GENDER AND WOMEN DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
Programme Background
The programme was initiated in 2000, as CORDS saw a need to combine its efforts to address land rights, land-use planning, and livestock health with efforts to empower pastoral women with regards to access, control, and ownership of productive resources. In order to address both practical and strategic gender needs, the programme adopted a four legged approach, with four clusters that constitute strategic objectives of the programme which are assets, capabilities, choices and rights.
The programme therefore implements different activities, which reduce women's workload, increase their self-esteem, and enhance their access, control, and ownership of resources. Thus, the programme promotes socio-economic development and sustainable livelihoodss strategies among pastoral women and their communities.
Target population and Geographical coverage:
The programme is implemented in 17 women groups which are found in Kiteto (Makame, Loolera, Lembapuli, Orkiloriti, Kandiya, Lesoit, Amei juu, Amei chini, Orpopong'i), Simanjiro (Nemalulu and Kitwai) and Longido (Kiserian, Mairouwa, Eworendeke, Engikaret, Engutukoiti and Elerai) district respectively. These 17 women groups have a total of 65,000 (35,000 Female and 29,400 Male) direct beneficiaries.
Aims
The overall aim of CORDS' Gender and Women's Development Programme is to integrate pastoral women fully into pastoral development processes by improving their working and living conditions and create an awareness of gender issues in pastoral communities.
Objectives
• To reduce income related poverty among the pastoral Maasai women in 17 women groups
• To reduce non-income related poverty among pastoral Maasai women in 17 women groups
• To enhance food security in the household managed by members of the 17 women groups.
| Programme Activities: |
To conduct seminars and trainings in order: • To impact new knowledge and skills to women about running small scale projects • To facilitate mobile clinics. • To raise their capacity for income generating activities. • To enhance women's access, ownership and control over productive resources. • Privation of credit to self-help women's groups. • To enable pastoral women to have access and control over livestock and livestock products and also natural resources. • To initiate alternatives for pastoral women income generating projects. • To enable pastoral women build capacity through a participatory mechanism. Main Achievements • Women and children are getting access to health services in CORDS working areas. • Women have access, capacity and control over the income generating activities e.g. 15 women groups are owning grinding mills machine. • Baseline data collection showed 477 women own land. • Women have been empowered. • 67 girls are supported by the programme for secondary schools and 15 adult literacy classes are working. • Supports one(1) group living with HIV/AIDS in Mairouwa village Longido district. |








