Jump to... Similarities and difference Development implications Conclusions Appendix 1 Appendix 2

This working paper presents the main findings of a study carried out in three villages in Eastern Morocco – representative of different environmental contexts – in 1994 and 1995. The study focuses on decision-making mechanisms in farm and household management and analyses some of the implications of these mechanisms for development and for project design.

The main lesson to be learned revolves around the crucial need for development initiatives and projects to take into account variations in the constraints, perceptions and priorities of different communities and of the social groups within them. As the case studies show, frequently these constraints, perceptions and priorities do not coincide with the assumptions and generalizations made about them by planners concerned with identifying the development options that may be feasible for the area or region where the communities are located. These variations can have a major impact in terms of who will benefit and how and who may actually be harmed by certain externally induced development initiatives. For the purpose of project design, the feasibility of technical development options must be assessed through focused and participatory research, both technical and socio-anthropological, on sample communities.

More specifically, the study highlights the need to analyse and address women’s actual roles in production and decision-making, which are important even when these roles are neither recognized nor visible (as is often the case in traditional rural societies). The case studies provide further evidence of the fact that women’s involvement in production and, above all, decision-making is greater in traditional subsistence societies than it is in those societies that are more exposed to the market economy, although, informally, even in the latter case, women influence the decisions affecting the survival and well-being of the household. In all cases, decision-making patterns within the household are more complex than might be suggested by the usual perceptions by both women and men of the socially defined gender division of labour. They also vary from one community to another. Even the mobility of women – generally limited in certain Muslim societies that uphold the principle of women’s ‘modesty’ – can vary, depending on the place and time, mainly because of the needs of subsistence and survival, but also for ethnic and sociocultural reasons.

The dynamics of economic, social and cultural change in subsistence economies are different from those in more highly monetized societies. In communities that are undergoing a process of change, the logic of change in both kinds of society must be recognized when modernization is being introduced, as must the importance, especially in prevalently subsistence economies, of traditional social networks and values. In the development of programmes and in project design, the opportunities for diversification in the sources of livelihood need to be identified and offered to poor communities, which tend to rely on multiple survival strategies in order to reduce risk.

The differences between the perceptions of communities and those of planners concerning the causes of and the solutions to environmental degradation can be great. In order to induce people to participate in environmental protection, it is essential to involve them in the analysis of the causes and solutions and build on their knowledge. The possible impact of the environmental protection measures conceived by planners on poorer communities and social groups, especially those that are constrained in terms of labour and income, need to be assessed.

The case studies also provide evidence of the risks involved when organizational structures are imposed from the outside and of the fact that, unless special efforts are undertaken, frequently the richer alone manage to take advantage of modern organizations such as cooperatives and range users associations. Finally, the research illustrates the importance of organizing participation and of reducing overdependency on the state so as to promote sustainable and equitable development.