Examining the potential of biofuels for rural development and empowerment of women

Dec 2009

Gender considerations come into play because in many developing countries the current lack of energy in rural areas has a disproportionate impact on women. They are the ones primarily responsible for collecting and managing traditional biomass fuels. The long hours and distances travelled by women gathering wood or dung, carrying water, growing crops, processing food and caring for their families – all without electricity, motorized equipment or modern fuels – keep them from pursuing education, training and income-generating activities that could help lift them, their families and their communities out of poverty.
In addition, women are the main producers of food crops in many areas. If these women could grow oil-producing crops, sell them for income, and also use the oil for motorized power, electricity generation, household activities and profitable enterprises, this could open up exciting new opportunities for local economic development. Studies have shown that women can also profit by establishing and sharing in bioenergy processing operations.

By: G. Karlsson (ENERGIA), K. Banda (National African Farmers Union of South Africa)

 
download this document:   132 kb
home