Bridging the gender divide
Building infrastructure for a rural-based horticultural project to directly benefit whole communities, has indirectly empowered some rural women with building skills.
HARARE (ILO News) “I am a divorcee and mother of three children aged fifteen, nine and five. My monthly salary of ZWL$1,400 although not enough to cater for all my needs, I am able to put food on the table, pay school fees for my children and provide for other household basic need,” shared Pennia Kadzinga as she adjusted the window-frames of the tomato paste-processing factory in Mutoko.
She is one of the eight female builders who graduated from Tabudirira Vocational Training Centre with a building certificate, employed by an engineering firm constructing the tomato paste-processing factory.
For Pennia this was not her passion, having grown up in a household and village where construction work carries the label “masculine” in bold. Her only experience with construction work was watching her brothers and other men in her village mould bricks hardened by fire in homemade kilns and later used for building houses and toilets. It never crossed her mind that adversity would push her into a profession dominated by men.
She proudly exclaimed, “I am equipped with the right skills and holding my own, side by side with male builders.”
Her story resonates similarly to the other seven women builders from Mutoko District employed at the construction site for the tomato paste factory. “I thought I had missed my opportunity when I was not employed during the construction of the pack house, but when I heard that construction of the tomato paste-factory was commissioned, I did not hesitate to apply”, shared Dorothy Pote as she arranged bricks into a wheelbarrow.
This group of women are breadwinners in their families and their earnings have become more valuable in the face of recurrent drought. Household in Mutoko District depend on agriculture, especially horticulture for sustenance. Drought has eroded the livelihoods of many families and left the vulnerable.
Forced to look for alternatives, these enterprising women enrolled for training at Tabudirira Vocational Training centre and opportunity met preparedness.
Before the drought, they were contented growing butternut, tomatoes, peas and fine beans. A good harvest would assure them of USD10 for a bag of butternut, ZWL$40 for a box of tomatoes and ZWL$150-200 for a bag of peas. A good rain season would even make it possible for them to grow three to four times of these crops per annum, which would result in them never becoming desperate for school fees, cooking oil, soap nor new clothes and other essentials for their families.
In addition to the eight women, 16 male former students from Tabudirira VTC are also employed at the construction site in various trades. They are grateful for the opportunity to put into practice the knowledge and skills they acquired during training at the VTC, moreso as they are working under the supervision of seasoned engineers from a reputable construction company.
The construction phase has created employment and income earning opportunities for women, youth and businesses within the district, bridging the gender divide as women participate as builders, but as some from the community provide catering services to the builders!
She is one of the eight female builders who graduated from Tabudirira Vocational Training Centre with a building certificate, employed by an engineering firm constructing the tomato paste-processing factory.
For Pennia this was not her passion, having grown up in a household and village where construction work carries the label “masculine” in bold. Her only experience with construction work was watching her brothers and other men in her village mould bricks hardened by fire in homemade kilns and later used for building houses and toilets. It never crossed her mind that adversity would push her into a profession dominated by men.
She proudly exclaimed, “I am equipped with the right skills and holding my own, side by side with male builders.”
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This group of women are breadwinners in their families and their earnings have become more valuable in the face of recurrent drought. Household in Mutoko District depend on agriculture, especially horticulture for sustenance. Drought has eroded the livelihoods of many families and left the vulnerable.
Forced to look for alternatives, these enterprising women enrolled for training at Tabudirira Vocational Training centre and opportunity met preparedness.
Before the drought, they were contented growing butternut, tomatoes, peas and fine beans. A good harvest would assure them of USD10 for a bag of butternut, ZWL$40 for a box of tomatoes and ZWL$150-200 for a bag of peas. A good rain season would even make it possible for them to grow three to four times of these crops per annum, which would result in them never becoming desperate for school fees, cooking oil, soap nor new clothes and other essentials for their families.
In addition to the eight women, 16 male former students from Tabudirira VTC are also employed at the construction site in various trades. They are grateful for the opportunity to put into practice the knowledge and skills they acquired during training at the VTC, moreso as they are working under the supervision of seasoned engineers from a reputable construction company.
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The construction phase has created employment and income earning opportunities for women, youth and businesses within the district, bridging the gender divide as women participate as builders, but as some from the community provide catering services to the builders!