Women spearhead natural resource management
Women in the Caprivi region are now more involved in natural resource
management and have taken leadership positions in conservancies, said Janet
Matota, co-head of the Caprivi Programme that is part of the Integrated Rural
Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC).Currently 37% of committees contain
female representatives, two conservancy managers and three game guards. And nine
out of 10 conservancy treasurers are women in the nine registered and eight
emerging conservancies in the region.This, according to Matota, was totally
unheard of in the Caprivi when the IRDNC was established in 1994.As part of its
objectives, the organisation has helped women to become more involved in natural
resource management. “Women are key players in natural resource management. They
plough the fields and ensure that there is food on the table. But they were left
behind in the decision making process; they had no say. Now women are supported
by the traditional authorities and rather then relying on men, they put their
own money on the table,” said Matota.The IRDNC aims to empower women through
training in public speaking and has started a program through which women are
trained in craft making. “We have trained 350 women in public speaking and women
now earn N$180,000 per year from the craft industry. With these earnings, they
buy things such as cattle and ploughs,” said Matota.The IRDNC is also involved
in disseminating information on HIV/AIDS and supporting orphans and vulnerable
children through paying their school fees and buying their school
uniforms.