FIELD OB6EHVATION A.' Handicrafts - African women's work in the informal sector

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As elsewhere in Africa, Zambian women engage in all sorts of craft' production, such asknit'ting, crocheting, weaving, sewing and the ,like. A few women engage' >in some of these on

a

filli-time' basis, ,but the majority, because of lack of capital, skill, market outlets and so on, combine craft work with many other activities. The crafts produced being additional income while some arc used for immediate domestic consumption - e.g, when a woman knits a sweater for herself or ther children. Thus, in many markets in Lusaka, women arc to bs seen knitting or crocheting while at the same time carrying on with trading. '

Some women said they knitted for friends who paid afi;w kwacha slightly above the cost of raw materials used. When asked how long it took to knit, for example a sweater, the women could not say the exact numbers of hours that had been expended because this work is combined with so many other activities, such as trading, cooking, mindlnr- -of the, children, and the like.

When asked why thE>Y did 'hot, for example knit oncrochedt on a' full-time basis, instead of trading, women said that this would be precarious as they could not be sure of a regular income from such a vsnturs.. One woman said, "you are sure of Selling your tomatoes and flour for, people must cat Nsim'a but people-can afford to go' without a sweater or a tablecloth, in hard times". This was the feeling of many women traders We interviewed,

Also, women felt that to really make, money from Selling many af the products women made" a woman ne,e,de,dfixe,d pl'e,mis(.s, ·e.g., a shop, machines, Iicense for trading, and several other helpers to increase the production and thus make the operation profitable, As is to be expected, women traders could not afford such ventures..· Trading on a full-time basis, therefore was preferred and thought to be more, secure, financially. , . ' • ,.'

The, arguments adduced by these women arc sound... To' make 'substantial returns from handicraft production requires a number of conditions. Quality,' for' example,' is' important if what is produced is to be, competitive while quantity docs 'i;ntail a largerbtlsine,ssorg-allizlltion than most women can afford. Quality again requiresrrnore than:' average skill and may mean attending a course far several months as dernostratec bY''tht, example We give 'now. ,

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PagE> 107

In Lusaka, WE> visiter: an.' ObSHVE>d women weavin.: carpets 'from

wnich

th'~y mace handsome profits by Zambian salary standards both in private ane' public sector for people withsquivalent ski}ls. )ndEoHHh€ returns for these woman's labour WE>rE> impressive,. . ,

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thE> women, €lE>VE>nillnUmbEor, had 'all partrcipated in a course organizE>d by Y.W.e,A.

The duration of the COljrSE>, had bew approximately 2 years, At thEo completion of the course, the Y.W.e.A. had~lpE00"th€womE>rito secure a loan from Which they had bEoEonabl€to rent a small workshop (2 rOQms),and>looms for wE>aVing-.Each loom w.as approximately K 500 -.

, ThE,' wcmen worksc as agnoup, even though there was room for individual productivity. ' ThE>

women could also bring their .srnall-children to work who playHl as their parents weaved. WE>

6bSE,rvE,d that this work allowed the women to breastfeed their children as the nE>Eod arose, In addition, the women had the services of a pert-time book-keeper/accountant whom they paid, and who carne to thJ, centre twice a'week._{, .} _{. .} _, _. _{, i} i "",

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'r0mE>Q, madEo uquisitE> catpEots,which, according to Mrs. Mlilry Kazunga,'(on€'of thE,'chiEof sxecutlves of,Y.W.C.A. in Lusaka') the Tisk: worker whoaccompaniedtnE>te' this projE.ct,: .and the, women's book-keeper at the production slts, could not meet the prevarhng dEomand;' _Th~ Y.W'.e.A was responsible for marketfng ths vcarpets and the -bock-keeper said that thE> wpm~n somatlmss mads as much as K

noo

pE>r month, a fE>w E>XCE>E>d this amount.'I .

This

was

collaborated by the womsn themselves. OnE> woman said she ,hadK 1,100'In 'onE> m'ontt:la tE<W months previously and this,wE, W€fE> Informec, was not unusual, E>VE>n thoUgh k i700 p~~,,\TIonihSE,E:m€dtohave. bE>E>na good aVE>rag€. ThE> amount of. money .madE> tJythE>

'women ClEoptondE>Cp!1 the .number.of carpets thewomen made. ' ' ThE> importance of skill and capital becomes apperent when it is realized that the average educettcnal attainment. of these women E>SpE>cially'tliE> youngE>ronE>S, W6lS comparable to; ,for

€xa'mpIE, , thE;ir,cQuniE>rpllrts in dressmakmz and commodity trading. The latter, as, WE>havt.

sE;E>n,in:ak€On' (tie everage of K 100 per month. Without institutional help, such as they had rtcE>ivE>d 'from t\le

¥.W

.C.A., allthe.wornsn said they would nE>VE>r I)/IVE> been able' to perttclpate iritms venture indiVidually. It would have been impossible for any of them to save the K.5 000 - requireo for the purchase of one loom. Premises for production would also havfiipt'~IlEontE>d

additional problems to most of ths women who said they liveo in crowcec quarters. OnE> woman said she had 10 children, ThE> one woman who said she had 2 children, was theyoungest and

shE> dEoSirE>d, m 9 r E > . ' "

, Most of

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^WOmE>n ^fEolt conf'idence that thi;,y t..()Uld shortly build thE>ir own housesvJndeed, 2 pf }hl> wornsnsllid~E>Yhad already started, 'ThE>~lghincome theyreceived was so important to th6n1, that' tlJE>Y fE>U therepayment of the initial loans had, bE>E>nW611 worth it. This clearty demostrates the Importance of access to skill'lln<! "capital. EVE>n though the 24 months r€quir6C toIearn this particular skill may ssem long at first,ipanywomE>n no doubt would _~ more than willIng t6 sa,crificE> the time if it was dEonloHs'tratEidJtO'thEom that the returns to their' skills would makE>, :such. ,a major diffE>r€ncE>tothEoir'1iv'~s~il\(jE,Eod, womEon's high attribution to l'atE>S ftom cE>rtain skills acquisition is now WE>1l dEomonstratEod to bE> rE>latE>d to non-availability of wagE>-Eoarning E>mploymE>nt aftE>r thE> complE>tion .of t,hE> courSE>, Poor womEon !irEo forcEod into using what thE>Y hav€ to th€ bE>st of th€irabilitrEos}Th6 WOffiE>n who pal'tidpatE>din Y;W;e.A.

weaving cOIjl'SE> 'aid so, bE>causE> thE>Y could SE,to 't'til> ~t1Vantn[!:E>s accruing, thEomat thE>col11plHion of thEo prw,rl),mJTIE>. Mp!JyothE>r womE>n who' kn(,wbf this projE>ct said thE>Y would bE> glad to follow a similar path, but funds WEotE> a problE>m nnd mnny hopE>d that somE>day it might bEo possiblE> to purchaSE> a loom and thEon go into thE> WE;fivinf busin€ss. ThE>y WEorE> not surE> how this would matEorialisEo but somE>how, thE> hopE> linf':€rEod.

B. Commodity Trading

Market trading in Lusaka, while dominated by women is rE>lativE.lyUndE>vE>lopE>d compared to any \%st African city. Thus, there WE>rE> ssveral stalls in many of the markets WE> visited which WE>rE> not occupied, In one market, WE> counted, with the help 'of the secretary (a manl) some 30 E>mpty stalls. This, We wE>r,e told, was because the stalls are rE>nted on 11 daily basis.

This would never happen in a Lagos (Nigeria) market. stalls are an extremely rare commodity 'and are passed on from one g(,neration .toonother which explains the phenomenal proliferation , of markets in Yoruba Cities of W6Stern Nj~"(,Hh~Dut, agatn, Nigeria and w(,st African women , have been in market trade for centuries. -In Zambia, Nylrtnda U954) observes that at the time

of his fieldwork; womsn were a rarity. In market trading in Zambia.

The women we spoke to complained of a multitude of problems ranglnr: from official control of trading activities, shortage of capital, to storage problems, among others. For example, women Selling such perishable ,commodities as ver:retables, were seen drylng tomatoes ,and' green' VE>getables Which could then.Le stored and sold at a later date. Fish sellers also

pl'E>servE> their waft;s in similar ways• .v~gctables and can mean a loss of meagre resources.

Attempts to find out women's incomes per day or month proved futile. Cur stay in these markets were far too Short to establish the sort of rapport required for such information. Women traders are, for very good reasons warY of strangers especially those who probe into incomes.

These could begovE>rnment ageots!;HQWever, from batches of' tomatoes and various other ,vegetablE>s, it was possible to sattmats, but only very rour:rhlx, the returns to these women Which are in kE>eping with flgurE>s obtained by researchers with a deeper knowledge of these markets.

, Howevsrr, almost all _the,wpm~n talked of their difflcultks

in

this trade. The markets we visited were mostly near the, ,city centre. Thus, many of the traders complained of transport, which they said was scarce ¥I)~f;xpE>nsive. We,were told that some women spent several hours a day going to and from theSe markets as they liVE>d in psrt-urban areas some of which were as far as 10 kilometres away.

C. Dressmaking

In an earlier section, We pointed out the problems faceo by tailors and dressmakers in Lusaka vis a vis raw materials. Restrictions on imports because of the scarcity of foreign exchange, and the fact that a few women have boutiques arE> able to import rE>ady made garments, make this trade precarious. EVE>ry young woman who wants to start a business thinks first of dressmakinp;. This makes the market competitive to the ex'tr~me.In addition, machines are expensive, and the second hand ones mean a woman is restricted in her operations. Again, as in handicraft production, for dressmaking to be profitable, a woman needs premises whsre she can display her skills and attract clients. Home-based dressmaking business limits a woman's operations as she is confined to a Iow-lncoma area Where purchasing [lower Is, correspondingly low.

The few women dressmakers we interviewed said one needed a big order from schools, or government Which'n~,Me,9,lilnetwor~i,ofimportant SOCial contacts. EVE>n with such outlets;

women needed, bigger Operations Which meant large capital for Investment and financial security,

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PagE> 109

tJE,yond many of their dreams. Again, Iike commodity trading, competittcn hE>rE> was said to bE> stiff and to rnake it, a woman therefore nE>E-clE-d more than a sewing machine and the basic skills. OnE- woman remarked : "this business is difficult as there are too many of us in it. To mekE- a lot of money, you need to offer something diffE>rE>nt from, E-vE>rybody E>J..$E,. This you can only do if .yourrnateirals are diffE>rE>nt and your designs unusual. With a second-hand machine and shop, how can you make big money", Another woman who had a stall in which,shseolc vegetable said she had started in dressmaking, HE-r mother had Ient her K.3 000 with which she had bought a second-hand sewing machine, ShE> said "It was difficult business, my friE>n<:ls WE>rE> in it but WE>rE> looking for a way out because WE> could not make enough money, no mateirals, Le, good ones and nocustomers, 1 decioed to try this business",

D.' CatE>ring

Restaurants-end-food kiosks in urban centres throughout Africa SE>E>m to be .dornlnated by men bE-caUSE> of the larger capital outlay required to Initiate such. busmesses•. Thus, most of the women that are found in these enterprises are usually part of the family labour without which the men would find it difficult to operate since the female component-of the: family labour is unpaid.

WomE>n then, are Ief't to run the street foods. ThE>sE- are cooked foodstuffs sold usua~

on the pavements of roads, streets and junctions of major highways. In market places, women also sell cooked food, the variety of which depends on exigenices of the local-market and also the staple food of a particular city.

.·Por example, in Lusaka, WE> observed and talked to women who cooked and sold a local stsw eaten with a kind of thick porridgE> mads of maize Nsima, In Kenyan markets this is called Ugali (Swahili) and Ngima (Kikuyu). WomE>n in some Lusaka markets WE>rE> also to be SE>ElO· roastmg meat which some pleople USE> to E-at -with Nsirna, ThE> pounding and mixing of tbs.jnaize flour to. a consistency that allows the making of Nsima for ·salE>, is hard .work. In Lusaka city and other markets, during the lunch hour, women are to bE> SE>E>n sweating profusely as they attempt to pound extremely large quantitles of flour into Nsirna,

),' As many of. the urban low-income workers patronize thE>SE> markets for lunch, WE> figured that.womenselllng cooked food, especially the local diet dE>scribEod abOVE>; probably made slightly more .thanthelr counter-parts selling' fruits and vE>gE-tablE-s. Again, it was Impossible to ascertain the precise amoont. of- money made by thE-SE> women as, Iike all their other colleagues, they WE-rEo reticent about their profits. Besides, the peak period for this "wawen" lunch hour, was nct-conouctvs to Interviews since thE-Y WE-rEo extremely busy and YE-t, this was the -only time that WE> could attempt all,extracotatlon of the profits made,

ThE> argument thatthese women make marginillly more profits than trad6rs of ·fr.uits and vE>gE-tablE>s, 6l!l~cially th6v6ry small busmesses, is based on the portion of nsima sold together with meat and cooking oil as the thrt;(, major ingredients, and Ilmtted information given to us by other women traders not involved in food cooking. Asked how th6Y knew, they said their. colleagues.. told them so and that they could also surmise this tJE,caUSE>· of their experiences as housewives and the prices paid for a standard local lunch in most-Lusaka Central

markets, .

To get a more authentic picture of matters relating to incomes, one needs a great deal of time during which rapport can be E.stablishE.d, an,dthE. women can asc6rtain that you' are who you say you are, and notan official who has cPJyE.Jo check prices or to reinforce standards which are unI,'I';alistic i<iVE.n ,~h~ scarcity of, ).nfi'llstructural facilrties, 'On6, such example in some cities- ill·tl'lat traders art. r6fwjr6P to ',wash thE.ir,J.1apds ~,for~ they handle food items

meantfor inHl;l6diatE. consumption. but the facillttes are not always available to do so.

VII."CCNCLU.slC,~

A. Summary

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By African standards, Zambia, is highly urbanized, but unemployment is high and the formal sector cannot kE.E.[l pace with wage employment, This throws more [l60p16 into the informal sector and, for the same reasons as studies in Kenya show, women 1l~~"mor6 Iikely to bE. affecteqthan men,

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, Although tOE,rE. is good dE.tailE.q information on Zambian women, thE.rE> is a pau(;ity on the informal sector but some gE.nt.ralizotions can be deduced such as women on the average, attain 10w6r turnovers than their male counterparts in the informal sector, ThE.rE. are many r61lSOnS for this :

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- often the informal sector-cepends on family labour where women and female children are unpaid in accordance with the conceptions of wornens' contribution b6ing part of their domestic role, WomE.n find they are forced into partnerships with men who can offE.r them some protection, and their roles are dE.finE.d by the traditional divisions of labour.

, In addi'ti;;,n,thE. mOVE. to a cash sconcrny has meant that the status of women 'nas deterlorated, ThE. economic and psychological security they had bE.f6rE, the capitalist system of production was imposed had been E.rodE.d. .

In Zambia's tntorrnalsectoe, though lack of educatlcn and skills are a sertous constraint, the biggest concern is lack of Capital. MonE.Y from family has too many obligations attached to it, and is by its nature erratic. By-laws governing .small businesses loans are outdated.

Financial input tend to bE. used for capital intensive production b6nE.fiting only a fE.w at the 6X[l6nS6 of the informal sector a I?hilosoph>, endorsed by official trade policies.

, ' o.fficia!' government

,sch,~m6s

^ar6

g6a~6d

tOrlJanlifacturing and SE.rvicing:rath6r than to thE. informal sector and, whilE. they do not break downtheir statistics, it appears to benefit men more than women, Non-government organizations ortsn duplicat6 or COmpE.t6 with one another or are gE.arE.d toward ths rural sector, International orgaizations on the whole do not have a specific policy of promoting women's activities and women's contribution to d6VE.lopmE.nt effortshave not ,bE.E;n rE.cO!':nizE.d.,

," OVE.ray, women tE;nd .to stjck with rE.tail tra~inp;' as it has an instant return ano fE.w overheads, YfhilE. craft ventures rE,quirE. training, capital and premises, Wh6rEr thE.SE. W6rE.. made available such as a Y.W.C.A venture, returns could t'6 high.

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Th6 market system in Zambia is not as widespread or entrenched as in some part of Africa, such as WE.st Africa.

PaffEo 111 B. HEosEoarch NEoEods and Major Anas for Policy AttEontion

The informal sector has not until rEocEontly, bEoEon consiqereo an important component of national African economies. Consequently, little is known of the form and the structure of this sector. However, the fragmentary data that exists, Indicates that most women in the informal sector are clustered around the community of the poor, Le, at the bottom end of the informal sector spectrum,

Here, they are to be found in such acttvities as dressmaktng, hairdressing, steeet foods and COOkEod food in marketvplaces, retail trade;' crafts production, oomssncssrvants.. beer brEowing, and so on. In our extensive search for data on wornEon in the informal sector, WEo found very little data on handicraft production and beer brEowinf, while concrete data, on such areas

Dans le document African women's work in the informal sector (Page 122-136)