Gender and CED: Tools for Empowering Women’s Lives in

Santo Andre, Brazil

Diana Smith
Norman Sippert
Jason Emmert

Submitted to: Professor Leonora Angeles

PLAN 548M – Gender and International Development

School of Community and Regional Planning
University of British Columbia

Friday December 6th , 2002

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 1
Purpose of this paper 1
Why CED? Women in Brazil 1
Santo Andre and the Watershed Protection Area 1
Socio-economic Conditions in the Santo Andre WPA 2
Building Community Interest and Involvement in CED 3

What is Community Economic Development (CED)? 4

Fundamental Building Blocks: Livelihood Assets 4
Community Capital: Pooling Individua l and Household Assets 6
Why do we need CED? 8
How can CED address women’s issues? 8
Women, Economic Assets, and CED 8
Promoting Economic Stability 9
Meeting Women’s Diverse Economic Needs 9

CED and Women’s Social Development 10

Reinforcing Social Assets 11
Building Other Assets to Increase Social Capital 12

CED, Women, and Local and Global Natural Capital 13

The Value Natural Assets in the Economy 14
Access to Land and Resources 14
Food Security 14
Impacts of Waste and Pollution 15

Case Studies 17
Projects in Santo Andre and Brazil 17
Developing Co-operatives 17
Focusing on Women’s Development 18
CED Projects and Seed Ideas 20
Child Care and Mothers’ Support Programs 20
Micro-enterprise development 20
Job Training 21
Housing and Infrastructure 22

Conclusion 22

References 23

Appendix A
- Community Economic Development Principles in British Columbia 24
Appendix B
- Problems with Conventional Economic Development for
Local and National Economies 25
Appendix C
- Case Studies – Summaries and Internet Links 26
Introduction

Purpose of this Paper

This paper introduces the theory and methods of Community Economic Development (CED), and its potential
for social and economic transformation amongst women in particular. It is intended to serve as the basis for a
series of workshops or seminars in the Santo Andre Watershed Protection Area (pilot project 3), where CED
and tourism have been identified as priorities. The ideas are transferable to other areas, including CBWM other
pilot project communities.

We have divided the paper into 3 general sections:

- Local context - the need for CED for the women of Brazil and the CBWM project area
- Theory of CED (economic, social and environmental aspects) with sample workshop ideas and activities
- Case studies of gender aware CED projects in Brazil and around the world.

The material from the case studies may be used in the workshops to give women examples of successes
elsewhere. The workshop ideas are not at the level of detail to stand on their own, but materials can be found in
any number of excellent resource guides for facilitators. 1

The need for this information is reflected in the general socio-economic status of women in Brazil, as well as
feedback from women in the pilot project areas. It is our hope that it may assist facilitators and partner NGOs in
their task of working with the women to develop CED projects to make communities that are economically,
socially and environmentally vibrant.

Why CED? Women in Brazil

Gender and development issues have long been on the political radar screen in Brazil where the
government, NGOs, and the private sector have created institutions to address the continuing inequalities
between men and women. Academic dialogue in Brazil on gender issues since the 1980’s has had limited
impact on changing women’s everyday reality, but it has had an impact. Although overall income distribution
is frequently cited imbalanced in the world 2 , the growing income gap between men and women even more
starkly illustrates social inequity in Brazil. The divide is further exacerbated by other social and economic
inequalities based on race, class, and ethnicity. It has been frequently noted that women and Afro-Brazilians
receive lower salaries than other demographic groups. Black women earn only 27.6% of white men’s earnings 3 .

Santo Andre and the Watershed Protection Area

The Santo Andre municipality, a city of approximately 100,000 people, is part of the São Paulo
metropolitan area. It is located to the southeast of São Paulo proper and is bordered to the southeast by Santo
André's Watershed Protection Area (WPA). The WPA occupies 55% of the municipal area (96.2 km2), with
335 hectares being a biological reserve. A large part of the area is not developed, although impacts could result
from future developments, such as the metropolitan ringway, which could be constructed partly through the
WPA. Other relevant facts for the WPA:

1
One example is Mike Lewis & Frank Green “Strategic Planning for the Community Economic Development Practitioner”, West Coast Development Group, 1992
and other works by Mike Lewis
2
The top 5% of the resident population received 40% of the national income (1993) while the bottom 25% of the economically active population received 6.4% of the
nation’s wealth. Source: Fundação Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística
3
Fundação Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, 1993, in Brasileiro, 1997
1
 • Total population in the WPA is 26,000 (estimate for 1998), 4% of Santo André's population; the
population within the WPA grew by 102% from 1982 - 1992.
• There has been a heavy reliance on legal measures to control settlement areas.

• There is one large industrial plant located within the area; it owns 1,200 hectares of WPA land.

• Settlement types include middle-income areas, an historic railway village (Paranapiacaba), illegal
subdivisions, and favelas bordering the Billings Reservoir.

• Services in the WPA include solid waste collection, health care, public schools, road maintenance and a
regional administrative office of the Municipality.

Socio-economic Conditions in the Santo Andre WPA

The following list of gender issues come from participants at a gender workshop in Santo Andre, which we
assume to generally hold true for Paranapiacaba4 .

• Women are key to popular movements but they do not hold political power.
• Stress caused by the 'triple burden': homework, workplace, and community work. Assumption that women's
labour is elastic
• Domestic violence affects the whole family and community.
• Poverty is aggravated by lack of basic services (e.g. health, education, transportation, infrastructure, day
care); women have to spend much time taking young children to school that now observe four shifts.
• Invisibility ("ghost work") of women's work contributes to non-recognition of women's capabilities, and
leads to problem of poor self-image among women.
• Men do not take responsibility for housework and children.
• No available data on intra- and inter-household conflicts and differential access and control of resources.

Regarding domestic violence, there are numerous statistics for Santo André that indicate that domestic
violence and violence against women are serious concerns. 75% of Delegacia de Defesa da Mulher (DDM,
Defence of Women Police Stations) cases are due to physical and psychological aggression in the context of
‘loving’ relationships. In 1996, the Santo André DDM handled 1067 cases; there were 942 cases through
August of 1997. Vem Maria was founded in 1998 to provide information and resources to women in violent
situations. In 1999 they attended 531 women, in 2000, the number increased to 1,160, and by 2001, 1,322
women were seen5 . When one considers that domestic violence is hugely under-reported, this speaks to an
enormous problem.

Finally, the following is a list of observations for Paranapiacaba 6 :

• Some training programs exist to have local young women become paid community health stewards as the
first step towards becoming nurses.

• High unemployment, as well as high participation in informal economic activities (selling items on the street
in Santo André or Sao Paulo, or in the informal settlements themselves).

• Some people practice very limited subsistence agriculture to contribute to their living situation.

4
Angeles, Leonora C. "Gender and Participation: Some considerations for CBWM project in Santo Andre, Sao Paolo, Brazil", February 1999. p.1-2
5
www.santoandre.sp.gov.br/bn_conteudo.asp?cod=201; also cod=421
6
Conversation with Alison McNaughton
2
• Many people live in informal housing, but most people have access to running water.

• Low levels of formal education are common.

• Certain pre-existing level of community networking, with extended families commonly supporting each
other financially and numerous community-level networks for watching children.

Building Community Interest and Involvement in CED

Throughout the next section we offer potential workshop activities for the initial stages of a programme
to begin a CED programme in the WPA. The idea is to spend several months doing needs assessment and
building social capital in WPA. Once this stage is completed, a CED project based on community needs and
desires can be created and implemented.
Our goal in this report is to create a programme that introduces CED while empowering the community
and creating readiness for a CED project. The workshop ideas we present should be implemented so that
community members come up with their own answers, make their own connections, and even change directions
if they feel they need to. The entire process should be educational and build capacity. For instance, while
community members are discussing co-operation or visions for the future they should be building capacity by
co-operating and building assets. Throughout the process community members should also become aware of
how connections and inter-relations can exist between assets, community members, and existing activities, and
they should be encouraged to find new connections and bring them to the process.
What follows is one way to present CED to community members. It contains both ideas for slogans to
generate interest (the outline headings) and ideas for ways to present concepts in workshops to generate
dialogue. These are simply ideas to provide facilitators with some direction, not firm requirements. The ideas
are set up in such a way that they are flexible and can be altered to meet different needs. There are 3 pitches or
main ideas to work from, each of which is one workshop session. Under each idea we have the explanation,
talking points and workshop activities. The sessions build on each other.
Ideally facilitators will have had the opportunity to become involved with the community before this
process begins, thus enabling them to find linkages that already exist and can further the aims of the
programme. Every effort should be made to create a comfortable and accessible environment for the workshops.
We recognise the importance of men in enabling the success of a women’s CED project. As such, we present
the question of whether workshops and meetings should only have women present or should be open to men
and women. We believe that only women should be present for the first session, but men can be included for the
later sessions. However, work should be done in separate men’s and women’s groups. This is to provide a
comfortable environment for women. We do recognise that the facilitators, once they begin to understand the
workings of the community, may come to a different conclusion.

One final note: although there are many challenges facing women in the Santo Andre WPA, they also have
advantages to build on. These advantages, or assets as described in the next section, are an important part of
CED and making them explicit is one of the goals of the workshop activities.

3
What is Community Economic Development (CED)?

The definition of community economic development (CED) should be highly dependent on local
ecological, social, and economic contexts. Despite the local specificity, there are some commonly held ideas
about CED. The definition and the ten CED principles (Appendix A) offered by the Community Economic
Development Centre (CEDC) at Simon Fraser University reflect some of these ideas.

“ [CED is]...a community-based and community-directed process that explicitly

combines social and economic development and is directed towards fostering the
economic, social, ecological and cultural well-being of communities and regions...CED
has emerged as an alternative to conventional approaches to economic development. It is
founded on the belief that problems facing communities - unemployment, poverty, job
loss, environmental degradation, economic instability, and loss of community control -
need to be addressed in a holistic and participatory way. (CEDC 1997).”

Workshop Activities #1

Defining a CED vision for Your Community

Explanation – Collectively defining what “economic development” or improving “quality of life” means in their
community’s context can a help a community prioritize and strategize activities to meet present and future community
needs. A vision process should draw on perspectives on all community members including the most socially
marginalized. This may require offering different forms of expression including speaking, writing, drawing, performing,
and many other forms of expression.

Talking Points

What would you like to see change in our community?

What are the most important places, people, and aspects of our community?
Have there been plans to improve our community before? How did they fail or succeed?

Activity

Draw or write your vision of the community in 10 years. Include places you would like to see stay the same and places
that you would like to see change.

Fundamental Building Blocks: communities possess or strive to possess

Livelihood Assets
At its heart, CED recognizes that
there are many dynamic components that
support the development of sustainable
livelihoods that go beyond increasing
monetary wealth. One approach is to focus
on utilizing and building livelihood assets.
Livelihood assets are all the valued
resources that individuals, households, and
4
that sustain and improve their lives. These
assets include not only material items such
as food and a house, but also skills, good
health, and support networks that enable
households and individuals that give value
to life in their own right and enable
utilization of material resources in an
effective way. Assets are interconnected in
a complex web of everyday relationships
wherein developing or degrading one asset
often supports or limits the improvement of
other assets.
Individua ls and households all have
assets and identifying livelihood assets
possessed at any one time can help an
individual or household determine its
strengths and weaknesses. Knowing
strengths can empower individuals and
households to realize what they have to
offer a CED process. By the same token,
identifying crucial asset deficiencies can
focus a CED process towards the most
urgent or strategic asset need. Diagram 1
divides livelihood assets into five
categories: social, personal, physical,
financial, and human assets. Each set of
assets plays a vital role in people’s total
capacity to improve their lives.

Diagram 1

• Income from productive activity

(employment/self-employment)
• Available financial savings
• Cooperation
• Regular inflows of money from:
• Networks, interconnectedness
• Government transfers
• Family support
• Family
• Friendships
• Gifts
• Relationships of trust/exchanges
• In-kind
• Partnership and collaboration
• Credit rating
• Political participation
• Access to credit
Financial Social
Assets Assets

• Skills (including
technical and
interpersonal) Human Personal • Motivation
• Knowledge • Self-esteem
• Ability Assets Assets • Self-confidence
• Employability and • Emotional well-being
earning power • Assertiveness
• Good health •
• Leadership
Physical Spirituality

Assets

• Child/elder care
• Secure shelter
• Clean affordable energy
• Information
• Banking and access to related
services
• Basic consumer needs e.g. local
grocery store and other services
• Affordable transportation
• Tools and equipment
• Natural resources
• Air and water quality
5
Workshop Activities #2

CED empowering the many aspects of women’s lives

Explanation – CED can give women more power over their own lives. One of the most empowering activities is the
recognition of the personal assets that women already have and the importance of their energy and time. Then identifying
some of the external factors that disempower women can help strategically address these concerns.

Talking points

When do you feel most empowered (i.e. confident, safe, assertive, motivated, effective)?
When do you feel most disempowered (sad, insecure, ineffective, unmotivated)?

Activity

Make a calendar of times during a given week that you feel empowered and disempowered and describe the moments.

Talking points

What activities are most important to in your daily life?

What activities would you like to invest more time, energy, and resources in?

Activity

Identify the most important activities that concern you in any given week and which activities you would like to invest more
time, energy, and resources in.

Community Capital: Pooling examples include an informal street market,

Individual and Household Assets
The total value of accumulated
assets within a community can be termed a
community’s capital. More than the sum
total of the assets held by all the individuals
and households, community capital follows
the old adage, “the whole is greater than the
sum of its parts.” The complex interaction
between individuals and households in the
community can create new assets such as
networks, institutions, attitudes etc. One
example of community capital may be trust
built among neighbours from lending
money, watching each other’s children, and
other small favours that occur over time.
This trust is not held in one person or
household, but is created through positive
interaction among numerous people. Other
lending circles, and a community-built
sewage system. Community capital serves
as the stock of assets that individuals and
households can draw upon to improve their
own livelihood assets
Like assets, community capital can
be divided into categories to better
understand the capital held by a specific
community (see box below). Ideally,
community capital is not depleted over
time, but is being constantly maintained
and renewed as capital is being used.
Ultimately, CED looks to foster processes
that build and strengthen community
capital which in turn expand the pool of
livelihood assets available to the
individuals and households within that
community.

6
 Different Types of Community Capital
Social Capital – All the features of a
community’s social organization such as
networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate
coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit.
Examples: Sense of cooperation, social trust,
levels of community participation, and informal
networks.
Natural Capital – The totality of natural systems
that provide current and future flows of services
and/or goods that are utilized by humans and
other creatures. Examples include a functioning
forest ecosystems, wetlands, climate, and lakes
Human Capital – The collective pool of skills,
knowledge, talents, education, labour, and other
human resources in a community. Example:
Craftsmanship, medical training, and ecological
knowledge,
Financial Capital – The stock monetary
resources available to the community for
investment in the production of goods, services,
and the creation of new capital. Examples: Credit,
trust funds, and lending circles.
Manufactured Capital – The stock of human-
made resources available to the community that
can be used in the production of goods, services,
and new capital. Examples: Equipment,
machinery, buildings, and infrastructure
Institutional Capital – The institutions
accessible to the community that provide support,
access to decision-making and resources, and
organizational capacity. Examples: Government
offices, churches, schools, and non-governmental
organizations.
7
Workshop Activities #3
Building on Community Capital through
Cooperation – “we’re stronger together than we
are separately”
Explanation - Every community has assets (define assets)
to build on and CED can help us organize and mobilize
our own assets to benefit our community. This requires
participation from all community members to work
together to devise community economic plans and
activities. As part of the CED process we will identify
existing community assets, discuss ways to strengthen
existing assets and cooperation in the community, and
create new community assets.
Talking Points
What is community capital?
Define community capital using the model for
explanation
Activity
Identify community capital on maps of the community
(examples: houses, roads, gardens, tools, natural
resources, financial (hidden), skills, leadership, networks,
friendships, emotion well-being, self esteem,
assertiveness, motivation
Talking points
Why is cooperation vital to CED? What are some ways
we can cooperatively strengthen and increase community
capital?
Activity
Identify existing points of cooperation and ways that
these could be improved.
Identify how can your own assets strengthen assets in the
community. i.e. woman’s skill in childcare and time
offered to her neighbours would give her neighbours
extra time to give to the community.
Why do we need CED?

In contrast to the above definition and principles of CED, the conventional, neo-liberal
forms of economic development pursued over the last 50 or more years increase financial and
manufactured assets with little or no priority given to associated cultural, social or environmental
costs (Boothroyd and Davis, 1993). Consequently, conventional economic objectives usually
focus exclusively on raising short-term employment and tax revenue primarily through attracting
outside investment. This often leads to long-term economic disadvantages such as loss of
community economic control, increased economic instability, and greater disparity between the
wealthy and the poor. As an alternative approach, CED considers the importance of maintaining
labour, environmental, and health standards to total community well-being and aims to support
the production of various forms of community capital with the intention that community survival
is not primarily dependent on outside investment.
Another key component to the conventional economic development model is the
promotion of export-led growth, where a community specializes in producing certain products or
crops for export according to its comparative advantage (i.e. lower labor costs, unique products,
better climate or land, weaker environmental regulations) in relation to other areas around the
world. CED prioritizes the control of community capital to meet needs of the local community
before risking export into the global market. By meeting community needs first, if the
community decides to invest in the global market it is better able to adapt to its fluctuations.
Further explanation of the terminology and problems with conventional economic approach are
in Appendix B.

How can CED address women’s issues7?

Conventional economic development attempts to limit government social programs and

state-run enterprises in favour of lowering taxes to increase the exchange of financial capital.
This approach ignores both the structural disadvantage of women and the specific needs of
women (as well as other groups) that are not necessary met by rising incomes.
On the most basic level CED addresses women’s issues by including both men and
women in community economic decision-making. As CED is based on the principle of
participatory development, addressing previous inequalities between women and men in
economic policy-making, project planning, and other economic decision-making becomes a
priority. Furthermore, by specifically focusing CED towards women’s issues local economies
can be shaped to address women’s economic disadvantages such as access to new jobs, control
of household income, valuing women’s unpaid labor, etc. Through CED economies can also
begin to fulfill women’s needs that are not necessarily met by increases in financial assets
including social issues, inequalities, environmental and health concerns. The next three sections
this paper will discuss specifically how CED may build community capital and livelihood assets
to address economic, social, and environmental issues related to women.

Women, Economic Assets, and CED

Increasing the stock of financial and manufactured capital controlled by and accessible to
the community can help create new jobs and access to new financial and material assets for
households and individuals. However, the size of this pool does not insure that these resources

7
This paper focuses on the needs of women, but recognizes that the condition of men and women are inextricably
linked and that an CED strategy that successfully meets the needs of women must have active involvement of men.
8
 are distributed fairly or that this capital is stable and will remain in the community. Historically,
women have been on the losing end of uneven distribution of economic resources and benefits
and often suffer the worst consequences from economic instability. Women most often have
lower wages than men, less access to credit, and other forms of financial capital as well as less
preference to higher paying jobs. They are often the first to lose their jobs in the face of
economic downturn and their lower salaries means inflation and wage cuts hurt women’s buying
power proportionally more than men.

Promoting Economic Stability

Through CED communities take greater control over where economic resources are allocated within the
community and they can specifically direct them to economic concerns of women They can place higher value
on more stable economic activities and meeting basic needs within the community.

Here are nine CED principles that can help ensure long-term economic stability and independence:

1) The purpose of CED is to increase community solidarity, distributive justice, and broadly defined
quality of life.
2) Reduce dependence on outside decision-makers by increasing local control over resource management
3) Diversify external investment sources
4) Reduce dependence on external investments by increasing local ownership
5) Reduce dependence on traditional exports by diversifying products or markets for existing products
6) Reduce the need for exports in general by substituting local production for imports paid for by exports
7) Reduce dependence on money as the bases for local exchange by strengthening the local non-cash and
informal economy.
8) Economic institutions should be organized to promote cooperation rather than competition (i.e., they
should combine social development with economic development)
9) All community members (including women) must be empowered to participate in planning and
decision-making processes that shape the community's economy

(Boothroyd and Davis 1993, p.234).

Meeting Women’s Diverse Economic Needs

In addition to promoting economic stability within communities, CED takes into account the diversity of
economic needs of a community including the needs of women. Some of women’s needs may include
equalizing differences in income and employment opportunities, valuing the women’s non-paid labour in the
home and in the community, and improving women's access to credit. CED prescriptions for narrowing the
income gap between men and women may include establishing policies of equal pay for equal work and
promoting enterprises that pay women equally. Similarly, enterprises that can provide quality work
opportunities for women can be supported through a CED process. Women’s non-paid labor can be valued
through cooperative efforts where non-paid labor is exchanged for other non-paid labor or goods rather than
currency (e.g. childcare cooperatives). Women’s participation in the informal sector8 can be supported through
skills training that allow women to better participate in the informal sector and connecting women’s informal
sector activities with other support services. An important economic empowerment strategy for women that has
been used in other parts of the world is improving women’s access to credit and other financial assets. CED
facilitates access to financial assets by helping women pool their own financial resources for creating a self-
contained credit system. Additionally, it establishes stable, organized groups that are more attractive to outside

8
The informal sector refers to the economic activity that falls outside of the traditional economic system of taxation and regulation.
The informal sector plays a vital role in supporting people who can not access the traditional economic system.
9
lenders. Finally, CED helps protect women’s enterprise (as well as other enterprises) from fluctuations in the
global economy. Based on the nine principles discussed earlier, CED can establish local exchange trading
systems and diversify women’s economic activities to make them less vulnerable to further marginalization if
the market should fall on one particular product or service. Once again it should be emphasized these issues are
not addressed in isolation, but in conjunction with the social, cultural and ecological context.

Workshop Activities #4

Take control of your own economy

Explanation – CED can put more control of economic activities in the hands of our community. This helps
us define the priorities for our local economy. We can determine how we can create wealth and how is used
in our community.

Talking Points
What parts of the economy are currently controlled by the community and which aren’t?
What parts of the economy would the we like to see locally controlled? What is your ideal vision of the local
economy?

Activity

Identify locally controlled economic assets and activities and those controlled by outsiders
Prioritize local economic activities for local control

Talking Point

Which economic activities are currently most feasible for local control? And in the long-term?

Activity

Think about what empowers you and what you like to devote more of yourself to (Workshop Activity 1).
Considering community vision for economic development, existing assets especially locally controlled
economic assets, and priorities for local control of economic activities, identify the some of most feasible
short-term and long-term CED activities (Workshop 1 & 3)

CED and Women’s Social Development

A social fabric of relationships within and between communities that includes relationships between
men and women underlies all economic activity. The positive strength of this social fabric may be called
community social capital (see box above) which includes not only the web of complex interpersonal
relationships, but also the values, attitudes, and behaviours built over time that define these relationships.
Attitudes and values such as trust, responsibility, mutual benefit, and cooperation can contribute to more
equitable distribution of resources, mitigate destructive forms of competition and making effective use of assets
within a community. CED ascribes to the notion that social capital is essential for long-term community well-
being and economic development that meets the needs of women and other marginalized groups. A CED
process should tap into existing social capital to mobilize human, financial, and manufactured capital and at the

10
same time supporting attitudes of cooperation and trust, strengthen both formal and informal community
networks, and foster ideas of mutual benefit.

Reinforcing Social Assets

At the individual and household level the inter-related nature of individual and household assets means
that as some assets are built, it becomes easier to build other assets. However, this also means that individual
problems, or personal and human assets, are connected to community problems and social capital.
Economically marginalized women are more likely than middle or upper-class women to lack human
assets, and by association possibly have fewer social and personal assets. In addition, lack of financial and
physical assets are core dimensions of social marginalization. This increases marginalized women’s
vulnerability to violence against women including domestic violence, drug use and abuse, lower levels of
education and literacy, and persistent health problems. These problems are entrenched in the lack of positive
social capital and are reinforced in the ways that people relate to one another and their environment.
One way that CED may address women’s strategic needs is by increasing access to community social
capital. Increasing access to community social capital can help women leave situations of violence, increase

Positively Reinforcing Livelihood Assets

Stronger Social Assets

Good relationship with

neighbors who provide childcare
Stronger Personal Assets while at work in exchange for
help with housework
Higher self-esteem from
providing for family and
better able to maintain
positive relationships with
friends and family

Stronger Human and Financial

Assets

Able to work and earn income for

the family. Can work less hours
because have to pay less for
childcare

their level of formal education, and increase their ability to live in healthy environments and access high-quality
health care. Increasing assets through better access to community social capital can also address strategic needs
for social change by changing attitudes as women are seen as more empowered and effective, and removing
barriers that were limiting. Power relations can also be altered as women themselves experience changes in

11
personal assets and increased human assets. Empowerment and changes in social assets such as stronger, more
fulfilling relationships with friends and family can also affect attitudes and power relations.
Successful CED builds social and human assets for individuals and households, and particularly
personal assets.. It has been widely recognised that CED is an excellent tool for increasing self-esteem, self-
efficacy, and perceptions of well-being which can be immensely empowering. These personal assets are built as
participants find that they can increasingly rely on themselves and make a difference in their own and others’
lives. CED builds social assets by strengthening networks and increasing their reach, as well as possibly
reducing family vulnerability and increasing positive relationships. Human assets are built through increased
skills, abilities, and employability, as well as better health through increased access to resources. Opening
pathways to social capital for women will be key to building their assets for social development. Because these
issues are not isolated, they need to be addressed in the context of the community, due to their entrenched, inter-
connected nature.
Vem Maria, an organisation in Santo André that addresses needs connected to violence against women,
suggests that domestic violence is a result of the “cultura machista,” which allows for violence as a form of
domination in male-female relationships. Vem Maria also declares that domestic violence is not only a problem
of the poor; middle and upper-class women are affected as well 9 . While this is true, poor women face more
difficulties in leaving violent situations due to their relative lack of assets.

Building Other Assets to Increase Social Capital

While these possible repercussions of CED building social assets are far in the future and uncertain,
CED has more immediate, practical results related to women’s needs arising from systemic, societal problems.
CED approaches, through empowerment and increased access to physical and natural assets, can result in the
creation of institutions, infrastructure, and networks that address social needs. An example of this is the creation
of a support network for victims of domestic violence, the creation of a community-based organisation to
address domestic violence issues, or building a safe house for victims of domestic violence.
A holistic approach allows for a more successful program, as Vem Maria seems to recognise in its
program in Parque Andreense. This program looks at illiteracy, health, and political participation, not just
domestic violence. It seeks to reduce discrimination and exclusion, increase quality of life for communities, and
guarantee environmental preservation by working with women and recognising their traditional roles as social
educators in homes, schools, and communities.
One aspect of CED that we have seen repeatedly throughout this discussion is the importance of
capacity building and community building throughout projects. This allows for empowerment, which in turn
allows for some of the most dramatic results. Many organisations have found that by attending to issues related
to self-esteem, self-efficacy, and other assets they can be more successful because their efforts are not being
undercut.
As social assets form the basis for economic interaction, local and global ecosystems sustain both
economies and societies. The next section will discuss how CED can ensure that both women and ecological
systems are integrated into economic development.

9
http://www.santoandre.sp.gov.br/bn_conteudo.asp?cod=201
12
 Workshop Activities #5

Mapping Our Social Network

Explanation – Often it is difficult to recognize how important social networks are for supporting our
well-being. They can be a resource to draw upon if used in a respectful and reciprocal manner.

Talking Points

Who do you spend your time meeting?

Where do meet most of you friends?
What are the different social groups that you identify with?

Activity

Make a diagram showing your personal network. Try to find common connection between personal
networks

Talking Points

What are ways we can strengthen networks?

What are ways that networks can be damaged or destroyed?

Activity

List ways that you have strengthened or hurt your personal networks in the past month.

CED, Women, and Local and Global Natural Capital

As the base of all economic activity, natural capital refers to the self-renewing ecological system that
produces the natural resources that humans use, called “natural assets 10 ” (i.e. trees, water, minerals, etc.). A
sustainable economy ideally uses the natural assets without depleting the natural capital stocks so that they can
continue to provide for resources in the future. CED looks at how the local economies can meet local needs
within the limits of global and local ecological systems. Women are an important voice in understanding how
to better live within the limits of ecosystems. However, women often have more limited access to existing
resources and little say in how they are managed. Paradoxically, they are more adversely affected by
environmental degradation. CED can be applied to address these inequities that women face in relation to the
physical environment.
The nature of a woman’s interaction with their physical environment is highly dependent on specific
biophysical characteristics of the local ecosystems and the local class, cultural, social, and economic factors that
form that woman’s reality. But there are certain commonalities that exist across the globe that point to the
common social construction of gender and the environment that have led to parallel systematic exploitation of
women and the environment (Levy 1992). Gender relationships to the physical environment reflect broader
gender relations in society in which women have been disadvantaged in their access to assets (financial, social,
and political) and have carried a disproportionate share of the negative impacts of societal organization and

10
This is often called “natural income,” but for the purposes of consistent terminology will be called natural assets in this paper.
13
function (i.e. systemic poverty, triple work day). Patriarchal social relations between men and women
disadvantage women from the access to the same natural capital which provides material or income value to
men.
The inclusion of a wide range of women in the CED process can infuse women’s multiplicity of
interests into economic development planning including improving their access to natural resources and
reducing the impact of pollution and waste on women’s lives.

The Value Natural Assets in the Economy

The conventional economic development model discussed earlier values natural resources only for their
price value on the market and generally exclude the value that natural capital may have serving other functions
such as maintaining ecosystem vitality, providing food and nutrition to marginalized populations, and absorbing
and cleaning wastes. These other functions and worth of natural assets maybe more highly valued by women
than the value of natural assets on the local and especially the national and international markets. For example,
the nutritional value of home grown fruits and vegetables maybe more important to women (and possibly men)
than the income received by selling them on the local market. The full value of natural assets can be taken into
account through CED strategies such as local exchange trading systems (LETS), local currency, and full cost
accounting (see cases studies).

Access to Land and Resources

Women are often disadvantaged by a number of cultural, social, and legal barriers to access land and
resources. At the core of access to land and resources are property/tenure rights. Although ownership of land
title is an important component of access to natural capital, often the systems of access to resources are much
more complex than simple ownership. For example, even if a woman owns property her social norms may
prevent her from using certain resources on the land for economic benefit. Conversely, women may not have
equal access to land title as men, but maybe able to use the resources from land owned by men. This also
relates to women’s access to natural capital versus natural assets. Access to natural assets (i.e. wood, water,)
does not necessarily mean that women have a part in control of natural capital (i.e. forest and water resources
management), the source of natural assets.
Exclusion from natural management could mean that women have no power to halt overexploitation of
natural capital that they value. Thus, the natural capital resources that are important to women are often
undervalued and overexploited and women must bear the consequences. CED can empower women by giving
greater control over the management of natural capital through community-based natural resource management
and deciding which natural assets should be exploited for the local economy.
In many locations, access to financial capital can translate into better access to natural assets, although,
as mentioned earlier, often there are other social, cultural, and political barriers that prevent women from
gaining equal access to natural capital. Micro-credit, lending groups, credit unions, and community
development corporations can provide sources of financial capital for women to purchase natural assets.

Food Security

Food security is vitally important to both men and women, but often women’s responsibilities in the
household put the task of providing food in their hands. Access to food in the market, seeds, arable land, and
water for irrigation can all play a role in food security for women as well as agricultural and nutritional
knowledge. Food security is dependent both on the quantity and quality of the food available. Some CED
strategies to improve food security could include increasing access to arable land, providing training on
agriculture and nutrition, developing a programme for urban agriculture, and setting up a food assistance
program. Having a secure source of adequate quantity and quality food is key to women’s good health and
ability to live a quality life.

14
Impacts of Waste and Pollution

At the same time women are disproportionately affected by degradation to the environment including
loss of natural assets (i.e. deforestation, depletion of water resources, etc.), contact with waste streams (i.e.
untreated sewage, solid waste disposal), and the effects of industrial and household pollution (i.e. indoor and
outdoor air pollutants, toxic waste, etc.). The negative health effects and the loss of natural capital capacity
from human-made waste and pollution often disproportionately affect women. In the ‘traditional’ female realm,
women (especially marginalized women) often work in close proximity or over long periods of time in contact
with waste streams (e.g. household sewage, municipal solid waste) increasing potential for exposure to disease
and other health problems. Women working in the informal sector are even more likely to be working with or
near waste streams. CED can focus economic activity towards waste infrastructure and service provision (e.g.
building sewage pipelines, providing regular solid waste recycling and removal, etc.), either formal or informal,
to minimize the impact of waste on women’s health. Other issues related to waste contamination of
community watersheds can also be included as part of a CED strategy to devote community time and assets to
water protection.
The impact of pollution and waste are especially relevant in the urban environment where numerous
factors have forced women into vulnerable positions where they are more exposed to these hazards. Some of
these factors include the “feminization” of the industrial labour (combined with low occupational health and
safety standards) (Wasserman 1997), increasing geographic marginalization in informal settlements that have
inadequate waste infrastructure and service, lax enforcement of environmental quality standards, and increasing
income marginalization that forces women into informal economic activity that may expose them to more
environmentally/health hazardous conditions. Recent trends show that more and more women are working in
industries in Latin America that produce high levels of toxic and hazardous waste such as furniture, chemical,
and industrial equipment.
The impacts on women and their children could be acute and it could have a devastating effect on
fertility and birth defect levels. CED can help create and protect safer, healthier employment and provide
greater livelihood security so that women can be more selective about the type of employment they choose to
accept.

15
Workshop Activity #6

Connecting our Lives to Local and Global Ecosystems

Explanation – All of us use products of the natural environment and many of us are affected by
environmental pollution and waste. It is impact to understand our impact on the environment and our
environment’s impact on us.

Talking Points

Where does my food come from?

What materials were used to build my house? Where did they come from?
Where does my household waste get disposed of?

Activity

Identify the most inexpensive, but important natural resource in the community. Discuss why it is
inexpensive. Identify to more difficult and important natural resource to obtain and discuss why.

Talking Points

What are some sources of disease in the community?

What are sources of pollution in the community?
What are other places that people in the community may be in contact with pollution?

Activity

Map sources of pollution and waste in the community. Discuss how people may be exposed and the
consequences of exposure.

16
Case Studies

The following cases, unless otherwise noted, were taken from the UN-Habitat Best Practices Database website,
which lists over "1600 proven solutions from more than 140 countries to the common social, economic and
environmental problems of an urbanizing world"11 . The cases on the website are structured around a common
format with the following categories: summary, establishment of priorities, formulation of objectives and
strategies, mobilization of resources, process, results achieved, sustainability, lessons learned, transferability,
key dates, references, contacts, partners and financial profile. They are thus overviews of the cases and do not
usually include details of implementation, although some detail can be found under the 'process' category.

For our purposes we have chosen 10 case studies from this database. The appendix gives a brief description
from the website of each case study. The links provided in the appendix will direct you to the full text of the
cases highlighted. If you wish to search for other cases on the website, free access is currently being offered. Go
to www.bestpractices.org, click on 'search database' and use the password 'gen26'.

We have divided the 10 cases into 2 categories. The first is projects in Santo Andre and other areas of Brazil
that may provide resources for future projects. The second category is cases that are more detailed and offer
seed ideas. These cases come from around the world, with a few occurring in Brazil.

Projects in Santo Andre and Brazil

These projects highlight some of the ‘institutional capital’ available to the community. Therefore, in this
category the references, contacts and partners are important as leads to further information on how the programs
can benefit the watershed protection area. This type of capital is useful to the community in pursuing CED
projects since it can provide funding and support but where possible, the principle of maximizing people’s
participation in the projects should be used. In other cases lobbying for certain government programs or services
may help build more supportive ‘institutional capital’, which in turn can lead to the development of more self-
directed projects.

Developing Co-operatives

Case #1 - Community-based Co-operative Incubator Program in Santo Andre

The purpose of this project is to help new coops start and grow through an ‘incubation’ process that “brings
together technical assistance, professional education and permanent assistance.”

A 4 stage process is used that can be summarized as follows:

1) Group organization - organization activities and identification of groups potentially ready for incubation.
2) Group pre-incubation - elaboration of profile of group members; signing of Incubation Term of Commitment
and the study of the economic feasibility of the enterprise.
3) Group incubation - strategic planning of the group incubation process, courses, follow-up and consultancy in
the co-operative validation process.
4) Co-operative consolidation and graduation - follow-up and a series of considerations, so that, along with the
members of the co-operative, they may be discussed, planned and orientation given regarding their activities.

11
UN-Habitat Best Practices website at http://www.bestpractices.org
17
This program was launched in November 1999, with the first co-operative from the project graduating from the
program in September 2000. Some of the partners in this project that may be useful to contact are the United
Co-operatives of the State of Sao Paulo (Unisol) and the Local Network of Solidarity Economy (Politeuo).

The program has been of interest to other municipalities:

“The Secretariat of Economic Development and Labor has hosted several municipal administration delegations
from different Brazilian States interested in getting to know this experience, such as: Campinas (Sao Paulo),
Maringa (Parana), Petropolis (Rio de Janeiro), Varginha (Minas Gerais), Recife (Pernambuco), among others.”

(Any CED project that would entail the creation of a co-operative could make use of this program.)

Focusing on Women’s Development

We have identified 3 cases that attend to women’s development, each using a different method. The importance
of building social capital in any CED project has already been noted and these projects assist women in doing
so.

Case # 2 - Gender & Citizenship in the Integrated Program for Social Inclusion, Santo Andre

This program follows the holistic model for CED that has been discussed in this paper and recognizes the many
factors that can lead to social exclusion, including an emphasis on gender. Therefore this program is a
combination of many approaches, from discussion groups to raise awareness to the setting up of co-operatives.
It does this in a participatory framework that has resulted in a high percentage of community members involved
in the management of the projects.

Some of the results they have achieved:

“A significant portion of the population report that their self-esteem has improved, and that they have taken
increasing pride in their place of residence, progressively assuming roles in building their own future and that of
the city as a whole.

A total of 112 discussion groups, gender awareness courses, and campaigns to stop violence against women
were held, involving approximately six thousand people. These activities inject reflection on gender issues into
the PIIS, fostering interaction between team members and the community with a new perspective towards
relations between men and women.

Progress has also been made in other areas, like guaranteed property rights on the lots and housing units, with
titles registered in the women's names, an increase in prenatal care to 95% coverage and in maternal
breastfeeding to 93% of children from 0 to 3 months of age. Based on the work and income generation
activities, a tailoring co-operative was set up, consisting exclusively of women. A social inclusion micro-credit
line was set by the Banco do Povo (People's Bank) which granted 60 loans in the first six months to micro-
entrepreneurs in the PIIS areas, of whom 46% were women.”

Case #3 - Zabele House Project - Project of Support to Young Woman

This project focused on the development of young women between 10 and 17 years of age. It also uses a multi-
dimensional approach by offering a variety of activities covering such areas as “social-educational, cultural,
sports, leisure and health actions”.

The following are the kinds of services offered at the House:

18
- Medical and dental care.
- Socio-psychological assistance.
- Food supplementation.
- Workshops on dance, body expressions, theatre, volleyball, saloon ball, supervised recreation activities, tours,
festivities.
- Provision of support and accommodations to homeless pregnant young women.
- Provide a pre-professional education to young women over 14 years old.
- Workshop on paper recycling and manufacture of paper, cards, diaries, cases, etc.
- Fabric patterning.
- Manufacture of ornaments and make-up
- Guarantee (re)admission and performance in formal schools.
- Complementary pedagogical activities.
- ASA/SEMCADSEMIC: Develop orientation actions and socio-familiar and economic support.
- Family diagnosis.
- Sensitization concerning the role of families in the rearing of children.
- Professional training courses to families
- Citizen scholarship grants.
- Emergency food grants to families with extreme economic vulnerability.
- Housing improvements to families living under inadequate housing conditions.

This emphasis on young women is useful for long-term social capital. By developing their individual assets,
they will participate more fully in the community as they grow older. By addressing their needs early in life, the
possibility of being exploited in informal labour or on the streets is reduced.

Case #4 - Strengthening Women's Leadership Through The Use Of Radio In Brazil

Community radio is very popular in Brazil with over 10,000 community radio stations. These are helpful to
women since it allows them to communicate their issues of concern and can replace the distorted and often
disempowering images of Western media. This project seeks to involve women in running their own radio
stations and supplying the programming they feel is relevant to their local area.

The project highlights some of the important benefits of radio:

“1.Radio has a high potential to reach the ones that are most in need and excluded. It is highly benefited by the
fact that people do not have to know how to write and read. Radio does not require electricity to run. Radio can
be listened while doing other tasks, which in the case of women is essential. As a matter of fact 80% of the
listeners are women that work at home, as housewives or maids.

2.Radio is a source of empowerment for community organising and networking. This was one of our most
important assumptions, and over the years we have realised how much of the community organisation has
happened by having radio as a point of convergence of the activities.

3.Radio can be a very important tool of education that triggers behaviour change. It allows the use of multiple
languages such as music, drama and other cultural forms of expressions. Radio transmits emotion which is one
of the most powerful sources of connection among human beings.”

19
CED Projects and Seed Ideas

CED projects are being implemented all over the world. There are many successful programs that can
inspire ideas for new projects and inform us about what kinds of processes go into the design of a successful
CED project. In the following section we will present CED projects that deal with micro-enterprise
development, job training, housing and infrastructure, and child care and mothers’ support. The programs
presented herein have occurred in various countries, but all have aspects that are transferable to the watershed
protection area. Basic information about the programs will be outlined below; please see the attached appendix
for further information.

Child Care and Mothers’ Support Programs

In Quezon City, Philippines, there is great unmet need for daycare. In response to this need, a group of
urban poor female parents developed a community-based early childhood care and development (ECCD)
program. (see Appendix, Case Study #6) The parents initially began a single centre to service 30 children, but
there are now 12 centres reaching 600 children annually. The parents contribute small amounts to cover
operation costs. In Hamburg, Germany, a network of “mother centres” was begun through a grassroots
movement. (see Appendix, Case Study #5) These centres claim public attention and space for the interests of
neighbourhood women and their families and create channels for women’s leadership, participation, and
empowerment. As such, these centres are particularly effective at strengthening and creating community
development, thus building social capital. They increase human and personal assets by breaking isolation and
marginalisation. In addition, they decrease women’s triple burden by freeing time through childcare or by
building networks that can then help women fulfil their reproductive responsibilities.
This type of program fits nicely into CED because of this inherent capacity to decrease demands on
women’s time. If women are to participate in a financial capital-building activity, it should not be at the expense
of adding further stressors to their lives by increasing the triple burden. In addition, creating a community-based
childcare program or women’s centre requires co-operation, which builds social capital. By building social
capital, trust, and an institution before beginning a further CED project, the community would be increasing the
likelihood of their success later on. Therefore, the creation of such a program would fit well within the local
context. Since this type of project requires co-operation and distribution of labour, a co-operative or a labour
exchange would be a particularly good format.

Micro-enterprise development

We have identified two case studies that relate to micro-enterprise development. They represent
different types of micro-credit support programs and come from Nepal and India. In Nepal, the Women’s
Empowerment Program (WEP) has formed a program that integrates action-oriented literacy, micro-finance and
micro-enterprise training, and understanding of legal rights and advocacy. (see Case Study #7) WEP uses an
asset-based approach and provides no subsidies. All money for micro-enterprise development comes from
nominal membership and book fees. These fees are kept at a low level, but provide enough money while
empowering women through the realisation that they are doing this on their own. WEP provides trainers and
support services. In India, the Institute for Motivating Self-employment (IMSE) operates a credit management
program in a Calcutta slum. (see Case Study #8) IMSE does not train borrowers to businesses, and it did not
require collateral. Rather, it provided groups of five individuals with training related to loan rules and
regulations, decision-making skills, and development of business plans. It then provides funding to group
members on a progressive basis. Participation in group meetings is an important part of the program for
achieving empowerment and self-efficacy.

20
 These two examples are quite different. In the WEP program, women rely on their own resources and
micro-enterprise is seen as a tool to bolster other assets. Women also are truly in control of their funds and only
receive the support they want from NGOs. In the IMSE program, the NGO maintains more control over the
program, but external funding is also available. In addition, the process of working with groups seems to be
particularly effective and empowering, as well as good at strengthening community networks. Elements from
both of these programs could be used in forming a community-based micro-enterprise organisation in one of the
towns in the watershed protection area. Alternately, if one of the pre-existing Santo Andre programs described
above were tapped as a source, the programs presented here could be used to form a community support group.
Such a group could promote learning or could be a forum for discussing problems. It could also incorporate
some of the CED ideas presented in the following two sections.

Job Training

One successful job training case study comes from Brazil. In Rio de Janeiro, a local Afro-Brazilian hair-
stylist collaborated with the Association in Support of Community Solidarity (AAPCS) to create the Income
Generation, Dignity and Citizenship (IGDC) project. (see Case Study #9) IGDC trains young women, aged 14-
21 years, from favelas and neighbouring districts how to be Afro-Brazilian Beauty Specialists. The project
seeks to give the young women marketable skills while increasing self-esteem and valorising cultural identity.
Women are selected through semi-structured interviews, trained in Afro-hair styling, facial make-up, depilation,
and manicure/pedicure. An apprenticeship is part of the program, which helps prepare participants for insertion
into the workforce. The project, which began in 1996, has been highly successful with an 80% level of
employment. It trained 50-70 women each year for three years, before expanding further. The program was
particularly effective because it identified an unmet market demand, in this case for trained Afro-Brazilian hair-
stylists. In addition, the combination of training and an apprenticeship created high levels of competence and
confidence. Women were able to not only join pre-existing businesses, but also form their own private
businesses or co-operatives.
This case is particularly relevant to the watershed protection area because it occurred a low-income area
with Afro-Brazilian women. If a market demand could be identified in close proximity to the town a job
training project was to be implemented in, and a person with appropriate skills could be found to train women,
this model could easily be applied. Governmental or NGO workers could be pulled into the project to facilitate
the identification of a market opportunity, an appropriate trainer, and the facilities necessary for training. A
program that explicitly fosters increased self-esteem and empowerment, as well as preparing women for the
realities of the employment sector would be a particularly good fit. To begin such a project, a women’s group
would have to be formed, and it would need to have some way of agreeing on an objective.

Housing and Infrastructure

A successful housing development case study comes from Brazil. In Sao Paulo, the project “Team Work
to Mothers Head of Families” is helping unwed, illiterate or semi-literate mothers without professional training
build decent housing. (see Case Study #10) Participants come from tenement homes, favelas, or rented homes,
usually located in the bottoms of valleys or degraded places. It has helped these women build a “conjunto
habitacional” (a group of houses built in order to form a community). The housing units have water, sewage
systems, paved streets, schools, health units, and day nurseries. Solidarity and unity are developed through
building housing and constant improvement of infrastructure. The program improves women’s standard of
living, increases literacy, and helps many obtain professional skills as carpenters, electricians, joiners, etc.
While this project receives governmental support, it is possible that the women in the watershed
protection area could form a co-operative and mobilise to receive governmental support for a similar program.
A different possibility is that a women’s co-operative could pool resources and through an LETS-type system
trade skills to improve existing housing or build new housing.

21
Conclusion

We have presented various models of CED and seed ideas for pilot projects related to them, as well as
ideas for existing programs in Santo Andre that such projects could link into. In addition, we have presented
inspirational ideas for what is possible in the long term. We feel that it is also necessary to present some
cautions about developing a CED project. In particular it is important that the community self-assess its needs
before it begins. This will give the project designers a better idea of what the participants need, as well as what
would fit best in regards to the current market context. They should also identify the current economic functions
of the community, formal and informal, to avoid replicating current efforts and/or displacing others from their
current economic niche.

The discussions in the beginning section of this paper provided many ideas for how CED can aid a
community. They showed how assets are part of an interconnected web, so that strengthening one strengthens
others. By using one type of assets you can access others. This allows financial, community, and personal
development through seemingly unrelated projects. We also presented a case for how designing and
implementing projects in a participatory, open manner is even more effective.

22
 References

Angeles, Leonora C. "Gender and Participation: Some considerations for CBWM project in Santo Andre, Sao
Paolo, Brazil", February 1999.

Boothroyd, Peter and H. Craig Davis "Community Economic Development: Three Approaches", Journal of
Planning Education and Research, 1993, 12:230-240, p.230

Chambers, Robert (1983). Rural Development: Putting the Last First. London: Longman Inc.

Community Economic Development Centre at Simon Fraser University (CEDC). (1997) “Statement of CED
Principles.” http://www.sfu.ca/cedc/gateway/sharing/principles.htm

Levy, Caren. (1992). “Gender and the Environment: the challenge of cross-cutting issues in development policy
and planning,” Environment and Urbanization. 4(1): 134-149.

Lewis, Mike & Frank Green Strategic Planning for the Community Economic Development Practitioner, West
Coast Development Group, 1992

Murray, Janet and Mary Ferguson. (2001). “Women in Transition Out of Poverty,” Women and Economic
Development Consortium (WEDC) at Canadian Women’s Foundation.

Myrah, Kyleen. (1995) “Gender and Community Economic Development,” Common Ground. 14 (1) March, p.
16 Conference Report.

Todaro, Michael P. Economic Development, 5th Ed., 1994, Longman Publishing, New York.

Wasserman, Ellen. (1997). “Environment, Health, and Gender in Latin America: Trends and Research Issues,”
Environmental Research Section A 80: 253-273.

Other Resources:

British Department for International Development (DFID) / University of Sussex, England, Institute for
Development Studies (IDS), Sustainable Livelihoods Guidance Sheets (Website:
http://www.livelihoods.org/info/info_guidanceSheets.html). The Guidance Sheets are DFID’s evolving core
guidance on the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach. They can be viewed online, saved for offline viewing or
printed out. There’s also a distance-learning version and now French and Spanish translations (Murray and
Ferguson 2001).

23
 Appendices

Appendix A

Community Economic Development Principles in British Columbia

These ten principles were developed at part of a process undertaken by the British Columbia Working Group on
CED formed in 1991. Over 30 groups in BC have endorsed these principles (CEDC 1997).

Equity: CED is based on the principle of fairness, and the belief that community members should have equitable
access to community decision-making processes, resources and the benefits of CED projects, regardless of race,
gender, country of origin, class, religion, sexual orientation, geographic location, income, age and ability.

Participation: CED encourages the active participation of all members of the community in the planning,
decision-making and benefits of CED initiatives, and works to remove the barriers that limit the participation of
marginalized citizens. In particular, CED needs to encourage the active participation of women, youth, seniors,
differently-able people, racial/ethnic groups, the poor and First Nations’ peoples in the public life of the
community.

Community-building : CED seeks to build a sense of community by fostering relationships of acceptance,

understanding and mutual respect.

Cooperation and collaboration: CED recognizes that there are important linkages and connections both within
communities and between communities and regions, and that many problems can’t be addressed in isolation.
CED therefore encourages relationships based on cooperation and collaboration.

Integration: CED recognizes that the healthy development of communities requires a holistic approach that
addresses the social, economic, cultural, and ecological dimensions of community well being. Interdependence:
CED recognizes that the local communities exist within the context of a larger, complex web of relationships and
that its decisions can have an impact far beyond its own boundaries. Therefore, CED embraces strategies that aim
to benefit both the local and larger community.

Living within ecological limits: CED recognizes that the social, cultural and economic well-being of the
community depends on healthy local, bioregional and global ecosystems, and that there are real ecological limits
to human economic activities. Therefore, CED encourages processes, structures and initiatives that respect these
ecological limits and supports work that is sustaining, regenerating and nurturing of both the community and the
earth.

Self-reliance and community control: CED builds on local strengths, creativity and resources, and actively
seeks to decrease dependency on, and vulnerability to, economic interests outside the community and region.
Furthermore, CED supports decentralized, non-hierarchical decision-making processes that strengthen autonomy
of the individual, the community and the region.

Capacity-building : CED contributes to self-reliance by encouraging the acquisition of relevant skills and the
development of supportive structures and institutions.

Diversity: CED contributes to self-reliance by encouraging economic activities that are diverse and appropriate
to the expressed needs within the community and region. As a result, CED looks different in each community.

Appropriate Indicators : CED monitors and evaluates its progress through community-derived and appropriate
economic, social, cultural and ecological indicators, rather than through conventional measures and standards.
24
Appendix B

Problems with Conventional Economic Development for Local and National

Economies

Although the results of less regulated trade, structural adjustment programmes, and other neo-liberal
approaches to economic development have varied from country to country, region to region, and locality
to locality, several trends are now common in many parts of the world. Here are some common
phenomenon and related terms:

• "Smokestack chasing" occurs where a community tries to lure a large company to set up locally
with the purpose of attracting jobs to a city or community. Cities and communities often offer
incentives such as lower taxes, less wage protection, and relaxed occupational and environmental
regulations.
• “Race to the bottom” - As a result of competition to attract outside investment the community that
offers least protection for health, safety, wages, and environment receive the immediate tax and
employment (low-wage) benefits of large outside investment.
• “Company towns” - once a company is established in a small community then the local economy
becomes dependent on the low-wage jobs as the only jobs (often large companies drive out local
competitors) and the tax revenue that the company provides to the local government.
• “Financial Capital Flight” - In this situation the company receives almost all the benefits from
production, turning the savings from low wages, taxes, and less stringent regulations into profit and
the community is left to address related consequences (i.e. social service provision for low paid and
temporary workers, environmental clean-up, etc.).
• “Financial Capital Mobility”- the movement of investment capital from locality to locality is further
supported by the free trade laws and regulations which allows companies to move their operations
easily to the community which is most profitable.
• “Export-led Development” – Development strategy based on the development of products that can
be exported to generate cash for the economy as opposed to import substitution which looks to
support local production of goods that are usually imported.
• Global Market Instability – Exports can generate revenues for a community , but focusing solely on
exports can leave communities vulnerable to fluctuations in international markets which are highly
dependent on factors such as international monetary policy, currency values, and other determinants
outside of community control. Given these fluctuations in the world economy, “contrary to the
world-bank and other trade optimists, an outward-oriented policy is not necessarily valid for all
LDCs [Less Developed Countries] (Todaro 1994, p. 507)”.

25
Appendix C

CED Case Studies

Case Study #1: Community Based Co-operative Incubator In Santo Andre - Brazil

http://www.bestpractices.org/cgi-bin/bp98.cgi?cmd=detail&id=20568&key=rpybfkbfe

The Community-based Co-operative Incubator Program in Santo Andre is an extremely relevant

public policy alternative for the municipality. This is proven by the fact that it is at present
supported by a share in the city's participatory budget, justified by the need of finding a way out
for social inclusion and income acquisition, since the social distress caused by unemployment
reaches approximately 60 thousand people in the city.

The innovative aspect of the program must be noted here, since it offers condition for the
generation of new opportunities for income and public revenue, starting from the organization,
validation and consolidation of authentic co-operatives for production and services rendered.
That is, the incubation process that brings together technical assistance, professional education
and permanent assistance, makes it possible for these co-operatives to have access to the market
of products and services and the economic insertion of those who are outcasts in the labor
market.

Process

The work proposed for the Community-based Co-operative Incubator Program in Santo Andre
consists of four stages. It should be noted that the procedures and process of incubation presented
here are of a representative nature and may be adapted in view of needs and/or specifications of
the groups being incubated.

The first stage is group organization that includes organization activities and indication of groups
potentially ready for incubation. The second stage, group pre-incubation, corresponds to the
initial activities of the incubation process and consists of 3 steps: elaboration of profile of group
members; signing of Incubation Term of Commitment and the study of the economic feasibility
of the enterprise.

The third stage, group incubation, consists of three steps: strategic planning of the group
incubation process, courses, follow-up and consultancy in the co-operative validation process.
The fourth stage, co-operative consolidation and graduation, mainly consists follow-up and a
series of considerations, so that, along with the members of the co-operative, they may be
discussed, planned and orientation given regarding their activities. In this way they will be
working toward institutional empowerment and economic feasibility of the co-operative.

Cast Study #2: Gender & Citizenship in the Integrated Program for Social Inclusion, Santo
Andre - Brazil

http://www.bestpractices.org/cgi-bin/bp98.cgi?cmd=detail&id=20499&key=rpybfkbfe

Summary

26
The Integrated Program for Social Inclusion (PIIS) aims to develop various joint and
simultaneous actions, in the same urban territory, focused on social inclusion and managed with
a participatory approach. The Program is based on the concept that social exclusion is
multidimensional, involving economic, social, urban, cultural, and political factors that articulate
and reinforce each other. To deal with social exclusion thus demands an intervention strategy
that is both multidimensional, through the set of intervention programs, the matrix-based
management and implementation of activities, creating possibilities for the sustainable social
inclusion of families. The set of programs highlights the urban, economic and social dimensions
and moves beyond the material level to promote self-esteem, feelings of belonging to the
community, gender and citizens' awareness, etc.

Considering that gender differences lead to conflicts and violence in social and affective
relations, given the ways in which men and women experience their differences at both the
household and social levels, the Gender and Citizenship Program, which is part of the Integrated
Program for Social Inclusion (PIIS), proposes to foster male/female awareness, making the
biological, psychological, cultural, and social differences explicit, encouraging development of,
and collective experimentation with new experiences, behaviours and institutional arrangements
that help reduce conflicts, working simultaneously with the community and program teams to
introduce these issues.

The Gender and Citizenship Program resulted primarily in the strengthening of women's roles in
decision-making processes and family relations in the community and the city. The Integrated
Program for Social Inclusion has directly benefited 3,600 families, improving their quality of life
and access to social policies, work, and income, especially in achieving their rights as citizens.
At the management level, the Program's greatest triumph has been its intra- and inter-
institutional integration, contributing to the operational consolidation and collaboration of the
respective work teams, thereby expanding each program's efficacy.

Case Study #3: Zabele House Project - Project of Support to Young Woman - Brazil

http://www.bestpractices.org/cgi-bin/bp98.cgi?cmd=detail&id=14756&key=rpybfkbfe

Summary
Zabelê ˆouse Project is a pioneer in Piauí “tate, for it is a partnership experience in oriented
providing assistance to young women. It is a very unique innovation in the defense and guarantee
of their rights. Zabelê ˆouse is a public facility to female children and adolescents in social and
personal risk situation, being a space ... (and a time) for them to have conditions to entirely
develop themselves as women and citizens. Aiming at offering psycho-social-educative
assistance to this portion of the population, the Project includes varied daily activities, of
pedagogical, sportive artistic and professionalization nature, covering a total of 100 young
women aged between 10 and 17 years old.

Among the results obtained, besides the accomplishment of the physical goal of the Project (with
a great demand for assistance), a change en every young woman's behavior can be noted both en
her relationship with herself and with the others. The interest of the young women and of the
assisted families in seeking and building more decent conditions for themselves. The Project
gives the opportunity of access to basic rights to a population which isn't aware of their rights
and many times doesn't know how to seek the public services.

The Project managed to reach the most destitute portion of the population and has provided these
young women with a decent and caring assistance which can be confirmed with their recognition
27
as persons with rights and obligations, and by the growing society awareness of their limitations,
typical of human beings in the process of development, and of their conditions of capable
persons.

Case Study #4: Strengthening Women's Leadership Through The Use Of Radio In Brazil

http://www.bestpractices.org/cgi-bin/bp98.cgi?cmd=detail&id=20556&key=rpybfkbfe

Summary
CEMINA was founded in 1989 as a non-profit organization inspired by the need to promote
women's rights and vision in the media. CEMINA found radio to be the most effective means of
communication to reach women and give them voice. Radio reaches the world of poor women,
which is the household. Women can listen to the radio while doing domestic tasks. The radio
media is very popular and a true social phenomena in Brazil, which counts 60 millions radio sets,
3.000 commercial radio stations and 10.000 community radio stations.

CEMINA is recognized nationally and regionally (Latin America) as a focal point of women's
radio networks. The organization has broadcast the program Fala Mulher daily since 1990 in Rio
de Janeiro provided training workshops for women radio broadcasters since 1993 and produced
special feature radio programs and campaigns since 1992. In 1994, CEMINA founded the
Network of Women's Radio Programs, which is its main accomplishment, on request of the
women's radio stations participating in the workshops. CEMINA has also promoted the
Documentation Center PAGU, which gathers information on gender and supports the women's
radio programs. The titles are available for the general public at Cemina's headquarters and can
also be consulted online at www.pagu.org.br

The activities generated by CEMINA and its women's radio program partners is generating
information, education and mobilizing thousands of people, especially women. Issues treated in
the programs range from violence, health, education, work, political participation, citizenship,
culture, child-mother relationship, reproductive rights, breastfeeding, AIDS and STDs, the
special law for children and teenagers, environment and sustainability in connection to Agenda
21.

Case Study #5: Mother Centres - Germany

http://www.bestpractices.org/cgi-bin/bp98.cgi?cmd=detail&id=2684&key=rpybfkbfe

Summary:

The National Association of Mother Centres Germany was founded 1989 in Hamburg to create a
network for mother centres. Mother centres claim public attention and space for the interests of
neighbourhood women and their families and create new channels for grassroots female
leadership and participation in the communities valuing everyday life experience as expertise and
qualification. They recreate neighbourhood structures and neighbourhood services that
industrialisation has degraded. They are an innovative model of how to strengthen civil society
and democracy by strengthening neighbourhoods. Mother centres are places that break through
the isolation and marginalisation of women as mothers, creating melting pots in the community
for women of diverse class and ethnic backgrounds where they are empowered by the experience

28
of motherhood and own it on their own terms. They give mothers a political voice. The "success
story" of the mother centres is a lesson in transferability and in fruitful partnerships.

Narrative:

Process: The aim was to differ from the usual social work deficit oriented approach asking: ‘Do
you have a problem? Then come to us, the experts, for help!’ The understanding in the mother
centre project was that every mother is good at least one thing that she can contribute to the
mother centre and back into the neighbourhood and the community. Mother centres are self
managed, the mothers are the experts, and the mothers themselves carry out all activities.
The core of the project is a daily drop-in coffee shop with childcare included. Activities in the
centres are paid, usually on an hourly basis, and involve projects that help lower expenses for
families like second hand shop hair cutting, midday meals, sewing classes, repair services and
that support families in their everyday chores as well as in times of crisis. Training, like language
courses, computer and job retraining courses, that expands skills and helps facilitate re-entry to
the labour market, as well as relaxation and holistic health services are part of the daily program.
When the first three model centres were implemented, an important strategy was to make the
results of this "experiment" known. A key for the sparking off of the mother centre movement
was that the experiences of the first 3 mother centres were written up by the mothers themselves,
creating an animated and inspiring book. When other mothers read their stories they felt inspired
and encouraged to replicate this for themselves.
The mobilisation of resources for the next mother centres was undertaken initially by the local
mother centre initiatives themselves, then foundation funds and state funds were allocated by the
mother centre network, the regional mother offices and the National Association of Mother
Centres.

Case Study #6: Community-based Early Childhood Care and Development Program -
Philippines

http://www.bestpractices.org/cgi-bin/bp98.cgi?cmd=detail&id=17720&key=rpybfkbfe

Summary:

In the second district of Quezon City, Philippines, where there is a very large concentration of
urban poor families, only 7.9 % of children who need Early Childhood Care and Development
(ECCD) services are reached by the public daycare service. Early childhood is a very crucial
phase in human development. Rapid physical growth and mental development characterise this
formative stage. Children at this stage have to be exposed to appropriate mental, physical and
emotional development.
Early childhood comes only once in everyone's lifetime. Thus, some urban poor parents decided
not to wait for early childcare services that might come too late. A group of women from Sitio
Talanay in Barangay Batasan Hills, Quezon City asked HASIK to help them develop a
community-based ECCD program. This partnership has since established community-managed
daycare centres. >From a single centre initially servicing 30 children, the program now includes
12 daycare centres reaching more than 600 children annually. The centres are fully supported by
the community with parents contributing small amounts to cover cost of operations.

Narrative:

Process: The women's objective was to set up a community-based daycare program that would
provide ECCD activities for urban poor children. They conducted household surveys and parent
29
meetings to raise awareness about the need to set up a program for their children. The women
agreed to fully support the program. They identified a site for the daycare centre, identified
volunteer community members who were willing to be trained as daycare teachers, raised funds
(through raffles, rummage sales, Christmas carol and solicitations) to be able to construct the
physical centre and mobilised community members to build the daycare centre. Parents agreed to
contribute a monthly fee to cover honorarium for the volunteer daycare teachers. HASIK
provided technical support in terms of teacher training and curriculum development.
A 10-day intensive training for volunteer daycare teachers from the community and all women
with minimal formal training was conducted in 1992 and yearly thereafter. The volunteers' ages
ranged from 16 to 40. The training program uses a variety of creative methodologies and
immerses the participants in an environment of play, fun and participation. These non-formal and
non-traditional methodologies have been proven to create an effective learning environment.
Physically setting up a daycare centre entails designing the best environment for the children by
doing away with the small spaces in the community. Parents also joined to give time and labour
for the construction of the daycare center. Food for the workers was solicited from concerned
community members. The Filipino tradition of bayanihan (communal work) was brought
forward. Some parents volunteered to assist the daycare teachers and some even organised
daycare centres in other areas themselves. Thus, their involvement went beyond the
administrative aspect of program implementation.
The challenge of recruiting and training volunteers for the program is enormous. The key is
training volunteers from the community and equiping them with teaching skills and the
curriculum. But goals went far beyond developing skills. It was also important for the women to
be empowered and confident enough to teach despite having limited experience in formal
education and training.

Case Study #7: Women's Empowerment Program (WEP) - Nepal

http://www.bestpractices.org/cgi-bin/bp98.cgi?cmd=detail&id=9826&key=rpybfkbfe

Summary:

WEP works to empower women through an innovative program integrating action oriented
literacy, sound micro-finance and micro-enterprise training, and an understanding of legal rights
and advocacy. It is building a unique literacy- and savings-led empowerment village banking
system in Nepal through a program that is sustainable and replicable and reaches 123,000
women in nearly 7,000 economic groups in southern Nepal.
WEP was founded on the principle that dependency is not empowering. It demonstrates that poor
women will invest in programs important for their livelihoods or well being and that they can
organise and be responsible for themselves. It shows that women can teach themselves skills
they need to improve their lives and can save substantial amounts of money and start small
businesses on their own.

Narrative:

Background: Seventy percent of Nepalese families are below the poverty line. Male-dominated
cultural traditions discourage female education, restrict legal rights and decision-making, and
permit women little control over their lives. Females are often malnourished or in poor health.
Only 20% of them are literate. Village banks do not exist in Nepal. WEP's challenge was to
develop a large-scale, sustainable and empowering program in an aid-dependent country where

30
women's progress is crippled by tradition. It had to be implemented in 21 remote and ethnically
diverse districts and address post-literacy maintenance.
Process: Using an approach based on Appreciative Planning and Action (APA) that was
developed in Nepal and encourages women to build on their strengths has been key to
overcoming obstacles. This approach energises, mobilises, and empowers women to take charge
of their own development and use existing resources to solve problems without aid. Training
women to monitor their efforts using APA empowers them to meet their banking and community
mobilisation goals quickly and cost efficiently. WEP believes that empowerment is the root of
sustainability.
Because dependency is not empowering, WEP participants are responsible for their
empowerment. Traditional handouts (e.g., books, facilitators' salaries) are non-existent. Women
buy their books, pay a joining fee, and provide whatever they need for meeting and learning.
Simplified books eliminate the need for facilitators and enable women to teach each other. Pact
estimates the women's in-kind resource contribution at US$260,000 thus far. Further, WEP
provides no seed money for loans: economic groups and emerging village banks are savings-led.
WEP also discourages NGO dependency. For every 10 WEP groups it works with, an NGO
receives less than $ 5.00 for administration, along with the salary for one Empowerment Worker
(field resource assistants).
Pact's unique empowerment village banking model addresses women's economic participation
needs and ensure that women retain their literacy skills. These savings-led banks are the only
village banks that require women to be literate, understand the banking process, be able to
manage money, use their own money, and know how to form and operate businesses. The
women help each other learn to read, manage money, and launch businesses. They keep their
own accounts, mobilize their savings, and make loans.
Results: In less than two years 110,000 women have learned to read and all WEP women began
saving actively. More than 30,000 have loans, 55,586 have started micro-enterprises, and 45,467
are meeting their income targets. WEP women have taken 45,667 collective actions for social
change. WEP uses an approach based on Appreciative Planning and Action (APA) that
encourages women to build on their strengths. It provides no traditional subsidies (e.g., seed
loans, subsidised interest rates, lanterns, books)-women provide whatever is needed (including
enrolment fees and the cost of books). WEP is 100% demand-driven - women set their own
priorities and run their own programs. Simplified study materials eliminate the need for
facilitators - the women teach themselves or recruit their own literacy volunteers if needed.

Case Study #8: Institute for Motivating Self-Employment - India

From: Banerjee, M. (1998) “Micro-enterprise development: A response to poverty,” Journal of

Community Practice, vol. 5, no. 1/2, pp. 63-83.

Summary:

The Institute for Motivating Self-employment (IMSE) operates a credit management program
that extends micro-credit so that residents of a Calcutta slum can start or continue their own
enterprises. The program is based on the premise that self-efficacy is preferable to short-term aid.
The program is based on the Grameen Bank (Bangladesh) model.

Narrative:

Background: The IMSE began its program after a Hindu-Muslim riot devastated the Muslim
slum. Following the riots, aid poured in, but people soon realised that relief aid is temporary.
IMSE, believing that self-efficacy is preferable to short-term aid, began the micro-enterprise
31
program. The NGO received aid from Action Aid, a London-based donor agency, and Rajiv
Gandhi Foundation in India to start the micro-enterprise development program.
Process: IMSE staff, in collaboration with the slum’s Masjid Committee, created a list oeligible
borrowers based on income and employability. IMSE, using a Grameen Bank-based model, did
not train borrowers to run businesses and did not require collateral.
Groups of five individuals were formed to participate in training related to loan rules and
regulations, decision-making skills, and development of business plans. Once individuals
demonstrated their knowledge of these elements, the groups were formally recognised by
IMSE’s staff and other borrowers as members of the larger group. Once business plans were
developed, two of a group’s five members who were at the most advanced stage of plan
development received loans. If these members repaid the loan regularly for two months, two
more members of the same group became eligible for loans. If all four members consistently
made payments for another two months, the fifth member got a loan.
Weekly meetings were held in the slum with IMSE staff and borrowers. At meetings groups
made loan repayments, deposits to savings accounts, and discussed new loan requests. Business
was carried out openly, to increase responsibility and decrease the opportunity for corruption.
Leadership of the larger group was elected democratically, and positions rotated. At meetings,
social empowerment and community development were stressed. Participation offered members
opportunities for acquiring self-confidence, leadership skills, and awareness to take on other
actions. Over and above the business of loans, matters related to health, education, nutrition,
environment, public health, and family problems were discussed.
Group structure and processes were key to the economic and socio-political success of the
program. IMSE also found that any NGO social worker participating needed to be a regular and
consistent presence to promote trust. Workers must believe in the people’s strengths and use
creative means to make interpersonal connections. A credit manager is also needed, to attend to
the financial details of loans, and finally, funding is another important concern.
Some economic and psycho-social gains were made by participants in comparison to micro-
entrepreneurs who were not part of the IMSE program.

Case Study #9: Income Generation, Dignity and Citizenship, Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

http://www.bestpractices.org/cgi-bin/bp98.cgi?cmd=detail&id=7501&key=rpybfkbfe

Summary:

To reach out to young black girls, to eradicate their poverty problems, and also to build up their
self-esteem as a minority group. The purpose of the project is Income Generation, Dignity and
Citizenship of Rial Cabeleireiro and to sensitise and train young girls from low-income families
to get a technical professional activity as Afro-Brazilian Beauty Specialists.
The Project is committed to increasing job opportunities, to provide an environment in which
self-esteem and black citizenship are a major focus in building up strong personalities as human
beings.
The Income Generation, Dignity and Citizenship trained, in twelve months of activity, seventy-
two young girls that are already able to provide their own financial support. They are able to do
that from their own homes (working in the neighbourhood) or in a professional beauty salon. The
project has also reached out the young girls as human beings, as some of them have gone back to
school, and helped their families to move to a new place with a good urban infrastructure and,
best of all, at the end of the training period, it is possible to see the positive social behaviour of
the girls.

32
Narrative:

Background: The 1980s and 1990s saw an increase in demand for Afro-style hair salons, but
there were an insufficient number of professionals to attend the needs of the growing clientele.
Resources for a Centre of Culture and Aesthetics, aimed at a population of Afro descent, were
provided by the "Solidarity Community Program Support Association" (AAPCS). This federal
government program was created to attend to the social demands resulting from the significant
transformations caused by Brazil's insertion into the global economy. An array of partnerships
were key to the successful implementation of the project. In order to provide quality training of
young women in their professional practice, and to allow their immediate insertion into the work
force, several priorities and objectives were defined. The team chose to work with methodologies
that were based upon principles of valorisation of Black identity, strengthening of self-esteem
and the full exercise of citizenship.
Process: The implementation of this project was undertaken by a team of technical professionals
in the areas of education, social work and vocational instruction, under the supervision of a co-
ordinator, who created the project and is also one of its instructors. This team of professionals is
responsible for the continuous supervision and evaluation of the project.
The course is six months long. It stimulates continuous learning and critical reflection on the
world and theoretical knowledge and development of technical skills. Thirty percent of the total
number of class hours involves an Internship/Practical Experience.
Women aged 14 to 21 years from low-income communities (favelas and neighbouring districts)
were selected through semi-structured interviews to obtain information regarding aptitude, socio-
economic profiles, scholastic levels, and family and emotional characteristics.
Lessons Learned: This project does not leave any doubts concerning the efficiency of its work
with the many aspects of socialisation, its ability to lead to an increase in self-esteem and to
promote the full development of the human being. Monitoring reports by the AAPCS following
insertion of these young women into the work force registered an 80% level of employment.
It is important to point out that the professional training obtained through the course facilitated
not only the insertion of the women in the formal market, but also allowed the undertaking of
alternative means of employment, such as co-operatives and the opening of their own business.
These women were thus allowed to come into the market place with more specific professional
training and unique skills.

Case Study #10: The Team Work of Female-headed Households, Sao Paulo - Brazil

http://www.bestpractices.org/cgi-bin/bp98.cgi?cmd=detail&id=19041&key=rpybfkbfe

Summary:

The housing deficit in Brazil amounts to 12 million houses. The project “Team Work to Mothers
Head of Families” is aimed at unwed, illiterate or semi-literate mothers without professional
training. Salaries may be up to two minimum salaries (US$160). Women living in slum tenement
houses, favelas, or rented houses located in valley bottoms or degraded places were called to join
in building their houses. Today they live in a "conjunto habitacional" (a group of houses built in
order to form a community) which have water, sewage system, paved streets, schools, health
units and day nurseries among other improvements. The women are able to buy their piece of
land and house at a reasonable price. The houses have drinkable water and drainage and the
women develop the community spirit and are able to achieve a greater social integration.
Teamwork is a solid alternative approach to solving complex problems like housing for female-
headed households.
33
Narrative:

Both solidarity and union, which are developed during the building of the houses, are essential
factors to achieve the aims and objectives of each stage. The constant improvement of the
environment where they live, providing them with the necessary social equipment and
substructure, is a result of the women's action. Affiliated women who do not take part in the team
work help the others by looking after their children when they go the work pit.
Besides getting their own house and improving their standard of living, the women discover their
potential and their capacity. Many of them conclude the work by obtaining a degree of
professionalism: today they are carpenters, electricians, joiners, etc. Thanks to specific
programmes developed by CMB many of these women learn to read and write, are trained to
work as health community agents who take part in the local health councils; or have another kind
of training.
Process:
1. Enrolment
a) Women's Associations enrol affiliated families.
b) Priority criteria: mothers head of families, greater number of small children, employed with a
salary up to two minimum salaries (U$ 160) and affiliated with the Women's Association.
2. Land necessary for the program
a) Leaders of the Women's Associations conduct a survey to determine which pieces of
government-owned land are not being used and that has the ideal conditions for houses.
3. The work pit
a) The work pit has an internal code, which defines the rules, which are:
• House building happens on weekends and holidays from 8.00am to 5.00pm.
• A system of teamwork is employed.
• Only the affiliated women and a volunteer are allowed at the work pit. One of the
workers will be the owner of the house.
• The general co-ordination of the work pit is the role of a community agent.
b) The settlement of the work pit with minimal substructure: a shed for storing materials, toilets,
a dressing room, a kitchen, an infirmary and an office;
c) Training happens in schools, which are in the work pit itself. There the women learn to be
carpenters, plumbers, bricklayers, electricians, locksmiths, etc., and are also instructed about
work safety. This also helps the professionalisation of these women.
d) Affiliated women are organised in teams, and in each team there is a woman responsible for
each building section.
e) The houses are distributed by raffle among the affiliated women.
While the work in the work pit progressed, the CMB developed activities with the women
involved in the teamwork aimed at improving their life conditions. Classes, which happened in
the work pit, included teaching reading, writing, and a profession to women. Other programs
included food distribution and courses in community health and sanitary measures.
The work of Women’s Associations in the construction courses and campaigns must be
continuous and persistent, since they are the reason for the program’s significant achievements
and the support of various sectors of society. This support is essential for financing and
engagement in the fight of women's rights.

34