EMPOWERING WOMEN AT THE GRASSROOT TO INITIATE IN SMALL

SCALE PROJECTS

SESENARO WOMEN ASSOCIATIO (SWA)

GWADEDE WARD

DAGA RLLG

ALOTAU DISTRICT

Milne Bay Povince

CONTENTS

I. Introduction

II. Mission and Vision

III. Statements

IV. Proposed plans and Situation Analysis

V. Estimated budget

VI. Conclusion

VII. Reference

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INTRODUCTION

Sesenaro Women Association (SWA) is local women group established to organized women within
the Gwadede and Gwagut Wards of Daga Rural Local Level Government to involve in church and
government activities. The women group was formed on the 2nd of February 2016. The women
group was initiated as a Baha’i devotional group for prayer and deepening of their thoughts and
understanding. Through the educational materials provided by the Baha’i Faith; on women, family
development, and equality of man and women, the mothers who were involved increased their
understandings and realized that they just as equal as the men, in decision making, leadership roles
and many more. In a talk delivered by Abdul’-Baha during his visit to the United States and Canada
stated that’ equality of the sexes will be established in proportion to the increased opportunities
afforded to women on this age, for men and women are equally the recipient of powers and
endowments from God, the Creator’. In another talks given by Abdu’-Baha in Paris revealed that’
Women must endeavor then to attain greater perfection, to be man’s equal in every respect, to
make progress in all in which she has been backward, so that man will be compelled to acknowledge
her equality of capacity and attainment’. With the insights learned through the Baha’i materials, it
enhanced their capacity to a level that is not as they were when first started. This inspired them to
start acts of service and small projects within their community and the ward as a whole. The initial
number of women during the formation of the group was six (6). Since the establishment of the
women group, the women have been organizing itself financially, its human resources and projects.
Experience and income earned was through hard work, dedication, commitment and sacrifice. The
number of women involve rose from 6 to 69 over a period of 6 years.

One of their initial plans of action was to contribute in cash and kind. This was done to help the
women cater for their materials which needed financial aid. An act of service the women provided
for elderly man and women within their community is to collect firewood, gather food, and fetch
water, sometimes they stay with them just to keep them company and cook food for them. The
number of women increased as time passed. Other mothers saw what their other friends were doing
and decided to join. They are now currently involved in a number of projects which are to generate
income for their needs in the future. They have been providing a lot for communities and families in
terms of food, vegetables and protein. Their plans now are to identify market gaps and establish
trade. Since the local economy is not stable, the progress of the women group through their
treasurer’s report is in the pace of a snail. Their income generating projects that are currently in
operation are; 1: Labor work. In labor work, they transport school materials, cargoes from local
businesses men, coffee, and work in family gardens. They are paid according to the type of work
they do. The women group has rates so sometimes they are paid before they do the work. 2: Peanut
projects. Each of the women are supplied peanuts seeds, after they harvest the nuts, they hold back
the seeds and give some to the women group to sell at the market. The women group from a church
group activity turned to assist in providing for their other needs and wants from a social and an
economical point of view. This group of women regard educational materials provided by the Baha’i
Faith as useful resource for building capacity for service to the community and society and will
continue to study, new thoughts and approaches to the development of women to educate
themselves on the importance of family life, their roles and responsibilities as wives and family
development, both spiritually and materially. Abdul’-Baha said “women’s lack of progress and
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proficiency has been due to her need of equal education and opportunity. Had she been allowed this
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equality, she’s no doubt she would be the counterpart of man in ability and capacity.”
MISSION

 To build human resources and enhance capacity for women and girls for they are the first
teachers of humankind.
 Empower women to strengthen rural economy

VISION

 To educate women realize their latent potentials and skills within them through educational
materials provided by the Baha’i Faith and government agencies.

STATEMENTS

Sesenaro Women Group has identified several areas within their community that are in need of
immediate aid and assistance:

I. At the moment, there is no proper market facility within the community which
accommodates the sellers. The women group has organized the market that encouraged
mothers from other wards to come and sell their vegetables and fresh produce, which the
mothers are actively participating.
II. The women are interested to produce food crops for market but most of them lack basic
farming tools to do it right. Regardless of the lack of proper tools, majority of the mothers
try their best to produce a portion of the food crops for market. They have the land, the
manpower, seedlings and the guidelines for nursery and pre-harvest. An advantage they
have now is that one of their son is a graduate from PNG University of Natural Resources
and Environment with a Bachelor in Sustainable Tropical Agriculture, which he has already
agreed to assist them when they are ready with their materials.
III. Despite the freshness of the environment, its waters and creeks, the community is still
walking distances to the nearby rivers to do laundry, fetch water and many more. Since no
action has been taken by the wider community to solve the water issue, the women group
claimed that the water project will be their lines of action and will do whatever possibility it
takes to make it a reality.
IV. At present, health and nutrition is a common problem among families especially in the
remote settings. There is abundance of vegetables and fruits ranging from different varieties
across the entire population of Daga area but needs health and nutrition education to help
mothers gear themselves on how to prepare different foods using the many different
methods, so that families will be fed well. By doing so, health and nutrition is taken care of,
and family life strengthened. So far Sesenaro Women Group continues to promote
community health and accompany its members to continue cultivating different varieties of
foods crops and to improve their living standard once every week.
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PROPOSED BUSINESS PLANS AND SITUATION ANALYSIS

Sesenaro women associations in their meetings have come up with business plans which they think
will be helpful to their communities and the society as a whole. The business plans are in line with
the needs of the women, the communities and the economic well-being of families from which they
represent. The plans proposed are community based grassroots stirring programs. The objective of
the women group is to achieve several vital needs and skills through a period of years designed by
the Universal House of Justice, the Supreme Body of the Baha’i Faith in Haifa, Israel. The main
objective is women capacity building on twofold moral purposes (spiritual and intellectual
development) so that every women and girls can be able to develop better family homes, generate
income and take good care of themselves and their family. The proposed plans are expected to solve
some of the major issues within the community.

The proposed project plans are; 1) Fresh produce market, 2) Fresh produce projects, 3) water project
and 4) Cooking utensils for catering big events.

1. WOMEN FRESH PRODUCE MARKET

The fresh produce market is currently operating every Thursdays. This market provides for mothers
within the Gwadede Ward to come and sell their fresh produce from their gardens. So far mothers
from other nearby wards also come to sell. This market is no longer consisting of only mothers
within Gwadede Ward but other mothers from Param, Gwirot, Gwagut, and Biman Wards. They
come to sell varieties of produce, mainly vegetables and greens. The market is set and organized by
the Sesenaro Women Association for raising funds for their women group needs and family needs.
During market days, the seller is required to pay a market fee before they depart for their homes.
The fee is collected and given to the women group treasurer for safe keeping. This market is gaining
more attention and more and more mothers are coming to sell. Everything about the market is very
good, the main problem they have is during rainy seasons. Mainly the market is done in the open
space and requires a shelter to protect the mothers from bad weather conditions. During bad
weather, the mothers usually find it very difficult to sell their fresh produce and vegetables.
Sometimes they cancel the market because of the weather, therefore to ease the burden, they wish
to seek assistance from the government to supply them with building materials in order for them to
build a shelter that can cater for the mothers to continue their fresh produce market.

The market does not only support the mothers financially but also provides a source for food and
vegetables where people can come and buy. Teachers and other public servants within the Gwadede
and nearby wards at most times, this market serve them very well and at the end both the
consumers and the producers are satisfied.

The mothers have chosen a date to do fundraising activities with the food crops they produce. The
date chosen date of the event is November 17. This date will be observed annually. During these
fund raising activities, the following activities are carried out, all organized by the mothers but
witnessed and observed by men, children and welcome to anybody within Daga LLG wards who
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wish to attend. The activities carried out are;

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 I. informal market
II. fresh produce market
III. bring and buy
IV. table giving

They have hosted the first ever fund raising event last year, so far it went very well as expected and
wish to do better in the years to come. They are also inviting mothers from other wards to also come
and partake with them in this year’s event.

Figure 1: Women and man gathered for the market. Market days are every Thursdays and Sundays.

2. FRESH PRODUCE PROJECT

This project is the feeder arm for the fresh produce market. Fresh produce contains different
varieties of food crops. The food crops that at the moment cultivated by the women are as follows;

I. peanut
II. onion
III. sweet potato (kaukau)
IV. soya beans
V. taro concon

The food crops are native, only the bulb onion was bought from friends from Lae. These produce are
the main income generating crops for the women. Increase in production of the above listed food
crops will enable the women group to generate more income. In order to increase production, they
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need proper tools for farming. Therefore women group have voted and agreed to seek aid and
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assistance from the government to purchase farming tools for them.

Figure 2: Harvest seasons for soya beans, peanuts and onions, ready to be sold.

3. Water project

The community from which the mothers formed the women group is located on a hillside and at
most times, mothers including the people living in the community do not have access to clean water.
The community described is called Sesenaro, Gwadede Ward, Daga RLLG. They fetch water from
down the hill. It’s a very hard and tiring work, to fetch water down the hill and back up. Mainly
mothers and girls do this tiring job, even though it is a tiring job, they have no choice but to carry on
with their business because there is no any other way to solve the problem: water. To solve this, the
mothers have agreed in their meeting to seek assistance from the government to supply them with
water pipes and taps so that they can divert water to their community and assist in making sure
fresh water is made available.

The water will not just serve the purpose of providing fresh water for drinking but also for washing
of dirty pots and utensils, and during coffee seasons, the water will help local farmers to clean their
coffee beans for drying and packing. The site from which the water will be directed is about 5
kilometers from the village. The water pipes should have taps so that the flow of water can be
controlled.
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Figure 3:.Mothers walking to the nearby creek to do laundry.

4. Cooking utensils

For these mothers, catering for big events is a very big challenge. Most of the big events are church
organized events where hundreds of people attend such gatherings. To cater for this people, the
mothers out of their sweats and struggle provide food, do the catering and accommodate their
visiting friends. For the emerging group of events that are yet to come, from both church and
government agencies, the women group again, during their meeting have all agreed to seek for
assistance from the government to assist them provide their cooking utensils so that they can with
confidence and passion serve and cater for the gatherings and events.

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Figure 4: Peace ceremony between tribes. It is during such gathering that requires cooking utensils
to cater for the people gathered.

Other projects are already thought of and currently worked on. This project includes;

 improve housing facilities

 piggery
 cash crops
 spices
 aquaculture
 integrated farming systems

Figure 5: A semi-permanent building still under constructions.

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ESTIMATED BUDGET

The estimated cost predicted below is not the exact cost; the exact cost of the projects will be
confirmed after quotations are requested.

1. Fresh produce market facility

NO MATERIAL QTY EST. COST TOTAL

:
Iron sheets 12 ft x 26 85 X 26 2,210
Nails 3, 4,5 inch X 6 pkts each 10 X 18 180
Roofing nail 5 pkts 10 X 5 50
Roofing iron 5 35 X 5 175
Zoom 120 L 200 L X 4 1000
Chain saw bar oil 20litres 4 LX6 5 260
Hammer 2 2 X 50 100
Saw 2 2 X 90 180
G - clamp 3 3 X 30 90
chain saw head cylinder & Chain saw parts, model NO;1106 STIHL. 1000
head cover
TOTAL (K) 5,245

2. Fresh produce projects

NO: MATERIAL QTY EST. COST TOTAL

Digging forks 10 10 X 55 550
Spades 7 7 X 40 280
Crowbars 10 10 X 55 550
Metal rakes 10 10 X 20 200
50 Kg Bags 50 50 X 4 200
TOTAL COST (K) 1,780

3. Water project

NO: MATERIAL QTY EST. COST TOTAL

Water pipes 4 Km 3000 X 3 9,000
Taps 10 20 X 10 2000
Cement 3 3 X 35 105
TOTAL COST (K) 11,105
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 4. Cooking utensils

NO: MATERIAL QTY EST. COST TOTAL

Baking pots (large) 6 6 X 65 390
Pots (large) 6 6 X 65 390
Forks 20 20 X 2 20
Spoons 20 20 X 2 40
Table cloth (Large) 6 30 X 6 180
Cups 20 20 X 7 140
Serving dish 10 10 X 12 120
Trays 6 6 X 15 90
Thong 6 6 X 10 60
TOTAL COST (K) 1,430

TOTAL ESTIMATED COST:

Sum of all total costs: K5, 245 + K1, 780 + K11, 105 + K1, 430 = K19, 560.00

TOTAL COST (K) 19, 560

FREIGHT 2500
LABOUR 3000

25, 060
TOTAL (KINA)

Breakdown of the freight and labour cost

FREIGHT

 Alotau to Awayama – K500

 Awayama to Sirisiri – K1000
 Sirisiri to Gwadagwada – K1000

LABOUR

 Carriers – K1000
 Chainsaw hire – K600
 Carpenters – K800 (400 X 2)
 Others (food and accommodation) – K600
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CONCLUSION

According to Baha’i teachings, ‘the world of humanity is possessed of two wings: the male and the
female. So long as these two wings are not equivalent in strength, the bird will not fly. When the two
wings become equivalent in strength, enjoying the same prerogatives, the flight of men will be
exceedingly lofty and extraordinary. Therefore, woman must receive the same education and
opportunity as man and all equality be adjusted.’ Baha’i teachings have inspired the women group
to create small projects in their homes. These projects are aimed to eradicate some of the major
issues that affect the life of a healthy community life. Through the achievements of these projects,
the lifestyles of the people are expected to elevate to a level where the people understand the
importance of education of women and girls, gender equality, creating job opportunities and in the
long run, reaching financial freedom.

‘’God is the helper of those souls whose aim is to serve humanity and whose efforts and
endeavours are devoted to the good and betterment of all mankind’’

Signed by:

______________ _______________ _____________

Iruru Ogera Stanford Backland Dada A. Aimak
Chairlady Secretary Director

Approved by:

_______________

Donaldson Idau
Gwadede Ward Member
Daga RLLG, Alotau District
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REFERENCE

1. New Thoughts and Approaches to the Development of Women, Based on Holy Writings of
the Baha’i Faith, Prepared by the Continental Board of Counsellors for the Baha’is of
Australasia.
2. A. A. Furutan, Baha’i Education for Children Book 1 (A Teacher’s Guide), Baha’i Publishing
Trust, New Delhi, INDIA.
3. Writings about Women compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of
Justice, Baha’i Publishing Trust, New Delhi, INDIA.

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