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Local organisation and gender in water management: a case study from the Kenya Highlands

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Listed:
  • Elizabeth Were

    (WaterPartners International, Kisumu, Kenya)

  • Jessica Roy
  • Brent Swallow

    (World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi, Kenya)

Abstract

Provision of safe water supplies is a priority for the global community and for villages in Kenya. An extended case study from the highlands of Western Kenya shows that local communities can be successful in self-organisation for improved water supply, but only by mobilising considerable amounts of investment resources and local collective action. Gender relations are crucial to success, with women having primary responsibility for water management, but more or less hidden roles in community groups. There are legitimate concerns that Kenya's new water laws and institutions may make it more difficult for local community groups to self-organise, with additional biases against women. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Elizabeth Were & Jessica Roy & Brent Swallow, 2008. "Local organisation and gender in water management: a case study from the Kenya Highlands," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(1), pages 69-81.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:20:y:2008:i:1:p:69-81
    DOI: 10.1002/jid.1428
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pandolfelli, Lauren & Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela & Dohrn, Stephan, 2007. "Gender and collective action: A conceptual framework for analysis," CAPRi working papers 64, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    2. Swallow, Brent, 2005. "Potential for Poverty Reduction Strategies to Address Community Priorities: Case Study of Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 301-321, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Crow, Ben & Swallow, Brent & Asamba, Isabella, 2012. "Community Organized Household Water Increases Not Only Rural incomes, but Also Men’s Work," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 528-541.
    2. Hesborn Andole Ondiba & Kenichi Matsui, 2021. "Drivers of environmental conservation activities among rural women around the Kakamega forest, Kenya," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(7), pages 10666-10678, July.
    3. Hannah, Corrie & Giroux, Stacey & Krell, Natasha & Lopus, Sara & McCann, Laura E. & Zimmer, Andrew & Caylor, Kelly K. & Evans, Tom P., 2021. "Has the vision of a gender quota rule been realized for community-based water management committees in Kenya?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    4. Nancy McCarthy & Talip Kilic, 2015. "The nexus between gender, collective action for public goods and agriculture: evidence from Malawi," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 46(3), pages 375-402, May.
    5. Small, Sarah F. & van der Meulen Rodgers, Yana, 2023. "The gendered effects of investing in physical and social infrastructure," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    6. Patrick Behr & Jorge Jacob, 2024. "Neighbourhood social capital, account usage and savings behaviour in low‐income countries: Field experimental evidence from Senegal," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(1), pages 84-108, January.
    7. Takayama, Taisuke & Horibe, Atsushi & Nakatani, Tomoaki, 2018. "Women and farmland preservation: The impact of women’s participation in farmland management governance in Japan," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 116-125.
    8. Mark William Love & Cara Beal & Diana Gonzalez & Joe Hagabore & Collin Benjamin & Hugo Bugoro & Nixon Panda & Jael O'oi & Carol Offer & Regina Souter, 2022. "Challenges and opportunities with social inclusion and community‐based water management in Solomon Islands," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 40(4), July.

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