Effects of charcoal production processes on gender focused tasks of producers :

Abstract

Due to tack of affordable and convenient modern energy sources for cooking and heating, domestic consumers of cooking fuels especially in low income countries have increasingly switched to charcoal. This is mainly in urban. areas. In cases where there is lack of affordability for other fuel types, a switch to fossil fuels is unlikely under business as usual. The production of charcoal in Uganda is overwhelmingly dominated by the "informal sector" in which small scale producers use traditional inefficient technologies. Wood is always sourced from natural forests and private land and oftentimes harvested illegally, despite forest management systems in place. The lack of a specific regulation in the industry in Uganda coupled with weak enforcement and disjointed forest policies, has precipitated increased rates of deforestation from charcoal production even in protected The low replanting rates and. poor land management practices together with the volatile land tenure system besides the lack of resources are the. major reasons for such trends that have been identified across the country. This has resulted into over exploitation of resources and safety hazards yet no studies have investigated in-depth how charcoal production activities affect the individual charcoal producer, their households and the community where they live. This study was conducted in Nakaseke District with an overall objective of "analyzing the extent to which the gender focused tasks and responsibilities of charcoal producers are affected by the charcoal production processes". The specific objectives of the study included examining the type of gender tasks performed by charcoal producers; examining how productive tasks undertaken by charcoal producers influence the intensity of charcoal production and analyzing the extent to which the demands of male and female charcoal producers influence production of charcoal in ways that involve different tasks. The research used a mixed method approach employing. both qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative was in the form of individual household questionnaire interviews, Key Informant interviews and FGDs. This was intended to collect as much primary data as possible and allowed for a free-flow of question and answer style, widening the. breadth of information gathered. The quantitative, approach brought out the relationships between the dependent and independent variables. This helped the research to analyze the relationship between the gender focused tasks and participation charcoal production. The major findings showed that there are remarkable effects of charcoal production processes on gender tasks performed by charcoal producers. Seventy percent (70%) of the respondents came from outside Nakaseke District majority of whom were men who had left their wives and children behind in their districts of origin. These spend more than three months without going back home. They leave all the burden and responsibility of raising children to women. Both male and female spend more time in charcoal production and less time is spent on other household chores. This negatively affects their reproductive responsibilities. The research recommends that policy and decision makers should come out with a clear/ stand out. policy governing and regulating activities in the charcoal value chain paying sufficient attention to their implications on environmental sustainability.