The role of peasantry women initiated networks in the promotion of Community Development in Mkalama District, Tanzania

Abstract

Community development is a phenomenon referring to communities that can attain and sustain a better standard of living for every community member. Although the thinking is advocated by the proponents of community development, the opponents throw their trust and thrust on the market. They are of opinion that the market is the driver and engine of development, not communities. Individuals are driven by self-interest and not those of the community. On the contrary, the proponents of community development assert that communities are drivers of their development. They advocate for the development of the capabilities of communities for them to collectively take care of their development. Networking is one of the community-centred strategies to deal with the shortfalls of the market and to promote community development. However, the literature focusing on the role of women networking in addressing some of the shortfalls of the market economy is scant. As such, this study employed an exploratory research design and, an embedded multiple-case study research method, to explore the role of Village Community Networks (VCONEs), as self-initiated peasantry women’s networks, in the promotion of community development at selected wards of Mkalama District. VCONEs are networks of female peasants who engage in agricultural production during the rainy season and petty businesses during the rainy and dry season. Overall, the findings indicate that VCONEs serve as tools which enable community members to address some of the challenges of the market by collectively working together to build a better standard of living, increasing access to modern technologies, recognizing their problems, as well as attaining self-reliance and empowerment. It is recommended that the government, in collaboration with other stakeholders, need to create a platform to up-scale VCONEs to the rest of farming communities in Tanzania to boost community development and agricultural development through the mitigation of some of the shortfalls of the market economy.