In partnership with WSP, REDESO with co-funded by Global Affairs Canada and IDRC

The aim of the project is to reduce and redistribute unpaid care work for women by increasing the number of women benefiting from a tested rainwater harvesting innovation in the Kishapu district, as well as the availability of water per person, and the duration of water availability during the dry season. Availability of water intends to reduce the time spent on fetching water from a distance of about 20 to 30 kilometres. The saved time has to be invested in income generating activities by women.

To provide income-generating opportunities for women and girls, the project will also provide entrepreneurship, business management and formal job acquisition training. Further, it will address the cultural norms that assign the burden of unpaid care work to women and girls and thereby exclude them from labor market opportunities.

Timeframe: 2024 to 2027

Scaling up innovations for Reducing and Redistributing Women and Girls unpaid care work in Rural Tanzania: case of Kishapu District, Shinyanga Region

Baseline Findings

The project aims at addressing heavy burden of unpaid care work (UCW) on women and girls in rural Tanzania, specifically in Kishapu District, Shinyanga Region. This is because UCW, such as fetching water and caring for family members, is
often invisible in social and economic policies, yet hinders women and girls’ opportunities for paid work, education, and political participation. The three-year project is supported by the IDRC under the Scaling Care Innovations in Africa
initiative and involves three institutions: ESRF, REDESO, and WSP. It focuses on promoting gender equality by reducing and redistributing UCW through innovative rainwater harvesting technology; entrepreneurial training; and social norms
change.

Its key objectives include:

• Increasing adoption of rainwater harvesting technologies
• Enhancing entrepreneurship and labor market skills among women and girls
• Addressing social gender norms (SGNs) that assign UCW to women
• Enhance uptake for policy purposes and upscaling of research outputs

Government agencies, cultural leaders, civil society organizations, and the private sector, are involved to ensure research evidence informs public policy and development plans. Qualitative and quantitative research approach through 484 household surveys, 20 FGDs, and 68 KIIs was used. Findings indicate that during dry season, 70.0% of the households rely on rivers and streams; only
0.6% use rainwater.

Water availability for majority (90.9%) is challenging during dry season due to unreliable water sources, long distances to water points, extended waiting times and queues, river drying, high costs, and poor water quality. In most households, mothers are responsible for fetching water (33.0%), followed by sons (29.8%), daughters (17.9%), and then fathers (17.2%). During the dry season, most households (22.3%) travel 10-15 km to fetch water, while others cover 5-10 km (21.7%), 15-20 km (12.6%), and even more than 20 km (2.7%). Only 24.0% of women own business, while 84% have not received any entrepreneurship training.
Other factors attributing to limited business ownership include household responsibilities, and insufficient capital. Women are responsible for household’s chores including fetching water (56.4%), and environmental maintenance (50.9%), while men are
responsible for organizing household responsibilities (71.6%), managing family income (57.3%), and ensuring household needs are met (48.1%). Due to this, most decisions are dictated by fathers.

The project focuses on shifting these norms by promoting greater involvement of men in care work and using Bandebereho innovative model. The study recommends recognizing value of UCW in national policies, investing in public services that reduce women’s care workload, and promoting equitable redistribution of UCW through community involvement. Ultimately, the project aims to empower women and girls economically and socially by reducing time poverty, increasing their access to paid work, and improving gender equality. It advocates for policy reforms, and ensuring public services like water supply, sanitation, and education are accessible to reduce time women spend on unpaid labor. The study emphasizes the need for long-term sustainability by engaging all stakeholders in planning and implementation of gender-responsive policies and interventions.

Evidence through the photos

A sample of actual water being used currently by the villages in Kishapu district
A woman fetching water from the source during dry season
School girls carrying buckets of water during pilot session
Water sources found in Kishapu district about 20 kilometers away from households
Women struggling to fetch and carry water from the sources far from home
Poor quality of water fetched from water sources in Kishapu district
Cart, drums and other containers (small to large ones) for transporting water from sources

 

 

 

Evidence through the photos Useful links: https://idrc-crdi.ca/en/project/scaling-innovations-reducing-and-redistributing-womens-and-girls-unpaid-care-work-rural