385
researchers that most women are only married so that they can be known as ‘so and
so’s wife’. The only man in the group laughed at this, but he confirmed that sometimes the men may offer some money to their wives as ‘help’.
The experience in both villages reveals that while the introduction of development initiatives, especially value addition innovations, has the potential to improve
communities, the failure to address gender attitudes may result into unforeseen burdens for some sections of the society. In this particular context, the husbands of
female fish processors feel less obligated to support their families because their
wives are economically empowered. Thus, the higher the income of the female fish
processor, the higher the financial burden they assume over the family.
It should be kept in mind that although women are involved in all activities
except the catching of fish, they make less money than the fishermen, especially
those who own the fishing business themselves (Ngochera et al. 2017). The data
showed that there were no male processors within the lowest-income brackets of
between MK 2000 and MK 19000; there were 10 female FPs within this bracket.
Out of the male FPs in the sample, 4 were within the highest-income bracket of
between MK 100,000 and MK 300,000. Thus, male fish processors have higher
income due to more access to capital and mobility, which is limited for women
because they typically have more responsibilities within the household (Allison and
Mvula 2002).
3.4 Sustainability Measures
Participation
The introduction of innovative technologies that add value to a product ought to take
advantage of already existing commitment to the trade, thereby expanding the market of the produce and improving income (Ngochera et al. 2017). The management
of the dryer in Vinthenga revealed communal ownership of the development initiative, as per design of the project. Rental fees collected from usage of the dryer were
used for maintenance of the same. The solar dryer committee (SDC) spent K100,000
to maintain the tent dryer, and this cost covered plastic sheets, wood planks and
nails. The committee members at Vinthenga also suggested that using old sugar
plastic bags could be an alternative to the plastic sheets purchased at Arkay Plastics
Ltd., which showed the innovation within the community to support the introduced
technology. After the tent was constructed in 2017, it was handed over to the BVC,
which then handed the tent over to a subcommittee formed at the tent. The SDC
consists of fish processors and a representative from the BVC (Fig. 7).
Contrary to the community in Vinthenga, the BVC members in Chipala took a
more laid-back approach to their duty of managing the dryer. Co-management
between the government and BVCs over natural resources presents conflicting lines
of authority between local institutions (Ngochera et al. 2017). The BVC assumed
leadership over the technology albeit with limited knowledge about fish processing
Between the Sun and Fish Are People: A Socio-economic Study of Solar Dryers for Fish…
researchers that most women are only married so that they can be known as ‘so and
so’s wife’. The only man in the group laughed at this, but he confirmed that sometimes the men may offer some money to their wives as ‘help’.
The experience in both villages reveals that while the introduction of development initiatives, especially value addition innovations, has the potential to improve
communities, the failure to address gender attitudes may result into unforeseen burdens for some sections of the society. In this particular context, the husbands of
female fish processors feel less obligated to support their families because their
wives are economically empowered. Thus, the higher the income of the female fish
processor, the higher the financial burden they assume over the family.
It should be kept in mind that although women are involved in all activities
except the catching of fish, they make less money than the fishermen, especially
those who own the fishing business themselves (Ngochera et al. 2017). The data
showed that there were no male processors within the lowest-income brackets of
between MK 2000 and MK 19000; there were 10 female FPs within this bracket.
Out of the male FPs in the sample, 4 were within the highest-income bracket of
between MK 100,000 and MK 300,000. Thus, male fish processors have higher
income due to more access to capital and mobility, which is limited for women
because they typically have more responsibilities within the household (Allison and
Mvula 2002).
3.4 Sustainability Measures
Participation
The introduction of innovative technologies that add value to a product ought to take
advantage of already existing commitment to the trade, thereby expanding the market of the produce and improving income (Ngochera et al. 2017). The management
of the dryer in Vinthenga revealed communal ownership of the development initiative, as per design of the project. Rental fees collected from usage of the dryer were
used for maintenance of the same. The solar dryer committee (SDC) spent K100,000
to maintain the tent dryer, and this cost covered plastic sheets, wood planks and
nails. The committee members at Vinthenga also suggested that using old sugar
plastic bags could be an alternative to the plastic sheets purchased at Arkay Plastics
Ltd., which showed the innovation within the community to support the introduced
technology. After the tent was constructed in 2017, it was handed over to the BVC,
which then handed the tent over to a subcommittee formed at the tent. The SDC
consists of fish processors and a representative from the BVC (Fig. 7).
Contrary to the community in Vinthenga, the BVC members in Chipala took a
more laid-back approach to their duty of managing the dryer. Co-management
between the government and BVCs over natural resources presents conflicting lines
of authority between local institutions (Ngochera et al. 2017). The BVC assumed
leadership over the technology albeit with limited knowledge about fish processing
Between the Sun and Fish Are People: A Socio-economic Study of Solar Dryers for Fish…