Knowledge on sheep fattening operations among women in Yemen illustrates the impressive range that indigenous knowledge can cover.
Women in the Dhamar Montane Plains of Yemen have more responsibility for animals than for crop production. The livestock that households own can include stall-fed cows, donkeys, goats, poultry, rabbits and camels. All family members are involved in extensive sheep raising. Women too are involved in all aspects, taking on a larger role in herding during the peak agricultural season and during Ramadhan. It is fairly common for women to spend up to five hours a day on livestock production. Women have exclusive control over intensive sheep production. A 1994 IFAD study describes some of the indigenous technical knowledge that Yemeni women have on sheep fattening and related matters.
Women in this region have indigenous knowledge about the characteristics and requirements of each breed and the adaptation of each breed to its environment. They differentiate between breeding flock and fattening flock, and among different husbandry policies (e.g. continuous versus occasional breeding). Women think in terms of four types of fattening and relate these to the breed and to whether the animals graze, scavenge or are pen-fed. In terms of animal reproduction, indigenous knowledge covers mating, selection and fecundity, and lambing interval and season. Women have knowledge about the effects of breed and feed on reproduction. Their knowledge also covers flock separation to control breeding, milk production and different weaning practices.
Women have extensive indigenous knowledge of the nutritional requirements of their animals and the effect of feed intake on animal growth rates. Women alone cultivate and harvest alfalfa for sheep. They have a special technique for cutting it to avoid losing plant leaves. Women also collect kitchen waste, grain, pulses and weeds for sheep. They avoid giving sheep sorghum stover as it hinders the preparation of dung cakes, which are used for fuel. Women give ewes extra food supplements immediately after lambing to help them 'recover' from the birthing process.
Women also possess indigenous veterinary knowledge. They differentiate between four types of diseases for sheep and watch for coughing, wheezing and mucous discharge as well as bloating and digestive ailments. They attribute bloat to fresh alfalfa and wet grass and can treat it effectively if detected early enough, using oil or Pepsi Cola. This illustrates the modification of indigenous knowledge with modern ingredients. Women are also conscious of the relationship between animal housing (including ventilation) and animal diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease and mange.
These Yemeni women are also aware of the relationship between lactation and weaning. The study notes that the women claim that complete weaning of lambs creates a shorter lactation period than does partial weaning. The lactation period is of interest to them because they like to make soft cheese (laban) from fresh sheep's milk. Women can also detect differences in the quality of milk, which they attribute to feed.
Yemeni women thus have extensive indigenous knowledge of sheep fattening matters, and it is important to take this into consideration in any related development initiatives.
Adapted from
M. Niamir-Fuller, Women Livestock Managers in the Third World: Focus on Technical Issues Related to Gender Roles in Livestock Production, Staff Working Paper 18, Rome: IFAD, December 1994.
