Background to Research.

Gender Dimensions in Myanmar’s Climate Smart Villages (CSVs).

It is fundamental that ‘’no one is left behind’’ in cc adaption projects, especially projects supporting food and nutrition security. However, in a country like Myanmar with poor track records of human right abuses and low gender equality particularly for women due to traditional beliefs, how does an organisation ensure that the needs of each individual participant are meet? Especially the marginalized groups who are the are most impacted by climate change i.e. women, landless, elderly, children. With this project the focus is on female farmers in Myanmar as they comprise 70% of the labor force in the agriculture sector – the second highest employment provider in the country and vital to support the health and wellbeing of its citizens, (FAO, 2016).

The aim of this project to understand and determine the extent of empowerment in agriculture that existed in Myanmar before CSA was implement, by examining the information gathered by International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) survey conducted in 2018. This will be used as a basis for comparison of results gained after CSA implementation 2019-2020. This evaluation is to commence this coming year by IIRR and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Whilst this research focuses on the complex interactions that impacts empowerment of each survey respondent, the aim is that this research will contribute to an understanding of women’s empowerment in Myanmar, by examining the resources they can or cannot access and perception of women in their society. Results should be used for consideration for future CSA empowerment initiatives.

This research project is part of NUIG Master of Science Program in Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security and has been carried out in conjunction with ongoing research by International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR). The purpose of this Blog is to share the research resources and insights from research carried out during the project and  to answer the questions I had or received while researching.

DISCLAIMER: All content on this site represents my own views except where properly cited, and do not represent the views of any other person or organisation.

About this Blog.

I am using this Blog as a platform to answer the most frequently asked questions I encountered when people enquired what I have been up to for the last year, in relation to this reserach project: The Gender Dimensions of Myanmar’s Climate Smart Villages.

I have also included the most relevant resoucres I utilized while reserching this project.

About me.

I am a gardener with a BSc in Horticulture and landscape design from the Botanic gardens with a passion for plant propagation and conservation. Currently undertaking the Masters of Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (MScCCAFS) at NUIG and carrying out research project with IIRR, based in Myanmar. Before returning to ‘’full time study’’ (as every day you learn something new in horticulture when working with nature)  in 2019, I had worked in a range of public and private gardens with diverse plant collections from Mediterranean, tropical and subtropical climates.  This work opened my eyes to the unsustainable use of limited natural resources and lead me to study permaculture food production and to volunteer on rural bio-intensive farms in Costa Rica. A country who has lost its right to its own natural resources and it’s agriculture sector is now dependent on multinational conglomerates focusing on production of monocrops. While here I gained firsthand experience of how sustainable agriculture methods can rebuild a community’s resilience to climate change.