project profits are deposited in


the-groups' savings accounts more often than-they are divided among
members. rn rate 1985, group barances ranged frbm Ksh 7oo (943) to Ksh
L 5 , 2 4 3 ( $ 9 + 2 1 . D i v i s i o n o f g r o u p i n c o n e a m o n g m e m b e r si s r i r e i y r e c o r d e d .
T h i s i s a c u r i o u s p h e n o m e n o ng i v e n v o m e n ' s e v i d e n t n e e d f o r c a s i r a n d o n e
c o m m o nt-o g r o u p s e l s e v h e r e i n K e n y a ( M b u g u a r 9 B 5 ) . r n s o m e c a s e s , g r o u p s
have chosen to save money to finance larger projects; in others, t[ey irave
not known hov to calculate dividends based on inaividual investments of
cash and 1abor.

Groups struggle first to finance their projects and second to generate


a profit once the business is in operation. rn these efforts, they are
both constrained and supported by ihe local socio-economic context. Left
to their ovn devices, groups have limited access to cash. Although they do
b e n e f i t f r o m t h e s u p p o r t o f c o m n u n i t y m e m b e r sa n d o t h e r v o m e n , s g r o u p s ,
t h i s s u p p o r t i s a c c o m p a n i e db y r e c i p r o c a l e x p e c t a t i o n s a n d d e m a n d s . l . J i t h
-13-

Tototo's assistance, the groups in this study have gained access to


external netvorks of support in the government and development aid
communlty that have facilitated the establishment of income-generating
projeets. B u t h a m p e r e db y p r o b l e m s o f s c a l e , m a r k e t i n g , a n d l a c k o f
technical knovledger fev groups have successfully made the transition from
small project to stable enterprise. The projects' Iimited capacity to
generate profit means that they must be seen as only one of several
productive activities t h a t v o r n e nd e p e n d u p o n f o r i n c o m e .

llomen's Groups as Small Enterprises

W o m e n ' sg r o u p s d o n o t o p e r a t e i n a s o c i a l v a c u u m . A n y a n a l y s i s o f
their role and impact must be situated in an adequate description of the
vider social and economic environment. Both planners and researchers have
failed to take sufficient account of loca1 conditions and the constraints
they impose upon the operation of vomen's groups.

The key to understanding the operation of vomen's groups and success


or othervise of their income-generatingprojects is to be found in the
relation betveen indigenous social formations and the external econornic
forces vhich are vorking to transform them. The essential point is that
this transformation is far from complete. VhiIe indigenous formations have
been modified by forces of change, they remain strongly resistant to them,
particularly along the Kenya coast, vhere people have long been branded
"backvardil for their apparent reluctance either to engage in migrant vage
labor on any scale or to adopt modern methods of farming and produce for
the market. I.Ihile f oreign economicinterests, the state, NGO's, and local
entrepreneurs pull in one direction, the structures of the peasant economy
provide viable alternatives for the investment of labor and cash and
continue to puII in another.

Indigenous social formations vary considerably from one location to


another. T h e y s h a r e i n c o m m o nt h e f a c t t h a t p r o d u c t i o n i s p r e d o m i n a n t l y
organized at the level of individual households, and these households
retain a large degree of control over the principal meansof production:
l a n d a n d t h e l a b o r o f t h e i r m e m b e r s . W o m e n ,w h e t h e r g r o u p m e m b e r so r n o t ,
a r e f i r s t a n d f o r e m o s t m e m b e r so f h o u s e h o l d s a n d a s s u c h a r e s u b j e c t t o t h e
d e c i s i o n s t a k e n v i t h i n t h e m . I , l o m e n ' sg r o u p s r t h e i r i n c o m e - g e n e r a t i n g
projects ideally functioning Iike small capitalist enterprises, stand at
the critlcal juncture of these sometines opposing forces-- capitalist and
peasant economies-- and may be severely constrained by one or the other.

The operation of these constraints varies according to the stage of a


group's or project's development. Three main stages can be identified.
The first stage, experienced in aII cases, is characterized by the lack of
major funds and is dominatedby the fund-raising efforts described above.
It is also a time for groups to consolidate, develop relationships vith
Iocal leaders, and seek allies external to the community. The second,
pivotal stage, vhich manygroups have yet to reach, sees the achievement of
their initial project goals through the injection of capital from the
o u t s i d e , a l l o v i n g f o r t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f a c o r n m u n i t yd e v e l o p m e n t ( v a t e r ,
school construction, daycare center, maternal-child health clinic) or
-r4-

income generating activity. The major sorlrces of such financial support


are the state and NGO's, both Kenyan and international. Depending upon the
nature of the project, a group may then either revert to the initial stage
( t h i s i s p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e c a s e v i t h c o m m u n i t yd e v e l o p m e n t p r o j e c t s ) o r , i n
developing an income-generating project, move on to the third, vith all
its attendant difficulties. It is often at this stage, in the operation of
a project financed through loans or grants, that the competing economic
i n f l u e n c e s t a k e t h e i r t o l l o n v o m e n , sg r o u p e n t e r p r i s e s .

Conmunity development projects are relatively easy to define, if not


alvays to manage. The formal sector and voluntary agencies concerned with
their execution have access to the meansand a determinate idea of the
strategies required for their attainment. Income generation is a very
different kettle of fish. l.lhat is not realized is that the
income-generating projects established by vomen's groups vith external
assistance should function, if they are to be profitabre, as small
capitalist enterprises. T h e g o v e r n m e n ta g e n c i e s c h a r g e d v i t h a s s i s t i n g
vomen's groups are ill-equipped to deal vith this situatlon, and the NGO,s,
vhile more flexible and perhaps better placed to take appropriate action,
have been slov to realize a}l of its implications.

Once income-generatingprojects are seen in this light, it is not


difficult to identify the constraints vhich operate upon them. As
embryonic enterprises they are first and foremost constrained by the
l o c a l i z e d s t r u c t u r e s o f t h e p e a s a n t e c o n o m yi n v h i c h t h e y a r e e m b e d d e d .
Vhat wonen put into their enterprises, hov they organize them, and vhat
they might expect to get out of them are conditioned by their roles,
o b l i g a t i o n s , a n d e x p e c t a t i o n s a s m e m b e r so f h o u s e h o l d s . R e s o u r c e s i n v e s t e d
in a group are frequently vithdravn from a household. Particularly vhere
surplus labor and cash are not readily available and the gains from group
i.nvestment are not immediately apparent, family obligations are invariably
given priority and collective enterprises suffer accordingly. Groups,
t h e i r m e m b e r s h i pr e c r u i t e d o n a v o l u n t a r y b a s i s , t y p i c a l l y l a c k t h e m e a n s
of enforcing their decisions and are unable to effect the necessary degree
o f s e p a r a t i o n o f t h e i r m e m b e r sf r o m t h e f a m i l y u n i t s t o v h i c h t h e y b e l o n g .
H o u s e h o l d s , f u n c t i o n i n g a s s e m i - a u t o n o m o u su n i t s o f p r o d u c t i o n , c o n t i n u e t o
p r o v i d e i n d i v i d u a l m e m b e r sv i t h t h e i r p r i n c i p a l m e a n s o f I i v e l i h o o d a n d
t h e r e f o r e m e m b e r sr e m a i n s u b j e c t t o t h e d e c i s i o n s t a k e n v i t h i n t h e m .

To the extent that groups are able to vork free of this constraint,
they are likely to find themselves restricted by state controls or in
competitlon vith other, more efficiently run private-sector enterprises.
The seriousness of this problem depends upon the type of group enterprise
and the frequency vith which it is replicated in the private sector. The
t h i r d s o u r c e o f c o n s t r a i n t s o n t h e d e v e l o p m e n to f v o m e n ' s g r o u p e n t e r p r i s e s
is found in their relationship vith the state, or more specifically, its
local agents. llomen'sgroups are mobilized at every possible opportunir:y
to contribute labor and scarce funds to other community development
projects.
-15-

The state plays an ambivalent role in this process: on the one hand,
it places a number of dernandsupon groups and the househol-ds to which their
members belong; on the other, it offers them a chance to escape these
demands by distributing funds to groups and by providing contacts with
NGO|s and thus access to the l-arger resources at these agenciesr disposal.

Womenr s groups thenselves harre access to the labor of their menbers


and to the cash prwided by nenbers or their households. The anount of
income which these households (and wonen as household nenbers) are prepared
to imrest in groups is conditioned by the sum of dernandsupon then, their
ability to meet these, and the return they can expect from this as opposed
to other irnrestments. fnvestment in a group typically promises no Inore
than a long-term return, especially when subscriptions are spent on fund
raising events and on entertaining visitors. As a result, grouP
subscriptions are usually snal1 - smaller than the sums imrested in
different kinds of individual saving organized by grouPs - and often
difficult for members to sustain. Labor investments are subject to a
sinilar set of constraints, as is the tirne that nembers are prepared to
devote to group meetings. Groups do not Possess the po,rer to seParate
members fron their households or enforce participation. Under these
circumstances, it is not easy for g r o u p s w o r k i n g a l o n e t o establish viable
enterprises.

Nonetheless, encouraged by the government to help themselves before


sol-iciting help from outside, young groups do experiment with a wide range
of enterprises. The comnonest of these is collective cultivation. This
form of enterprise receives explicit state support in the forn of advice
and, in the case of some favored cash crops, free seed, both dispensed by
government agriculturaL extension officers. Gollective cultivation
p r o j e c t s p r w i d e a n e x a m p l - eo f h o w t h e s t a t e a p p r o p r i a t e s w o m e n r s g r o u p s a s
its agents, in this ca6e creating the conditions whereby grouPs disseninate
agricultural techniques and policie6 in parts of the conmunity where other
agents, except the prinary schools, rarely reach. However, the support
given is generally insufficient for these enterprise6 to become lucrative.
l"l,anygroups cannot afford the purchased inputs which they are advised to
use, and cultivation resains a risky business. Labor inputs are restricted
because members are faced with the conPeting demands of their own
households; cultivation of collective fields thus suffers from comPetition
with nenbersr household agricultural enterprises being undertaken at the
same time. Perhaps rnore imPortant, the acreages under collective
cultivation are typically sma11, often less than the areas worked by
individual households. The government does not as a rule intervene to make
plots available, and groups have to borrow or rent fields. Such land is
not always easy to obtain or hold on to. The net effect of these
constraints is that group6 reap 1ittle reward fron their collective fields.

The NGO|s have much more to offer than the capital which true
enterprises require. In the ease of lrGOrs operating within Kenya, they
play an active role in planning and advising or assisting womenrs groups in
the operation of their enterprises. Such intenrentions are necessary
because the development of these enterprises frequently rePresents a
radical departure from the prerrailing conditions of the peasant economy,
a1though the interventions that l,lGOrsmake are not always appropriate to
these conditions. Colleetive womenrs enterprises have no foundation in the
-16-

historical economy of the Kenya coast, and woments groups themselves have
been forned in response to explieit state policy and organized on the rnodel
prwided by the governmentrs !,lomenrsGroup Programme. Womenrs prinary
experience is in running or prwiding the labor for enterprises undertaken
by or for the household. Even where these enterprises are their orn, they
general-Ly have 1itt1e control over what happens to the products of their
labor. If the product is not taken fron them, then aLmost certainly they
will be obliged to imrest it in the householC. This experience together
with its corol1-ary, the generally 1ow leve1 of womenrs education, Leaves
the naj ority of womenrs group members i1L-prepared to run what are in
effeet small-scale capitalist enterprises. The nanagerial and technical
requirenents of these enterprises present repeated difficulties. As a
consequence, groups often come under the control of memberswho are better
equipped for the task. This is a positive outcome in terms of the logic of
enterprise developnent, but one which sits uneasily with the collective and
participatory ideology that of ten characterizes l,GOrs. Even so,
circumscribed by the peasant economy and threatened by other external
economic interests, enterprises run the continual risk of failure' e
situation fron which they can only hope to be rescued by NGO|s.

A principle finding of the research reported here is that the


indigenous, non-capitalist economy plays an active role in the households
we studied and forms an enduring sub-stratutr upon which rrdevelopmentrr
projects and programs are set. A related finding is that indigenous
economic processes denonstrate great variation within an area, and that
womenrs group enterprises are more likely to be successful if they are
chosen with respect to 1oca1 economic conditions. In short, enterprises
which reproduce existing processes of indigenous capital accunulation
pronise better results. Handicraft production, widely pronoted as an
appropriate undertaking for womenrs groups, does not faLl into this
category. ltlo of the groups studied have produced handcrafts for Tototor s
shop in Mombasa. In both ca6es, this provided wonen with an important
short-term source of income, sometimes more than they derived fron other
enterprises but nuch less over time than a living Bonthly vtage. Producers
in one group pocketed and spent on their households most of the income
which this brought then. In the other, a portion of the income was
transferred to the group and constituted an important input towards
construction of a bakery building. In both grouPs, the handicrafts
produced were based upon eristing forms of handicraft production undertaken
by individuals. Neither was a najor local- industry. Thus, when their
orders were curtailed by Tototo, both ran into problens. One reason Tototo
stopped these orders was because the women were producing much more than
Tototo could se11: six years later necklaces from one group are sti11
stockpiLed in Tototor s store, waiting for a buyer. In the absence of
alternative markets that could absorb the vol-r:ne of production, then, it
was inevitable that these enterprises should grind to a ha1t. Neither was
organized as a collective enterprise, in which' for example, the group
would purchase basic naterials. They functioned instead as extensions of
hone production, putting producers at the mercy of an unreliable market.

Handicraft production did not get off the ground at all in a third
group because the forn of production which Tototo tried to introduce had no
basis in local economy. Enterprises which are new to a community'
particularly those which are capital intensive, are difficult for groups to
-r7-

operate successfully. First, such enterprises 1ie far outside the


experience of group nembers, who thus reguire continued inputs of advice
from external agencies. This probten is nagnified in the case of
enterprises ernploying conplex technieal processes or machinery which can be
difficult for groups to naintain or expand without further injections of
capital fron the outside. third, such enterprises are eharacteristically
bounded by official controls, including state-regulated pricing of raw
naterials and products, and, especially where groups enploy col,lective
labor, it rnay be difficuLt for then to compete with rivals in the private
sector. As a result, it is not easy for then to renain econonically
viable. Given the various constraints which operate upon collective
enterprises, to undertake a project that requires minimal imrolvement in
its day-to-day running presents a solution to many of their problerns. Ihe
replacement of unpaid collective labor by fornal wage labor is another
meana by which greater effieiency night be achieved, as one group
discwered when they tenporarily enployed a schoolboy in their tea shop.

The sinplest way to avoid some of these constraints is to choose the


right enterprise in the first place. the easiest enterprises for groups to
run and maintain are arguably those which reproduce existing processes of
capital accrrmulation in the loca1 conmunity. As such their viability is
pro\ren, the knowledge needed to run then is readily available, and they
require less support from external agencies. the conditions of capital
accumulation vary fron place to place' but by establishing such
enterprises, womenrs groups are much nore likely than othemise to fu1fil1
their pronise as corporate entrePreneurs.

Economic Effects of Group Enterprises

In so far as they are able to escape the constraints of the Peasant


economy, groups and their enterprises become subject to the logic of
capitalist developaent and act, in effect, as agents of economic
differentiation. They do this in a number of ways. First, grouPs shed or
exclude womenwhose donestic circumstances are so difficult that they are
unable to sustain group nenbership and the denands upon cash and labor that
it entails. Ttris is particularly true of divorcees with young children.
In the nainland conmunities where virilocal marriage is the ru1e, the
residential nobility of wonen upon divorce or remarriage adds a further
constraint upon their ability to sustain menbership. Initial recruitment
tends to cover a broad spectrum, to the exclusion of young unmarried wonen'
the very old and infirm, those who are skeptical of group success or whose
husbands forbid then to join, and foreigners to the conmunity. As a
result, many rromen in the least fortunate categories renain outside of
grouPs.

Secondly, groups which are working free of the peasant economy tend to
come increasingly under the control of menbers whose background and
domestic circumstances make then better equipped to run their enterPrises.
In other words, their derrel-opnent favors womenwho already occupy a
relatively fortunate.position in their households and/or the community.
This includes womenwho are educated and thus able to keep group records.
It also incl-udes women who in one sray or another harre succeeded in escaping
-18-

sone of the restrictive


conditions normally affecting
those with grorn their gender, such as
children to support then
theref ore f ree f ron or those ,ho a.e divorced
ttre coiiror'or irr"r.-r"imer and
p r w i d e s su chw o n e nw trusbands. Gr
i th a n o ppor tunitv to exer cise and ,r .ifr iooir T|];"nto
t h e i r e n tre p re n e u ri a l
a n a p o i i ii""i i"i";;":"and they ar e 1ikely
fron their positior ;";;;;;" to bene fi t
nay do so i11icit1y, than thei. "oir."g.,"".
by ,i;;;propriating rn sone
ru"!"; and while ojr:;r":;,.jh"y-
o ::ii';:'il::H":,:l :l:, :'U;::i*, jfi"' #" rience,;;-
;;;.ua11yhave
a
The discorery-that group
i n s t r . m e nts o f_d i i r" r" i .i " l ;5 T e n t e r p r i s e s , i f s u c c e s s f u l , b e c o m e
i n t e r n a t i on a l 1 p 9 r" ri te -w o i i a ." .' p".ii"ur lr ty painful
r au"";i;;- ;;- exposes the one for some
contr adiction
::i::::lrrt'.i3l"T:::l.j: generation.on the onehand,r*o,s,
to assistthevervpoorto ,"t'i: ,Tl:'"
collective approaches :f::1"fl"::"::'"r;"lr:i;l;;1,*:::i, seek
and p".ai"ip.aory ,"aiJa" a".i.red fron Western
practice' on the other h.;;,
a very sma11 scale and the'1ogil "i'""prta1ist
e'tenr in non-tlestern settirrgs, develoF'enr, even on
srructuring of opportunity appears to deEand a
that excludes thosi ,o"a
oenefits those wilh in need and that
n a o r er r , " o u . " " " . rcors have avoided-facing
by stressing participatioi this reality
"lncone anj "orfective ""iion,
generationrf rather , r c a p i t a l i s i by using terms like
than jl"lopr"nt, t r _ a n db y
including such constructs not
i t s c-p1
l a s s " n a - a i i -i " r - ] n t i a t i o n
.;"'iil": ave ann"a in evaluating their
illS;"|i,-.i"-ti"a" .nJ "" r Jriea out i nappropriat
identirv:":";* or-iniJ
;;.ff:::':;:i:r:l' "oil1nli;r: e
edt o
identify th€m because
it is not in their iii".""t rr"i;l
contradiction between part,icifatory and to recognize the
capitalist dorel0pment.
where enterprises ar€r successful,
t h e y w-oe
ill inevitably pLay a
.n" part,
:ff il::,',"13t1;r:lrn*:;Uii, ".'u"iu'."" rn" p".""i.'l "ono,oy
which
Process .'e noi_
equallyrrelt,r'.','il;. #tl3::: :ff.t:::::ff
ao noi necessari'v $;:lllr-"""
result in a worsenin! of
:::il:it"i"o;::topment
economy i" a" " wonen,s
".lo|::";n:l?#fl,|",iT::::;:.r::;il.:iiri:::' #:;;;
reserye of cheap labor. Meamhile, d;-."i"-"t
womenrs
if
econonic deveLopnent gives groups as agents of
sone luonen a chance to participate
Process on favorable terms' a chanc" in this
rir"ir-aily ,igrrt othenrise not have.
rn general,- though, groups
and their enterprises
constrained by the peasani renain severely
""o',oty. Fen succeed in generating
profits, and fen prwide theii-menbers substantial
whenthev do, the anountaare usually with inc,
fraction of a living "o "r"ii-ll'.j""lr;:i::T"f":".
wage, iitiougt iti" "io,rrd not be taken as
of their value to the rJr"r a measure
"oi""rr,"a. croup enterp.i"e6 are only one
range of medium and 1.ng-term of a
short-terminconesuppl&entsirnrestnents that lromen make, and the
often realized
iiere;;;;"-to ,"rr"rs andrr#t::"ll*l:.111-l
makea consideraure
;:r:';::":;:i;:.:i"i"illr".o
by womenrs continued particip.ai"r.
r'ost are able to translate only those who are more
ti:eir participation forrunate than
in the group into more
-19-

substantial benefits. fn other respects, the income which trickles down


through womenrs groups helps to insul-ate the peasant econony frorq the
pressures acting upon it fron the outside.

lJomenrs Group Enterprises and Gender

The state creates womenr6 groups through its woments group po1_icy; it
certifies then through its registration procedures; and it appropriates
then, when it can, to carry out its work. Often coastal groups required to
contribute 1abor, cash, food, and tine for government event6 and in support
of 1oca1 officials. The relationship is not monolithic, by any means, and
groups receive from the 6tate grants for their own activities.
Nevertheless, the problem of state-group relations is prevalent throughout
Kenya, and some wonenrs group6, in an effort to avoid urmelcome denands,
seek to de-register themselves (l,tbugua1985). While self-he1p in Kenya has
been critici-zed by sone for its less-tharrvoluntary nature and by others
for the way it taxes the poor, self-help has also created many ser:vices and
facilities that would not othemise he\re existed. The role of woments
grouPs in the realization of these benefits is pivotal, for they provide
much of the labor and cash for local projects. But it is women, not men,
who are the target of state policy with respect to social welfare and who
are organized into groups for the purpo6e of carrying out this work.
Insofar as they conply, they reproduce and reinforce existing gender
rel-ations fron which onLy a very felc of their members, by virtue of
personal- circumstances, manage to escape.

fn fact, the tern r\isoment


s grouptr is of ten a nisnomer. Ttrree of the
four groups included in this study were initiated by nen. The fourth was
started by a nale government worker in consultation with another male
official and a woman. Men play key roles in the marketing of womenrs
products, and men benefit directly from wonenrs labor and enterprise when
they get employment in the enterprise. Men step in when things go awrlr
and they may control the asset of nenbership in womenrs groups, as in one
group when a widower decided who would inherit his dead wifer s nembership,
and in another where the groupf s founder paid for one female relativer s
subscriptions and when she dropped out, put his young wife in her place.
VJhether the role nen play in groups is doninant and controll-ing, or whether
they support their wivesr efforts while benefiting fron then as members of
the same households, depends on loca1 relations of production and gender.

l'lho controls the products of womenrs labor and therefore the income
earned from womenrs group enterprises depends on the 1oca1 economy.
lJoments income is usually treated as income for the household, whether or
not it is appropriated by the household head or whether, indeed, the woman
heads her orsn household. As such its value is not negligible but rather it
forms an important supplenent to other sources of income arraiJ-abLeto
vromen. fn sone cases, it nay displace the incone prorrided by a husband by
alleviating the need for hin to contribute to the household from his cnrn
pocket, thus leaving hin with more income at his disposal. l,lhen income is
handed over or otherwise finds its way back to husbands, there is no
guarantee that womenwiLl play a role in deternining how it is invested or
whether it will be imrested in the household at all.
-20-

The naive assumptions underlying income-generation theory, if it can


b e c a l l e d t h a t , t h u s p r w e n e a n i n g l e s s . W o m e n t sp o s s e s s i o n o f i n c o m e d o e s
not automatically improve their status or bargaining power within the
household. This is more likely to occur, if at a1"L, where orrerall
household income is al-ready high and sufficient to cover basic needs. fn
one grouP included in this study, for exanple, where the group enterprise
has thrived at times, prwiding womenwith the equivalent of a regular, if
small, wage, group members harre no rights orrer this income, just as they
have no rights wer the products of their l"abor in the fields. Here, where
women harre nade the most money, they have the least control orrer that money
and hsrre acquired 1itt1e prestige or decisiorrnaking porrer as a result of
their earning pcnrer. Menbers in another group, who harre rights orrer
property and inheritance, who divorce and remarry easily, who pool their
income with that of their husbands yet can retain it if they wish, have
faiLed to manage a viable enterprise. Our data and those of others
substantiate that women in patriarchal societies cannot cornrert their
income into power, particularly where men hErre poorly-paid, narginal
occupations. If husbands have a stable and sufficient economic base, then
r\roments economic contribution becomes a vaLuable and powerful. resource
that wins them more decision-naking porrer [and] nore equality in the
division of laborr' (SafiLios-Rothschild 1983, L23). The great variability
docuoented in this study points to a complex of factors that affect the
internal distribution of household incone and underscores the absence of a
linear rel-ationship between womenrs income and woments statu6.

llomenrs groups and their enterprises cannot be expected to effect


social and eeonomic change orrernight. This should not, however, be the
on1-y criterion upon which they are evaluated. For women thenselves they
prcnride a range of opportunities which they are customarily denied. Not
i-east of these is an opportunity to participate in connunity affairs and
derrelopment. Womentake considerable pride in their groups and the
recognition this grings then. As long a6 they continue to receive support
fron the go\rernment and other agencies, womenr6 groups will continue to
serve aa an inportant tool in Kerryan womenrs struggle for
se1f-determination
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