Browsing by Author "Harman, Mary"

Now showing 1 - 11 of 11
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    Gender and participatory mapping: Local knowledge and empowerment in development research
    Christie, Maria Elisa; Luebbering, C.; Agriesti, Keri; Byrne, M.; Montgomery, K.; Van Houweling, Emily; Zseleczky, Laura; Harman, Mary (2011)
    Participatory mapping as a research technique is a means for women to express their spaces and resources. This poster explores mapping as both a process and product in field work with smallholder farmers in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. It draws on experiences including women and mapping gendered spaces. Examples include mapping Kitchenspace, mapping the “path of the peanut,” the “path of the pesticide,” and agricultural value chains. It considers the challenges and benefits of using participatory mapping, gendered and non-gendered findings, and the role of the mapping facilitator. The authors conclude that participatory mapping provides opportunities for semi-literate and illiterate women to contribute their knowledge and perspectives to development research projects as well as providing pedagogical opportunities for action research. Discussion with mapping participants and a gender analysis of the resulting maps can contribute to improved understanding of social, cultural, economic, and environmental issues.
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    Gender and Soil Knowledge: Linking Farmers' Perceptions of Soils with Fertility Analysis in the Philippines
    Christie, Maria Elisa; Mulvaney, Michael J.; Harman, Mary (2013)
    This presentation discusses the integration of gendered soil knowledge and scientific soil knowledge based on fieldwork in the Philippines. Qualitative methods were used to understand men's and women's soil knowledge as part of a soils conservation project. Quantitative methods such as soil sampling and analysis, and ANOVA were used in combination with the local information to determine statistical differences in the soil fertility between the men's and women's 'best' and 'worst' soils. We found that men and women did choose 'best' soils that had greater fertility than the 'worst' soils. However,there were no significant differences in fertility between the men's and women's chosen soil regarding gender. In other words, mens' soils were not more fertile than womens' and vice verse. This is significant since women were perceived to not have any knowledge of soil and fertility. The authors argue that while men's and women's knowledge of soil fertility was supported by the fertility analysis, men and women chose their soils using different experiences and knowledge of soil interactions. Men based much of their soil knowledge on direct interactions such as tilling while women based their soil knowledge from indirect interactions such as harvesting and marketing. This has important, gendered implications for how extension agents communicate soil conservation management. The authors recommend a closing of the gap between the soil sampling and the ethnographic methods when it comes to collaboration between soils scientists, extension agents, and farmers.
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    Gender in conservation agriculture: Results of fieldwork Claveria, Misamis Oriental, July-August 2012
    Harman, Mary; Christie, Maria Elisa (Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Tech, Office of International Research, Education, and Development (OIRED), 2013)
    This presentation discusses the findings of fieldwork conducted in July-August in Claveria, Misamis Oriental, Philippines for the Gender CCRA of SANREM CRSP. Specifically, it reviews the findings of household interviews conducted with smallholder farmers on their access to resources, agricultural practices, and local soil knowledge. It was presented to those same farmers in order to provide restitution and gain farmer feedback and determine the gender-based constraints and opportunities of CAPS in the Philippines.
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    Gendered Soils Knowledge, Access to Resources, and Agricultural Practices in the Philippines
    Christie, Maria Elisa; Harman, Mary; Dayo, H.; Mercado, Agustin R. Jr.; Ella, Victor B.; Reyes, Manuel R. (2012)
    This presentation discusses the methods and findings of gender research for development in the context of conservation agriculture. The purpose was to determine the gender-based constraints and opportunties for the adoption of conservation agriculture for smallholder farmers in two villages in Northern Mindanao. It reviews a mixed methods approach of combining participatory and geospatial methods to explore the gendered nature of soils knowledge, access to resources, and agricultural practices that are relevant to conservation agriculture. This research found soil knowledge, access to resources, and agricultural practices in this region are gendered. These findings reveal the implications for gender differences in the context of adoption.
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    Gendered Soils Knowledge, Practices, and Access to Assets in CAPS: Student Research in the Gender CCRA
    Christie, Maria Elisa; Harman, Mary; Agriesti, Keri; Sumner, Daniel M.; Botello, Rubén C.; Bagares, Isidra; Mercado, Jun; Ella, Victor B.; Reyes, Manuel R.; Alwang, Jeffrey R. (2012)
    This poster discusses the student research of the Gender Cross Cutting Research Activity (Gender CCRA) of SANREM CRSP. The purpose of the Gender CCRA is to identify gender-based constraints and opportunities for conservation agricultural production systems (CAPS) adoption across sites and make recommendations regarding gender-based practices and policies to improve the success of CAPS. It uses a mixed methods approach that incorporates both qualitative and quantitative methods. Graduate students have been an essential component in conducting research for the Gender CCRA in several sites, including Bolvia, the Philippines, and Cambodia. This poster summarizes the approach and presents preliminary findings from their individual projects.
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    Local soil knowledge and gendered landscapes in Bolivia and the Philippines: Can GIS tell their story?
    Harman, Mary (2012)
    This research will pose questions about using mixed methods for research on gender, local soil knowledge, and agricultural resources. It presents qualitative GIS methods used in sample households in the Bolivian Andes to discuss its cross-cultural applicability for future fieldwork in the Philippines. It will be part of the Gender Cross-Cutting Research Activity of SANREM CRSP in collaboration with a research-for-development organization in Claveria, Misamis Oriental, Mindanao. The goal is to combine qualitative methods with geospatial techniques to identify and document gendered knowledge, agricultural practices, and access to resources in order to better understand the relationship between gender, agriculture, and landscape. By incorporating multiple methods we hope to identify gender based constraints and opportunities at the household level that are relevant to conservation agriculture production systems (CAPS).
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    A mixed methods approach to studying gender and conservation agriculture in the Philippines
    Harman, Mary; Christie, Maria Elisa; Bagares, Isidra (2012)
    This is a presentation of fieldwork methodologies conducted in a smallholder farming community in the Philippines. It reviews the mixed method approach including participatory and geospatial methods to explore gender differences in farmer's soil knowledge, access to resources, and agricultural practices. The purpose of this research is to identify gender-based constraints and opportunities that are relevant to conservation agriculture production systems.
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    Participatory mapping and gendered space: Kitchenspace, value chains, peanuts, and pesticides
    Christie, Maria Elisa; Luebbering, Candice; Zseleczky, Laura; Agriesti, Keri; Harman, Mary (2014-08-26)
    Participatory mapping can be used to identify gender differences in the landscape. Beginning with women mapping dualities in “kitchenspace” in Mexico, researchers used this qualitative research technique to map the “path of the peanut,” the “path of the pesticide,” and agricultural value chains. In countries where women have considerably lower literacy rates than men, participatory mapping can help increase women’s participation in development research. In addition, working in women-only and men-only groups is a strategy for collecting sex-disaggregated spatial data that lends itself to gender analysis. Findings include the importance of food preparation spaces and gendered differences in access to transportation.
  • Soils knowledge and gendered landscapes in Bolivia and the Philippines: Can GIS tell their story?
    Harman, Mary; Christie, Maria Elisa; Agriesti, Keri; Botello, Rubén C.; Dayo, H. (2011)
    This poster explores the challenges of mixing GIS and qualitative methods in a research-for-development context with a collaborative research program financed by USAID. It is a part of a pilot project to identify gender-based constraints and opportunities for conservation agriculture production systems in smallholder farming communities. Our goal is to map gendered landscapes and local soils knowledge linking participatory mapping with GPS mapping. Data gathering has been completed in Bolivia and initiated in the Philippines. The overall purpose of the project is to understand how changes in farming practices that form part of conservation agriculture production systems—such as leaving crop cover on the field—will affect men and women’s use and knowledge of the land. It will present qualitative GIS methods used in sample households in the Bolivian Andes to discuss its cross-cultural applicability for future fieldwork in the Philippines. This research represents a novel approach to using GIS to organize, analyze, and present data drawn from multiple methodologies, both quantitative and qualitative. We present a narrow but multi-layered “slice” of data drawn from multiple methods, juxtaposing scientific knowledge with local, traditional knowledge about soils. Other methods included field and household visits, soil sampling, and GIS analysis. Preliminary findings show that men and women’s local soil knowledge is related to gendered access and use of space.
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    Using Qualitative Geographic Information Systems to Explore Gendered Dimensions for Conservation Agriculture Production Systems in the Philippines: A Mixed Methods Approach
    Harman, Mary (Virginia Tech, 2013-05-14)
    This research identifies gender-based constraints and opportunities for the adoption of conservation agriculture production systems (CAPS) based on a case-study with smallholder farmers in two villages in Misamis Oriental, Philippines. It explores gendered soil knowledge and perceptions, access to resources, and agricultural practices in the context of food security and soil conservation. This approach combines qualitative and quantitative methods such as focus group discussions, household interviews, participatory mapping, and GPS mapping. I found that men and women have gendered soil perceptions which are linked to topography, gender roles, and access to assets.  These could have implications for whether men and women adopt conservation agriculture. I also demonstrate the importance of combining geospatial techniques and participatory methods for gender research in a development context. Much of the qualitative GIS literature focuses on incorporating qualitative data into a GIS, yet I argue it is important to incorporate geospatial tools into qualitative, participatory research to understand the spatiality of people\'s perceptions, practices, and resources.
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    Using qualitative GIS to explore gendered dimensions for CAPS in the Philippines: A mixed methods approach
    Harman, Mary; Christie, Maria Elisa; Bagares, Isidra; Mercado, Agustin R. Jr.; Ella, Victor B.; Reyes, Manuel R. (2013)
    This presentation discusses the fieldwork and findings of a research-for-development project in the Philippines regarding gendered soil knowledge, access to resources, and agricultural practices. It identifies gender-based constraints and opportunities for the adoption of conservation agriculture production systems in a smallholder community in Northern Mindanao. This mixed methods approach includes focus group discussions, household interviews, and GPS mapping. Findings indicate that men and women have different soil knowledge that are linked to topography, gender roles, and access to resources. These gendered dimensions could have implications for the adoption of conservation agriculture production systems. This research also demonstrates the importance of combining geospatial techniques and participatory methods for gender research in a development context.