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Zuke Technology Awareness Workshop for Women
A series of workshops to increase the confidence and capabilities of rural women to make decisions on available appropriate technologies.
April 1995 to August 1996
Supported by AusAID (formerly AIDAB)
Clients are Rural Melanesian Women
The workshop was held in Vavanga village on Kolombangara island, November 20-25, 1994. Of the 28 participants, three were from Sydney (Sacha Giffard, Donella Bryce and Janette Blainey), six from Vavanga, and the rest from other villages in the Western Province. Transport to Vavanga is by canoe from Gizo- about an hour's ride. All participants were chosen by their communities. There was a wide range of age and of academic level.
The following account is an abbreviated version of a report written by Sacha Giffard. Sacha was the part-time Sydney-based project officer for the Western Province Rural Renewable Energy Program, as well as the Women in Development officer.
The aim of the Zuke workshop for women was to introduce all aspects of a village micro-hydro electricity (MH) project, and the implications for a village of the installation and upkeep of the system.
There were five main areas to cover:
Understanding the MH system, as an appropriate technology: its components, the work involved in building the system, and the village contribution of resources, time and labour.
Working as a unified community: involving all members in decision-making, sharing the load, working with new and customary ways, creating a management committee and preparing for possible problem areas, including land use.
Planning: being clear about intended uses, learning to estimate the electric power available from the river, how to plan the construction and how to manage maintenance, repair and replacement costs.
Empowering women as participants: recognizing that women are an important part of the community and that they stay in the village for life, then asking about electricity needs and uses as well as income generating projects to help women.
The final area was a statement of women's needs in rural electrification. The workshop design had to incorporate all these areas, although not in the order given above, since many areas were inter-related. The understanding was to be transferred through the sharing of the experiences of the Vavanga women, who would tell stories of their project. Five women from the village of Vavanga- Mona, Hayleen, Aerish, Nerole and Hini- were facilitators of discussion groups. Information and experiences were exchanged in fluent pidgin and from the same cultural perspective.
The hosting of the five-day residential workshop was the trial run of a possible income-generating venture, in which the community facilities, developed as part of the MH, would be used as a conference centre.
The first evening, Sunday, was spent in walking the wiring circuit and telling stories about different communities.
Monday- getting to know each other
The conference was opened by a ceremony at which the official guest was the Hon. Eutacus Nonga, the Provincial Minister for Sport, Culture and Women. The workshop began with a guided tour of the system, or a "walk up top" (to the generator and the dam, quite a climb). Each Vavanga facilitator told her group of 5-6 participants the stories of the work, problems, mishaps and jokes. Then each group discussed the terminology of the system, drawing pictures and writing definitions of the different components of the system. Later there were more stories, songs and games and much laughing at the performances of Gena, Mona and Hayleen.
Tuesday- working together.
Each day started with the Community Song, " It's I who build community" introduced by Enda. A daily timetable and group lists of the things the women wanted to gain from the workshop were established. A list of what needed to be communicated, and how it should be done, was built up during the week.
The Vavanga facilitators told more stories about what it was like before the MH project, the creation of the MH committee, disputes, the role of women, the things the village had to decide and plan along the way, the work involved and ideas for using the electricity, skills and facilities. It was emphasised that MH projects were not development in themselves. Development could only come from the possible end-uses of the electricity.
Comments from the participants showed that they admired the sense of unity and strength in the Vavanga community, which did not exist so strongly before the MH. The unity developed through communication, shared decision-making and working together on building the project. Open discussion of aims is a critical step in starting a successful project. Everyone who can benefit from the project or has an interest in its success must be involved. It was recognised that women were essential on an MH committee, especially if they were to have any say in how the electricity was to be used.
Wednesday- technology in our lives.
Women chose specialist areas: management issues, development projects for women, or technology and how electricity is made. The principle of a generator was explained by the specialist group members, who also talked about how electricity is measured, especially the units of watts and volts, since these are the quantities used in designing an electrical system. A visit to the power house helped with the terminology.
Power consumption of different machines was discussed. The power needs of an imaginary village were compared with a typical MH generator limit. Overloaded design could be avoided by staggering the use of equipment through the day.
The women of the village get involved in all the projects.
The possible negative effects of technology on lives or the environment were considered. The women looked at technology as not only things, but also as processes and knowledge, and agreed that if technology is not appropriate for women it is not appropriate technology.
While swimming that night, women learned to measure the speed of river flow and cross sectional area, so they could calculate flow. They talked about changing flow at different times of the year and the effect of this on electricity supply.
Thursday- appropriate for everybody.
Women looked at the questions to consider when planning a project involving technology- the advantages and disadvantages (with the example of a MH project), and issues such as safety and environmental sensitivity. Questions of private versus community interest were raised. If the community builds and owns a hydro project, does it supply electricity equally to private and community enterprises? Who looks after the system, and are they to be paid? Mock-up plans for possible income-generating projects were also worked through.
The closing ceremony had to be held on Thursday afternoon, because Friday afternoon was needed for preparations for the Sabbath. The Hon.Hilda Kari, the Shadow Minister for Energy came for the day. Certificates were handed out to all participants and speeches were made. After dinner the celebration and concert began. Chief Silas made a memorable speech about thinking of Vavanga.
Friday - what do we want to say?
We wanted to leave the workshop with a record of the attitude of women of the Western Province towards electrification. The groups considered what support women need to help get an MH project in their villages and how the government could assist. The Hon. Hilda Kari explained the structure of government and how to get needs heard and help delivered.
Sacha's report ends
" After reviewing the work for the week APACE said thank-you to all the participants and in return the Vavanga women sang their special workshop song of thanks. It was a sad and emotional finish and there was an aching as the canoes pulled away. What memories and hopes - were we right to help inspire them? "
After the workshop a letter was received from Gemma Eaves, a Solomon Island woman living in Munda. The letter says, in part:
"I really enjoyed the Zuke Workshop and also had a great time there. This workshop was very different from others I have attended before. For a start, it was very well equipped.
On the first day when we went up to the bush to see the dam I listened to everything that we were told about the micro hydro and why this system was chosen, and the use of resources provided by the environment..... I appreciate what APACE is doing to help people in the rural areas to have a better life while protecting the environment....
During my childhood I knew that the rainforest and the ocean give us everything we need. The rainforest is our pharmacy, it is a grocery shop and a hardware shop too, also a source of art....
I hope that all women who attended the workshop will explain to the people in their communities, because some of us don't know how lucky we are....."
(The equipment referred to by Gemma Eaves included working models of generators and batteries, a solar-powered fan, many labelled diagrams, charts of workshop processes as well as a workbook for each participant. A special leaf shelter had been built for sleeping.
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