1. There is no “I” in TEAM
OXFAM Link and Learn
14 November 2012
KZN – SOUTH AFRICA

2. What is our overall mission
Women on Farms Project is a feminist organisation and our
overall mission is to strengthen the capacity of farmwomen
to claim their rights and empower them to help transform
their communities.

3. What do we try to ensure?
 Women are treated with respect and dignity
 Women have secure employment, food, access to land and
housing
 Women have access to services like water, electricity and basic
health services
 Women have a healthy social life in agricultural communities
 The environment is preserved for future generations

4. Who do we work with to influence
change and why?
 Women who live and / or work on farms
 Partners in the land rights, health and labour sectors
 Officials and elected representatives on all three levels of
government
 Producers in the industry

5. What are our core activities?
 Education and Capacity Building
 Advocacy and Lobbying
 Research
 Human rights case work

6. What strategies do we use to
influence change?
 We build women’s organisation through women’s structures and
women’s rights groups
 In structures women share similar experiences and initiate joint
campaigns
 We help to develop the following structures / groups;
- Land rights structures
- Labour rights structures
- Women’s cooperatives
- Women’s health and empowerment groups
- Young women’s groups

7. How do structures function?
 Structures are established on farms or farming communities
 Women in structures are trained and equipped by WFP staff
 Training sessions are either quarterly or monthly depending
on the programme
 Monthly structure meetings to discuss progress, challenges
and develop programmes
 Structures meet and operate independently, WFP staff will
assist with challenges
 Structure members will develop and execute local
campaigns
 Bigger campaigns are organised jointly by WFP and
members
 Structure members are part of organisational decision-

8. What are some of the
Lessons Learnt?
 Regular communication and contact between staff and
members
 Record keeping of all communications and contact
 Transparency about funding allocations
 Managing power in the relationship
 Training in democratic feminist leadership
 Proper induction / orientation of farm women who represent
communities on different levels
 Internal communication
 Political education (race, power, gender)
 Know the community and personal conditions of women

9. What are some of the challenges we
experience?
 Economic factors, spatial distribution of farms, the history
and politics of land ownership and the psychological sense
of fear and dependency among farm workers.
 The slow pace of land reform and agrarian transformation in
rural areas
 The combined effects of patriarchy, colonialism, slavery
apartheid capitalism are deep rooted.
 There is not a clearly pronounced gender or feminist
perspective in service delivery and campaigns
 Farmwomen’s needs run the risk of being marginalised or
not identified within the broader development agendas
 Inadequate labour and tenure laws
 No proper enforcement of labour and tenure laws

10. Challenges at local level
• high levels of poverty, with resultant social problems and
gender dimensions.
• Large geographical area, dispersed population, lack of public
transport
• Seasonal fluctuation of labour demand.
• Strong dependence on WFP for resources.
• Farm women often have low literacy and numeracy levels
• Paternalism in South African agriculture
• Dependency and perpetuate oppression and increase fear
• Huge economic imbalances between farmer and farmwomen
• Limited and lack of access to farms
• Social and household responsibility
• The legacy of the “Tot” or “Dop” system

11. What changes can be observed?
 RCC: deal with casework independently; local campaign for toilets and
electricity; liaise with the municipality, police, health and social
authorities on various matters
 Rawsonville Cooperative: sufficiently skilled and capacitated to
independently negotiate with local authorities for land. They represented
themselves in meetings with the mayor
 Klapmuts health team: challenged clinic staff on stigmatisation of HIV
patients.
 De Doorns Labour rights structure: after receiving basic labour rights
training they approached the Labour Department and challenged the
farmer to pay money due to them.
 Simondium seasonal farm workers: Insisted on contracts
 Gettuida Baartman: represented farm women on international forum
 Policy Development: women present own experience.

12. Thank you! Dankie!