Bulelavata women speak
by Chin Ching Soo and Donnella Bryce
The women in Bulelavata, a small, remote village in the Western Solomons accessible only by sea, lived a subsistence life-style typical of women in ten-thousand other PIC villages until 1998 when the community choose to begin the process of establishing an energy-for-development project. In 2001 the community owned micro-hydro system, funded by the Australian International Greenhouse Partnerships, Caritas and the Provincial Government was officially opened by the Provincial Premier. The system produces 24kw and has 1.5 km high voltage transmission line enabling the community to sell power to the Provincial Secondary School.
For the women of Bulelavata the energy project has had some significant, and profound impacts ranging from the practical, quantifiable advantages of lighting and community income to qualitative outcomes of solidarity and empowerment. The Bulelavata community micro-hydroelectric project design used a women’s participatory action agenda , exploiting “action learning”, or learning-by-doing. They had the decided advantage of a context in which a relevant project was happening in their lives, in which workshops could be grounded. The facets encompassed project policy support, female project management, female role modeling at varying levels, specific women’s awareness and training workshops (although community ones were also held and women participated in those as well), visits by women to other villages, management committee positions for women , a new village institution for women, technical team leadership by women and logistical project support teams being given equal status to technical project teams. This affirmative agenda designed to encourage and facilitate active and meaningful opportunity for participation of the village women operated within existing Melanesian cultural and village religious mores while at the same time challenging the boundaries of perceived gender roles through the medium of the new technology. The Bulelavata village men say that the electricity project has changed their women; that they are now more confident and outspoken and participate in more community development activities. The men think this is a good outcome in terms of the whole project, and rate it second only (by concensus) to the community’s understanding of “planning for tomorrow”.
The project agreement negotiated between the community and APACE (the project designer and implementer, described briefly elsewhere in this issue), prior to the commencement of the project, stipulated the involvement of women in the management committee, on technical construction teams, in training opportunities and in distributing the resultant electricity to meet women’s aspirations both in and outside of the home. The agreement also made provision for long term, participatory monitoring and evaluation of the project. This aspect was seen by the Bulelavata Community as a way they could assist other communities to participate in similar projects. APACE is conducting a long-term study of the impacts of this project on the community and the surrounding district with particular emphasis on the impacts and outcomes of the project and the energy supply for the village women. Through long experience in the sector and region APACE has found the results more reliable and usable if the gender evaluative work is conducted in a-whole-of-project context, albeit with gender disaggregated data and specific women’s approaches employed. For a new technology that will transform lives, prior perception of roles will alter, and supportive women-only environments were sometimes essential to gain confidence in the process. APACE, in consultation with the community and in collaboration with engineering staff and students from the University of Technology Sydney and the project donors, developed indicators and guidelines for this evaluative study. To date there has been no dedicated financial support for the fieldwork, so much of the study has been conducted through personal visits and community reporting. In a series of formal and in-formal activities with Janette Blainey, Paul Bryce, Chin Ching Soo and Donnella Bryce the women from Bulelavata have shared their reactions, observations and understandings. The following quotes exemplify change they perceive has come into their life.
Electric lights
“The hydro system has saved us women money, the electricity is cheaper than kerosene and batteries. Now we are doing much more sewing and weaving and we can do it together at night time when we are free from home duties. Before the hydro, a family only had one or two small kerosene lamps and the first priority went to men’s work and second to children for studying.”
“The new street lights are good; now we can freely walk about in the night time without gossip happening. The electric lights have made it easier and safer when we come back from night fishing. Young girls are more free to walk about the village at night time too”.
“We really like to read things but we usually, except at church times, never had an opportunity to read because in the day time we are too busy with gardening and house work. Now we can read at night time and soon we hope that we will have some books.”
“With house lights, our children can do homeworks and the school principal says Bulelavata children already have better marks at school. Our children can get up and find their clothes and get ready for school, we don’t argue with them as much as before. We really believe electricity will provide a much better future for our pikininis [children].”
Electric power
“Some people in our village now have electric kettles, radios, videos, electric drills, circular saw and there are two freezers for selling fish and ice; but we don’t like the loud music the youth play. The thing we like most about now having a radio all the time is that we can hear the news and stories about other places in the world and voices from other countries. And we can listen at any time we like and even choose what to listen to for ourselves.”
“It is a big thing for us to be able to easily and quickly warm water using an electric kettle and it saves a lot of fire wood. We need warm water to bath our babies, for healthy drinks and food and for the elderly and sick. The ollos [elderly people] can easily go to the toilet during the night. Now we are much more interested in our houses, we like to keep them clean and make them pretty and we don’t like rats in our house now we can see them. Electricity is helping us with better hygiene.“
“When we visited our sisters in Manawai [a village with a micro-hydroelectricity system] we thought this must be just like heaven is; and our sisters told us that they did not have as many pikininis now that the electric lights are in their houses. So we really wanted to have electricity too.”
“With the women’s training workshops we learnt all about the hydro technology and we are very proud to be women who know about how electricity is generated and distributed. When visitors come we feel proud to tell them about technical things like how the dam was built and the penstock was installed.”
“We were concerned about the rise of the salt water that we could see on our beach [sea level rise] but now we understand about world environment and how we are little bit helping by using renewable energy. We are able to tell our all our neighbours about world greenhouse problems and how renewable energy can help uime (everyone).”
“Everybody thinks Bulelavata it is a modern place to live, just as good as town and now many of the young people and some families and educated people too have returned to home and are building new, permanent houses here.”
“We have learnt about tink tink disteam nau long future[planning].”
Women’s solidarity
Women in the village have gained experience and confidence from observing and participating in the establishment and operation of the community’s Village Hydro Management Committee (VHMC). The women have now formalised their own ‘Bulelavata Women’s Committee’(BWC) in which the women work together to support other village women in times of crisis, organise income generating and community welfare projects (the first being the establishment of a small kindergarten), help each other with transport for marketing and stocking stalls at the markets. The women own and manage their committee money. The BWC’s work is carried out with acknowledgment of the women’s roles in their own families and in their community and with respect to, and encouragement from the village men. The income generated from BWC projects belong to all the women although it maybe given to individual women when need arises. The BWC, at the community request, has taken over the responsibility, from the VHMC of collecting and banking the monthly electricity tariff from all village households. The community decision was based upon their belief that the women’s group would be more transparent, reliable and honest in handling the community money; the BWC see this decision as a positive one in terms of community recognition and status.
The second major project for the BWC is to build the village Women’s Centre. The Women’s Centre, (with electricity connection for lighting and 240volt power) will be used as a meeting place for women to work and socialise together; to run demonstrations and training in health, hygiene, nutrition and sustainable agriculture and house a small village library. The BWC has bought some local building materials for the centre using the funds they have raised. They have also written a request to the VHMC for assistance in building their centre. The VHMC has agreed to the request and the Women’s Centre is now a priority on the community planning agenda.
Women’s empowerment
The BWC has been instrumental in conceiving, developing and promoting Bulelavata as a conference or seminar venue for NGOs, government departments and training institutions seeking a safe and inspiring location but with modern facilities provided by the electricity; the design for the brochure promoting the Bulelavata Conference Centre has paid careful attention to the visual presentation of men and women fulfilling complimentary but equal roles. It is anticipated that approximately 50% of the income generated from the Conference Centre project will go directly to individual women for the many small, support services they wish to provide.
Two members of the BWC have been chosen to become members of the APACE VFEG Team to facilitate a Village Women’s Energy Workshop in another province.
The BWC was interested in participating at the recent Pacific Regional Gender, Energy and Sustainable Development Workshop (see page ….) for which ENERGIA agreed to support for a representative. Unfortunately due to inadequate communication and transport infrastructure in Solomon Islands this could not be arranged in time.
The BWC has chosen women to attend the Solomon Islands Village Electrification Council 2004 AGM and National Planning Seminar, as well as participating in the general community appointment of two other village representatives. Women have attended these seminars previously but this is the first women appointed to represent her village
The confidence and competence Bulelavata women gained through their participation in the community energy-for-development project has empowered these women to take a greater role within their community, to develop their own supportive structures within their community and to see their village in a more national, and global context. It would appear that Bulelavata women are moving through a process of change, from traditional cultural subservience to a higher level of community decision making and responsibility Both the village men and women measure this change from the beginning of their community energy project.
The growth in personal and group strength, for the women of Bulelavata has taken place over a period of six years and with each step being initiated by the women themselves. This leads us to believe, from our observation, knowledge and relationships with these women that the changes in daily life style and in the broader perspective of quality of life, will be sustained and that there are indications of further strengthening of the women’s individual and collective aspirations and roles.
Bulelavata project
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