UC Davis Blum Center for Developing Economies

 Last summer Terri Harris had the privilege of going to East Africa with the Global Women’s Water Initiative.  At the Making a Difference panel, she shared with the audience the three greatest things she learned during this experience: the technologies, working in the field and building relationships. "The Technologies-- When I first found out about this project, what most attracted me to it was the opportunity to get hands-on experience with Rainwater Harvesting Tanks.  I think that rainwater harvesting is very important -- anywhere!  I think we should be doing it here in the States. I think we should do it everywhere possible, because not only is it a good way to get water (without the heavy metals of groundwater) but it also mitigates some of the environmental damage we cause with all our impermeable surfaces. I was excited to get my hands on the technology and hoped to get a better understanding of what it takes to do rainwater harvesting.  I could n...

Kelly Taylor, an undergraduate International Relations student spoke on the Making a Difference: Challenges and Opportunities of Working Internationally panel, Wednesday February 29th at the International House. She spoke with Freedom from Hunger's Research and Evaluation specialist, Bobbi Gray, and International Agriculture Development graduate student, Byron Hoy, on her experiences gathering qualitative and quantitative data from micro finance clients in Peru over the summer. "In the beginning of this quarter, I was asked to define what I thought was my role in development. What an interesting question, but to be honest, cannot cogently describe what my role in development should be. Development is a word with a big definition; includes expectations, implications, assumptions, and many, many people’s lives. The ethics and impacts of foreign development and poverty alleviation—the whole thing is very subjective. I entered the field in Peru fascinated by different culture...

Community and Regional Development graduate student and 2011 Poverty Alleviation through Sustainable Solutions grant recipient, Terri Harris, interviews Namaganda Mastuula for her work with the Global Women's Water Initiative during the summer of 2011. Namaganda Mastuula August 4, 2011 Katosi, Uganda  My name is Namaganda Mastuula.  I am a member of the Katosi Women’s Development Trust.  Life wasn’t easy, as a widow.  I was left with nothing except a sewing machine.  I struggled very much to earn a living.  Some widows, single mothers....said, “Wow, we have to sit down and look for a solution.”  We formed a group.  Some of us were making mats.  Others there were making local beers.  Me, I had my sewing machine, because I got experience making clothes, so I could earn at least a little earning -- feed my children, educate them because they had started schooling, and they were performing very well.  That encouraged me very much, be...

Smoot interviewing farmers in Dommama, a town in the Western region of Ghana I traveled to Ghana for one month this summer in order to do field research for what will ultimately become my master's thesis for the International Agricultural Development (IAD) program. The goal of my project is to assess the prospects for increasing the percentage of cocoa beans that are actually processed in West Africa, instead of being shipped to Europe or the US for processing and chocolate manufacture. I am particularly interested in the possibility that farmer-owned cooperatives could set up their own processing factories. This would enable farmers to capture a much larger portion of the value that is added to their cocoa beans. I began my trip in Accra, the capital of Ghana, where I attended a workshop set up by the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership to discuss the state of extension services for cocoa farmers in Ghana and how to improve them. At the workshop I met a number of farmers from all ove...

With little professional experience in, well, anything, and three-quarters of a bachelors degree, I was thrown into the field of microfinance, wide-eyed and excited. There is still much to be proved about the long term effects of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing countries, however the positive potential is undeniable.   Evaluating the impact of such institutions was the purpose of our project this summer in Peru.  We were sent to work with three MFIs; Prisma, Finca and Confianza. All offered a similar village banking style loan, but their internal structures and functions differed greatly. We worked in many rural communities in Peru to measure the change in food security since 2007. We administered both qualitative and quantitative interviews which enabled us to get to know the heartbeat of microfinance, the clients.  It was not until I was able to meet the people who receive such loans, and hear their stories, that I began to understand the importance a...

While greater consideration has recently been given to design and implementation of development initiatives that emphasize the Capability Approach as a means of poverty alleviation, no two programs are alike. Likewise, the success of one project in a particular area does not necessarily ensure the success of the similar intervention in another. The design of effective initiatives relies on an understanding of the various social, political and economic conditions of the targeted regions, both the particularities and confluence thereof, as these elements can then be evaluated in the process of adapting project parameters to most appropriately address the needs and requirements of the communities served.   This all became apparent during my last week of work in the departments of Ayacucho and Apurímac, for it is precisely this knowledge that contributes to the efficacy of FINCA Peru’s capacity building workshops. The themes and principles covered are simple, for example: the net prese...

I am home, now, in Davis, California.   I came home on August 21, after 7 weeks in East Africa.   Although my trip abroad has ended, the work has only begun.   Already I have had 2 conference calls with my partner, Rose, who lives in Kisumu, Kenya.   We will be supporting projects to improve water and sanitation in Kenya and Tanzania for the coming 12 months.   Our job is to give support to the women who are working directly with communities on the ground.   We had 2 weeks of training in Kampala, followed by 4 weeks of on-the-ground work in the communities that implemented the technologies that had been taught:   Rainwater Harvesting Tanks, Bio Sand Filters for cleaning water, Ventilated Improved Pit Latrines (VIP Latrines), Solar Cook-its (for sterilizing water and for cooking), WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) training and education.   We learned about the technologies, and then learned about what it means to transfer this knowledge into ru...