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Elhouafi and Taghilast are poor communities where rainfed cereal production and extensive livestock-rearing are practised in increasingly degraded natural environments.

In spite of the many similarities between the two villages, the case studies reveal a number of important differences in terms of (i) survival strategies, (ii) perceptions and priorities, (iii) environmental circumstances, (iv) community organization and (v) the role of women in the household economy and in decision-making. The situation in Oulad Lfqir is, in turn, different from that of other, similar villages with irrigation-based economies, owing to a single critical variable: river pollution.

The differences mentioned above have a number of important implications in terms of possible development options and project design. This section summarizes the main findings of the study.

Perceptions and Priorities

The case studies show how people’s aspirations and perceptions can be quite different from those that planners and experts may perceive in terms of rural development perspectives:

• For villages such as Elhouafi and Taghilast, investments in infrastructure (electricity, roads, water distribution systems) and the promotion of off-farm activities are likely to have a greater impact than are development interventions in agriculture and livestock production, which might seem more important to planners (Tables 2, 16, 17a-c).

• That one household member is a wage-earner is a priority for all households, especially in the case of communities such as Elhouafi, which are relatively near to a town or a large rural commune that offers earning opportunities.

• Urban life styles and values exercise a strong attraction among the households in Taghilast and Elhouafi, particularly among the young men and women.

• In all the villages surveyed, women do not appear to be immediately interested in improved carpet-making as a priority income-generating activity, since a stigma of poverty is attached to this activity as it is traditionally carried out. Technological and organizational improvements may not be sufficient to remove this stigma.

Environmental degradation

Environmental problems are severe in all three villages, although for different reasons. The villagers – both men and women – are acutely aware of the signs of environmental degradation and of the effects of the degradation on their well-being, and they accurately describe the changes that have taken place in their environment. However, there is a clear discrepancy between what the people feel to be the main cause of the environmental degradation (drought) and the causes most likely to be signalled by specialists (overgrazing and deforestation) (Tables 3a-b, 4).

Change in traditional societies

Elhouafi and Taghilast are poor communities that have been undergoing a process of change. One can observe that the change is leading to more individualism. One of the reasons for this outcome is the greater availability of monetary income and economic opportunities outside the communities, which means that there is less need to rely on solidarity networks within the communities. Nevertheless, community ties are still considerably stronger in the two poorer villages than they are in Oulad Lfqir.

In traditional economies, social, economic and cultural elements are much more closely related than they are in a modern economy. Traditional subsistence economies have their own logic, which is no less stringent than that in a modern capitalist society. With increased access to the monetary economy, new kinds of logic are introduced (together with new patterns of behaviour and social relations, such as a higher premium on individual effort), but these new logics do not entirely replace the old logic. In this sense, Elhouafi is a clear example of a society in transition, while Oulad Lfqir is an example of a community with a more highly monetized economy.

In traditional and resource-poor communities, approval by other community members and adherence to dominant cultural norms (such as the requirement concerning women’s modesty) are part of the process involved in the maintenance of the traditional social networks that are so important for survival.

Nevertheless, the case studies also show how traditional values can change as a result of a number of factors. According to the ideology of honour upheld by men, it is not decent for women to be seen by outsiders. However, the ideology tends to be more loosely applied when it becomes necessary, for reasons of survival, for women and female children to move outside the boundaries dictated by custom (Table 13, Box 8).

Social networks in poor communities

In traditional societies, such as those of the two poorer villages, social networks are still, to a large extent, important for survival. In Elhouafi and Taghilast, the existence of these networks is evidenced and strengthened by:

• informal interest-free borrowing among neighbours and relatives within extended families (a practice that is more widespread than household members are prepared to admit)

• community support for particularly poor households (such as female-headed households)

• gift-giving on the occasion of marriage

• assistance among women at childbirth

• community participation in major events affecting the livelihood of a household (for example, villagers will express their condolences to a household that has lost an animal)

• organization of collective meals (sadaqa) on various occasions

• community involvement in conflict resolution; and

• mutual aid when extra labour is required by a household, such as for home construction.

Experience with modern organizations and participation

Experience with modern organizations has on the whole been negative in all three villages. The case studies highlight the risk of imposing organizational structures from the outside (for example, the beekeeping cooperative in Elhouafi or the service cooperative in Taghilast) and the risk represented by the lack of people’s participation (such as in the management of the irrigation system in Oulad Lfqir, for which no participatory organization exists). In all three villages, people expect the state to solve most of their problems, although they are prepared to contribute their labour.

Box 1 Participation in Oulad Lfqir If the people in Oulad Lfqir had been more involved in managing or at least controlling the irrigation system, they would have possessed an organizational base upon which they could have built in order to mobilize on the issue of pollution: the main canal was in need of repair at the time of the study, but people were waiting for the amel to organize the men to carry out the required repairs. The lack of traditional organizations at the village level is also a constraint. People simply expect the state to "do something" about pollution. Passivity, overreliance on the state, dependence on the irrigation system, and the lack of alternative income sources expose the households in Oulad Lfqir to the risk of impoverishment and growing indebtedness. The situation in Oulad Lfqir indicates the need not only for organization, but also for diversification in income sources. The risks for the poorer households in the village are also greater because social solidarity networks, which still exist to a certain extent in Elhouafi and Taghilast, do not exist in Oulad Lfqir. Inability to repay debts to the Caisse Nationale de Crédit Agricole is another of the major problems of the villagers. Drought is probably not a sufficient reason to explain this situation, since the problem of debt repayment has been evident for some time. The criticism that interest rates are "too high" (whereas they are only 10%) is an indication of the lack of information. It would seem that borrowers were not being put in a position to make the calculations required to assess whether they could or could not repay and to understand the repayment mechanisms.

Survival strategies and the role of women

The multiple survival strategies of resource-poor communities

Households in Elhouafi and Taghilast, which are poor communities, rely on multiple strategies to survive and to reduce risk, including crop production, range-based livestock production, tree cultivation, poultry-raising, hunting and gathering, the sale of alfalfa carpets and the collection of rosemary (Taghilast), off-farm activities undertaken by the heads of household, and remittances (Elhouafi). In both Taghilast and Elhouafi, HFS is the main consideration when choosing crops or deciding to sell livestock.

The economy of Oulad Lfqir is largely dependent on a single source of income, irrigated agriculture, which, according to local perceptions, is being adversely affected by pollution. This variable is not under the immediate control of the villagers. Unless adequate political pressure is exercised to prevent factories upstream from polluting the river, the negative trend is likely to continue, thus making households more vulnerable.

The role of women in production and HFS

The situation in Elhouafi and Taghilast shows that the poorer the community, the more the households tend to rely on multiple strategies in order to reduce risk. These strategies involve all household members (including children), and the role of women thereby becomes increasingly important (Tables 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12).

The research has found a number of differences among the three villages in terms of the role of women within the household economy and in decision-making processes. These differences are determined by socio-economic, cultural and environmental factors. However, in all three villages, women make a fundamental contribution to the household economy and to food security. The involvement of women is less visible than that of men, however; most of the ‘functions’ of women tend to be seen as an extension of women’s reproductive activities and are not recognized socially as forming part of the economic process.

Gender division of labour: The ideal versus the real model

With regard to the gender division of tasks in ensuring household food security, it is necessary to distinguish between the real model and the ideal model:

Variations in the gender division of labour according to age and status (Table 12)

According to custom women generally have the power of decision over purely domestic tasks. Since exclusively women perform such tasks, the men do not intervene. The men will do so, however, if one of these tasks is not carried out. For example, if a woman does not cook for her husband, he will demand that she do so, since cooking is part of her duties as a wife. Conversely, the man is expected to provide food for the family, and his failure to do so thereby affects his status as head of the household.

Within the household, the age and status of the women determine the decision-making power with regard to the undertaking of domestic tasks. An adult married woman has the power to decide which tasks are to be carried out and how, while the actual implementers are usually the younger women. If there are unmarried daughters at home, they will be required to carry out the various tasks under the supervision of the older women.

In Oulad Lfqir, the women who are higher up in the social hierarchy enjoy living conditions comparable to those of city women. They also have servants to help with the domestic chores. The women who are in the intermediate social positions carry out the domestic chores themselves, look after the children and the animals, store alfalfa, dry the niora (a vegetable) and cook for the family. In the poorer households where there are no animals, the woman’s job is to look after the home and to educate the small children.

Decision-making in Resource-poor Households and Communities

The poorer the household, the greater the household dependency on the available environmental resources, and the more complex the decision-making process, simply because fewer risks can be taken. Poor households cannot easily absorb the outcome of a wrong decision.

The decision-making process within the household is affected by a complex set of environmental, socio-economic and cultural variables. The relationship among these variables is especially strong in traditional subsistence societies. It is strong even in communities, such as Elhouafi and Taghilast, which are undergoing a process of change.

Women’s role in decision-making

The poorer the community and the more dependent it is on environmental resources, the greater the impact that even a minor modification in external circumstances can have on people’s lives and on the factors that determine certain decisions. In subsistence economies, the responsibility for making decisions that can affect the well-being of the entire family (for example, the decision to sell livestock) is shared.

The poorer the household, the greater the importance of the role of women in ensuring survival and in carrying out fundamental productive activities and, consequently, the greater the influence women actually have on important household decisions, although women may not be recognized either culturally or socially as the ones who make such decisions.

In richer households, women often have less influence over major decisions. Their role in the household economy is less visible (the case in Oulad Lfqir) and less recognized by the community:

• In Oulad Lfqir, where agriculture is more profitable and a minimum income is assured, men manage the incomes according to their assessment of household needs. The income earned by the wife (through the sale of poultry) is generally used by her for her own personal expenses.

• In Elhouafi and Taghilast, most households are poor, and there is little income to manage. Whatever small income women may produce (from the sale of poultry or alfalfa carpets) is recognized by the husbands as an important contribution to the survival of the family. (As a sign of this recognition, in both Elhouafi and Taghilast, men will willingly agree to sell poultry or a carpet when their wives ask them to do so, while in Oulad Lfqir, men consider it demeaning for them to take their wives’ poultry to the market.

In Oulad Lfqir, where the level of risk is lower, there is a more clear-cut separation between the activities carried out within the home and agricultural tasks. In Elhouafi and Taghilast, the separation between domestic and agricultural activities and the related decision-making spheres is less rigid, and women’s participation in decision-making is greater.

Formal versus informal decision-making roles

In Taghilast and Elhouafi, women are consulted about major decisions affecting the household economy, although the decision itself may be recognized socially as being made by the man. Women will advise their husbands when food is in short supply or when an animal needs to be sold. They are also consulted with regard to the children’s schooling and health care, although if money is involved, the ultimate decision is the men’s.

Women give their opinion when sharecropping arrangements are undertaken. Matters concerning marriage and dowry are discussed together by both parents, but it is the man who negotiates with the other family.

Women are affected the most by a lack of HFS, since it is they who are responsible for the daily preparation of food for the family. This responsibility places women in a position to bring pressure to bear on their husbands to ‘manage somehow’. According to the perception of both men and women, it is the husband who is supposed to provide food for the family. His failure to do so places him in a vulnerable position, and his authority thereby loses the material foundation for its legitimacy.

In the context of rainfed agriculture in a fragile environment such as Elhouafi and Taghilast, households have very few options when deciding which crops to grow. In areas of more developed irrigated agriculture, such as Oulad Lfqir, the head of household has several alternatives, and the market value of the crop is one of the considerations kept in mind:

• In Oulad Lfqir, one can choose among various crops, plant different crops in different plots, alternate among them and decide how to combine cash crops, food crops and fodder. Since the head of household has the monopoly over the information required to make these choices, women are less involved in these decision-making processes, although they might express a preference for one kind of crop rather than another as a food item.

• For poor households in arid areas, the choice of crops is known in advance, as the choice is conditioned by environmental constraints. For the head of household, the choice may relate to the type of leguminous crops to be alternated with cereals, while women will express their preference in terms of food crops. Although both men and women appreciate lentils as a crop, the decision to plant them is constrained by the high cost of the seeds, the difficulty in their cultivation and the risk of crop loss in the case of low rainfall.

Women’s care and responsibility for livestock gives them a certain power over decisions related to livestock (the main decision being when to sell). Their daily contact with the animals provides women with unique knowledge, on the basis of which they can express opinions on important issues such as which animal to buy or sell, when to buy fodder and in what quantities, and what treatment to use in the case of disease.

In communities such as Elhouafi, where the attraction of city life is strong, women exercise their influence in decisions to sell or hire out land and move to a town or rural commune. They will put pressure on their sons to seek work in town and on their daughters to marry a city man. They see migration as an opportunity (if not for themselves, at least for their daughters) to get away from some of the drudgery of rural life. Women are less sentimentally attached to the land than are men, who derive their authority from land ownership. Consequently, development initiatives tend to be based on the assumption that land is in the hands of the men, thus failing to grasp the dynamics within the couple and the indirect role that women play in detaching the family from the rural world and its values.

The issue of decision-making concerning livestock demonstrates the need to make a distinction between formal (that is, socially and culturally defined) and informal (that is, actual) decision-making. Since the men own and manage the animals, formal decisions regarding buying or selling are the men’s prerogative. The women own the poultry, and so they are the ones who take the formal decision to buy or sell poultry. However, the division of roles in the decision-making process is more complex than the gender division of labour, although both men and women perceive the two as corresponding.

The young

In an economy that is exposed to risk and in which strategies need to be diversified in order to limit risks, the young members of the family have to devote their energies to looking for off-farm employment. As a result, the young people exit from the agricultural production process and the transmission chain of agricultural knowledge.

The young people in Elhouafi and Taghilast acquire status and independent decision-making power when they marry. Until then, they are under the authority of their elders and have little or no decision-making power. In order to marry, however, young men need money. Thus, in these villages, the young men ‘specialize’ in searching for wage labour, so as to assist their families, and are not directly involved in the decisions revolving around the farm. Moreover, their agricultural knowledge is limited. Working away from home means independence, and being able to contribute part of their earnings to the household economy gives them a role within the household that they would not otherwise have.

Children play a crucial role in the household economy by fetching water, working in the fields, helping to dig irrigation canals, selling poultry at the market, fetching medicines, herding animals and milking. However, these activities are often carried out to the detriment of their education.

Conclusion

This section attempts to highlight the major findings of the research that may have implications for development and for project design. Further details can be found in Appendix I.

All these issues are critical to understanding the context of production and decision-making, especially in resource-poor communities situated in fragile environments. The issues identified need to be taken into account in externally promoted development initiatives and in project design. Some of the implications are discussed in the following section.