Gender Transformative Impacts from Watershed Interventions: Insights from a Mixed-Methods Study in the Bundelkhand Region of India

This study examined gender perspectives on water security by exploring an integrated water management approach for agriculture, livestock, and human consumption. The data were generated in a watershed project to enhance drought resilience of farming through groundwater recharge and agroforestry interventions in the water-scarce Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh in central India. Post-intervention, a quantitative survey and qualitative gender and social analysis tools were applied to understand the benefits of the interventions for women, men, and the community as a whole. Quantitative data were collected from 700 individuals in five villages (three treatment villages and two villages where watershed interventions were not implemented). In addition, 33 semi-structured interviews and eight focus group discussions were conducted to understand local gender norms at the project sites. Data analysis revealed that the community benefits accrued from the watershed interventions included increased crop productivity and diversification of agriculture and livelihoods. However, strict patriarchal norms restricted the visibility, mobility, and communication of women within the household and community during the interventions. Considering gender diversity, this study identifies that women can benefit from participating in watershed interventions and provides a deeper understanding of the constraints and barriers to women’s participation in such projects, including economic, social, and cultural factors. The construction of check dams reduced women’s time per day for fetching water by about 29%. Groundwater level increases reduced the effort required of women to draw water from open wells and hand pumps. Female education is a significant factor related to the benefits of watershed interventions, and regression analysis indicated that households with higher levels of education of adult women were significantly more likely to benefit from the interventions than other households. To avoid perpetuation of the exclusion of diverse local knowledge and gender inequality at the community level, mechanisms must be developed and adjusted continuously such that whole communities, including men and women, are empowered to participate in the decision-making process at various levels and for different purposes. When implementing watershed projects in a highly patriarchal context, as in the Bundelkhand region where women are hidden behind the strong presence of men, advocacy of behavioral change communication must be implemented regularly. The community needs to be sensitized toward systematic and gendersensitive institution building, social engagement, and capacity development for local as well as global water security

Process Documentation Research and Impact of Community-Driven Development Grants Research in Rural India, Socioeconomics Discussion Paper Series 34

In 2011 ICRISAT gave experimental grants to six dryland villages targeted by the “Village Dynamics Studies in South Asia” (VDSA) project. Two villages were located in Telangana state (undivided Andhra Pradesh) and four in Maharashtra state. A grant of USD 7,000 (Rs. 315,000) was given to each villages to assess the role of local governance and institutions on agricultural performance, and to evaluate development pathways. The community was free to decide where and how to use the grant. Using the Process Documentation Research (PDR) framework, this report documents the activities of the ICRISAT-VDSA project team and the community implementation committee in using the grant, and lessons learned in the process. We also estimated the number of beneficiaries and the economic benefits from the grant. In two villages, the annual economic benefits from the grant were almost equal to the total grant expenditure. In five villages, the cumulative benefits over the last four years exceeded the total value of the grant. Unlike other publically-funded projects, large numbers of households from minority and socially weaker sections also benefited. The results suggest that, given the opportunity, local communities can effectively execute local infrastructure development projects through need-based collective action, while lowering the transaction costs of community action. By involving local community members in planning and implementing projects, the village grant provided benefits to a large number of households and generated substantial economic benefits. The experiment provides useful lessons for scaling-out village grants to other project villages, and for rural development agencies in India and elsewhere

Photonic crystals for imporving light absorption in organic solar cells

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Modeling the Back Contact of Cu2ZnSnSe4 Solar Cells

International audienceIn this paper, we analyze the theoretical impact of the Molybdenum (Mo) back contact and the MoSe2 interfacial layer on the performances of a Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe)-based solar cell. MoSe2 layers are formed spontaneously in the Mo/CZTSe interface during the annealing of the absorber, but disagreeing interpretations about their actual role in affecting the device figures of merit (V-OC, J(SC), FF, and eta) have been proposed in the literature. In our approach, we have simulated three structures presenting different conditions at the back contact: ideal-contact/CZTSe (flat-band), Mo/CZTSe, and Mo/MoSe2/CZTSe. For these three layers, an accurate explanation of the selection of critical material parameters is given. The numerical simulations, performed with SCAPS 3.2.01, show that the low values of Mo work function (<= 4.95 eV) would have a strong detrimental effect on the V-OC and FF of the cell if no interfacial layers were present at the Mo/CZTSe interface. On the other hand, a beneficial effect of the MoSe2 layer on the V-OC of the device is demonstrated when this layer is included in the structure. This trend is confirmed by experimental measurements. The expected band diagram of the full ZnO/CdS/CZTSe/MoSe2/Mo structure is provided

Structural, mechanical and optical properties of conjugated polymers under mechanical load and temperature annealing

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Oral contraception and energy intake in women: impact on substrate oxidation during exercise.

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