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Towards Gender Equality through Fairtrade? A Case Study on Small-scale Tea Farmers in Nandi Hills, Kenya

Summer, Anna LU and Sun, Mairi LU (2014) MIDM19 20141
LUMID International Master programme in applied International Development and Management
Abstract
The purpose of this thesis was to explore the gendered impacts Fairtrade has on smallholder tea producers through a case study of the Sireet cooperative in Western Kenya. While previous studies have extensively elaborated on the overall impact of Fairtrade on poverty reduction and the livelihoods of farmers, a gender differentiated impact assessment has been substantially neglected. Through an embedded mixed methods approach, the study investigated how Fairtrade directly and indirectly impacts female and male farmers on three levels: 1) the individual regarding income and employment opportunities, 2) the household in terms of intra-household gender dynamics, and 3) gendered participation at the cooperative level. The findings suggest that... (More)
The purpose of this thesis was to explore the gendered impacts Fairtrade has on smallholder tea producers through a case study of the Sireet cooperative in Western Kenya. While previous studies have extensively elaborated on the overall impact of Fairtrade on poverty reduction and the livelihoods of farmers, a gender differentiated impact assessment has been substantially neglected. Through an embedded mixed methods approach, the study investigated how Fairtrade directly and indirectly impacts female and male farmers on three levels: 1) the individual regarding income and employment opportunities, 2) the household in terms of intra-household gender dynamics, and 3) gendered participation at the cooperative level. The findings suggest that Fairtrade standards and mechanisms have a limited direct impact on all three levels. The cooperative’s initiatives, especially trainings, as well as gendered prioritisation and approach potentially have a greater impact on gender. The outcomes of this study indicate that while Sireet policies on gender issues are largely lacking, official cooperative membership has proven a crucial factor in generating Fairtrade benefits for both men and women. The inclusion through membership however, does little to tackle gender inequalities and embedded gender roles. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Summer, Anna LU and Sun, Mairi LU
supervisor
organization
course
MIDM19 20141
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Fairtrade, Fairtrade impact, Gendered Economy, gender equality, tea sector, small-scale farmers
language
English
id
4438749
date added to LUP
2014-09-09 10:26:02
date last changed
2014-09-09 10:26:02
@misc{4438749,
  abstract     = {{The purpose of this thesis was to explore the gendered impacts Fairtrade has on smallholder tea producers through a case study of the Sireet cooperative in Western Kenya. While previous studies have extensively elaborated on the overall impact of Fairtrade on poverty reduction and the livelihoods of farmers, a gender differentiated impact assessment has been substantially neglected. Through an embedded mixed methods approach, the study investigated how Fairtrade directly and indirectly impacts female and male farmers on three levels: 1) the individual regarding income and employment opportunities, 2) the household in terms of intra-household gender dynamics, and 3) gendered participation at the cooperative level. The findings suggest that Fairtrade standards and mechanisms have a limited direct impact on all three levels. The cooperative’s initiatives, especially trainings, as well as gendered prioritisation and approach potentially have a greater impact on gender. The outcomes of this study indicate that while Sireet policies on gender issues are largely lacking, official cooperative membership has proven a crucial factor in generating Fairtrade benefits for both men and women. The inclusion through membership however, does little to tackle gender inequalities and embedded gender roles.}},
  author       = {{Summer, Anna and Sun, Mairi}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Towards Gender Equality through Fairtrade? A Case Study on Small-scale Tea Farmers in Nandi Hills, Kenya}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}