Effects of tea production on women's work and labour Allocations in Embu district

Abstract

This Study examines sexual division of labour and its impact on Qender relations amonq smallholder teafarminQ households of Embu ditrict. It addresses problems women face as a result of capitalization and commercialization of production which have been ~deplored in many studies. Among these are increased workload and remunerations which are not commensurate to their labour input. The justification for this study 1ies on the choice of the ~geographical site. the target population and the approach taken. Embu people. particularly women in commercialized production have not been studied by anthropologists before. The author felt a need to examine the effects of commercial agriculture on women's work allocations a lonq a cultural bias. This· is more important currently when cultural approaches to development are gainning popularity in Kenya. This study is guided by the reproduction model of the Marxist feminists which the author finds appropriate for investigating and analysis gender roles and relations. In addition. the model has allowance and potential for the identification of the basic tenets and assumptions of role allocations and power between sexes in a historical perspective. The research decision makes use of a variety of ways to collect and analyse data. Documentary sources.participant observation. time-use surveys and interviews were amonq the methods used· to obtain Quantitative and Qualitative information. - It was found that agricultural activities before adoptions of commercialized tea production in the area has initiated socioeconomic differentiation amonq households. It is these that have been intensified by tea production; currently. there are relatively more marked hierarchies based on the size of tea farms.use of labourers. the on and aqe of a household member's) amonq others.Consequently labor prioritization to livestock. food production and other household activities is in acute competition with that directed to tea production. Fut'thet'mot'e.a1thouqh tea product ion has increased women's workload qenerally. it has brouqht some advantaqes for some. Most tea producinq household~ have relativ~ly more incomes than before. betterhousinq. clothinq and other amenities in their houses. Even thouqh tea production has aqqrav~ted family conflicts. there are some households in which women have qained influen~e over qeneral manaqement of family incomes. There were remarkable instances where women have taken advantaqe of available options to neqotiate their riqhts within their own households. It was clear that most

women recoqnise the importance and relationship between the in labour contributions in tea production and their own well beinq now and in future . In conclusion. the study revealed that commercial tea product; ion may have a promising future for Embu women, their increased workload not withstanding