Culturally defined roles have served to prevent women from enjoying the many opportunities that the industrialized world offers but despite the fact, they play an important role in exploitation, utilization and conservation of natural resources. African traditions, portray the woman as a water hauler, the cook, the fuel wood collector, productive and the reproductive machine while the man as the owner of all property and whose life is outside the home, master of all resources pocketing all the economic benefits and making decisions on land, and water use even when they do not provide the labour that turns raw materials into usable entities.
Even then, the burden of poverty is still borne by the woman. The challenge hence lies in empowering women and making them part of production process. Women are better placed to successfully carry out development activities that would elevate their economic status and conserve the environment simultaneously, by introducing Jatropha plant, known to alleviate major economic problems to women in other places in the world.
Green Africa Foundation is an environmental organization mandated by the government to spearhead an ambitious campaign to enlighten rural communities on the benefits of growing the fuel shrub, Jatropha curcas. The initiative apart from making sure that clean, and cost efficient fuel is manufactured within homesteads thus serving other purposes, its mission is also to ensure that energy is used as a tool to accelerate equitable benefits to all genders and economic empowerment for urban and rural development of all persons while protecting and conserving the environment.
The Foundation's Jatropha projects acknowledges and seek to incorporate women as the resource managers in this development issue in order to not only accelerate the attainment of sustainable development but also hasten the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The Jatropha project is expected to help sustain food security, provide remedy for indoor and chemical pollution, be the ultimate solution to energy scarcity and lay a platform for a sustainable income source for women especially in rural areas.
This addresses the need for their empowerment into being integral members of society and be in the mainstream of production to achieve a holistic and sustainable development environmentally, socially and economically. Jatropha projects will in addition offer women the opportunity to become legitimate partners in environmental management, through encouraging there participation in tending the trees.
Jatropha system in itself is a low risk enterprise requiring a relatively small investment capital, no academic qualifications, technological know-how or professional experience. Therefore it does not leave out most women, especially those in rural areas that are limited in their capacities due to illiteracy or lack of technological advancement.
Access to sustainable and affordable energy has a positive impact on a wide range of factors influencing rural communities: from improved health, to changes in the division of labour, to better educational facilities, economic prosperity and increased social mobility. Introduction of a more rational and sustainable energy system like Jatropha will have positive gender effects changing traditional social roles and tasks. The Foundation, together with experts from Hiroshima University in Japan is in the process of ensuring that simple manual squeezing machines are readily available to help already participating women farmers crush the Jatropha seeds and be the first benefactors immediately they mature.
