DESIRE: Gender Template

Study site: Cointzio watershed, Michoacán, Mexico

Template climate with
Women in rural communities of Cointzio watershed, traditionally have the responsibility
6 months drought
under the tropics of the home and family meanwhile men are in charge to bring money at home.
Before and during DESIRE project, members of DESIRE
team worked on the socio-economic situation of different
rural communities of the Cointzio watershed. One study
was specifically focus on the women of these communities
(Vidal, D., 2007. Estrategias de sobrevivencia: el caso de
las comunidades de la microcuenca de Atecuaro,
municipio de Morelia, Michoacán, México. Universidad de
Concepción, Chile)
The present data comes from official data, workshops and
personal interviews of different rural communities of the
study site.

Demography: More women than men, more Income: Agriculture is just an extra income for most
children (3,5) than the national average (3,0) and farmers! Money is coming from off farm activities
low educational level (work, foreign remittances, government help)
Distribution of the population by Education level
sexe and age (%) Simplified typology % Level of incomes from
70 70
60 60 A - Farmer without land 1 agriculture according to a
50 50 B- Small producers with little land, almost no simplified typology of farmers

Annual minimum wage

5-10
40 40 cattle, no resources, associated crops 8
30 6
30 C- Small producers with little land, livestock, 10
20 20 4
with resources, mono- and associated crops
10
0
Men Women Children Young 5- Adults
10
0
HC012R-1R012-RHYD-EHVA
Incompleate Primary Secondary Hight School
D- Mechanized farmers, livestock, lot of
land, monoculture
55-60
2
0
A B C D E
≤5 y 15 y >15 y primary E- Specialized farmers (buy/sell livestock, 10-15
fruits, vegetables, avocados ...) Symplified typology of farmers
Men Women

Labor division: Emigration: 86% of emigrants are men, but since

Women at home and Men outside few years, women are also emigrating to the USA
25
Migration
Number of people who let the

Kind of works done by men (%)

community (2000 people) to

Kind of works done by women (%)

20
emigrate to the USA

15
Past
Work outside Work outside
Field work Present 10
Field work
Work at home Field work + Work outside Never
Homework Field work + Business 5

0
1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005

Miss Carmen Campos-Domínguez is living in San Rafael

Coapa, in the sub-watershed of El Calabozo-Potrerillos. Meanwhile her husband
works in the fields and abroad, she is in charge of the family and home. Thanks to
the project of the SEMARNAT (Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources),
she asked and obtained an ecological oven call “Patsari”. This oven reduce more
than 75% the wood consuming and so, reduce the deforestation. It is also reducing
the time spend to go to pick this wood or, save the money needs to buy it. It is
also healthier because the smoke is conduce outside of the kitchen. In regards to
the benefits, Miss Carmen Campos-Domínguez is promoting widely the use of this
oven on the community. In other hand, she is looking for new economical incomes
from women related activities, she will start a new project of mushroom
production (Pleurotus sp.), thanks to SEMARNAT and DESIRE actions.

Conclusions

▶Rural communities of Cointzio watershed are still very conservative and the role of women is mainly reduced to the home
activities, except when the man is not at home for a long time or when he left is family…
▶Only 10 to 20% of the annual incomes comes from the agriculture for most of farmers. So they are not very interested to ➜ Contact address:
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)
investing time and money to improve their production and fight against soil degradation. LTHE, Christian Prat, BP 53, 38041 Grenoble cedex
9, France Email:christian.prat@ird.fr
▶For young people, the future is on the other side of the border. Since last years, men and women are emigrating to the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México (UNAM)
CIGA, Manuel Mendoza, Morelia, Michoacan,
states meanwhile before, nearly only men were doing this. Mexico Email:mmendoza@ciga.unam.mx

▶To develop soil conservation strategy, it is necessary to guarantee new and appropriate income for families farming. ➜ This project has been co-funded by the European
Commission DG Research-Environment
Alternatives to save money and protect the environment (oven Patsari) have being developed. New activities to be Programme, Unit of Management of Natural
developed at home that generates income (mushrooms) have been proposed. Life conditions of the communities (water, Resources
Head of Unit Pierre Mathy,
light, internet…) have been improved and the Project has helped to change and develop new productions. One of this consist Project officer Maria Yeroyanni
to improve the cattle quality which mean a reduction of their movement and by the way, a reduction of soil erosion.
Except mention, photos are from @ird Prat, C.