Intra-household gender relations and women participation in non-industrial private forestry in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania

Abstract

This paper draws on a study conducted in the selected districts of Iringa and Njombe regions in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania where over the past decade Non-industrial Private Forestry (NIPF) has emerged involving village-based domestic investors. Data for the study were largely collected using focus group discussions (FGDs) of men and women tree growers. Data were analysed using content analysis focusing on the emerging themes, subthemes, and patterns. The paper shows that gender division of labour characterizes silvicultural practices in private forestry. Men play a key and dominant role in decision making on the allocation of labour and marketing of timber. We argue that, given this arrangement, as long as men continue to dominate the market sphere, mere ownership of woodlots by women is not a feasible pathway to having control over income obtained from the sales of timber from their woodlots. To address this, the paper comes up with some recommendations.