Benefits and challenges of micro-enterprise participation: women's cottage industry in Kaimosi, Kenya

Abstract

This article investigates the perspectives of Kenyan women in the Kaimosi cottage industry regarding the benefits and challenges of producing craft commodities for the global marketplace. Utilising qualitative methods, the research provides an understanding of issues the women faced in producing and marketing goods and offers insights for NGOs into some pitfalls for the sustainability of micro-enterprises. The women asserted that participation in the micro-enterprise had improved their family's economic well-being, helped finance their children's education, and improved their community status. This supports the literature that has found that women's involvement in micro-enterprises reduces poverty and improves well-being.

Cet article examine les points de vue de femmes kenyanes dans l'industrie artisanale de Kaimosi en ce qui concerne les avantages et les défis de la production de produits artisanaux destinés au marché mondial. À l'aide de méthodes qualitatives, ce travail de recherche aide à comprendre les problèmes auxquels se heurtent les femmes au moment de produire et de commercialiser des biens et donne un aperçu aux ONG de certains des pièges qui menacent la durabilité des micro-entreprises. Les femmes ont affirmé que la participation aux micro-entreprises avait amélioré le bien-être économique de leur famille, les avait aidées à financer l’éducation de leurs enfants et avait amélioré leur position au sein de la communauté. Cela soutient les écrits qui ont constaté que la participation des femmes aux micro-entreprises réduit la pauvreté et améliore le bien-être.

El presente artículo examina las opiniones en torno a los beneficios y los retos que supone la producción de artesanías para el mercado mundial de mujeres kenianas implicadas en la industria artesanal de Kaimosi. A partir del empleo de métodos cuantitativos, la investigación posibilita la comprensión de las cuestiones enfrentadas por las mujeres a la hora de producir y vender sus productos, brindando hallazgos respecto a los obstáculos existentes para que las microempresas sean sostenibles, los cuales pueden ser utilizados por las ong. Las mujeres opinan que su participación en la microempresa mejoró el bienestar económico de sus familias, coadyuvó a cubrir los costos de la educación de sus hijos, elevando su estatus en la comunidad. Estas percepciones respaldan aquellos estudios que encuentran que la participación de las mujeres en microempresas reduce la pobreza y mejora el bienestar.

Keywords:

• Aid – Capacity development
• Civil society – NGOs
• Gender and diversity
• Labour and livelihoods –Poverty reduction
• Methods
• Sub-Saharan Africa

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Mary Grigsby is a Professor of Rural Sociology at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Her scholarship is based in qualitative methods that involve phenomenological , ethnographic, or grounded theoretical approaches to understanding inequalities of gender/race/ethnicity and class and cultural change in the context of global economic restructuring. Recent research includes the study of gendered decision-making in farm households in Moldova and the intersections of gender, race, and class in shaping consumption and community attachment and engagement in the rural Midwest in the United States. She is the author of: Buying Time and Getting By: The Voluntary Simplicity Movement (2004); College Life Through the Eyes of Students (2009); and Missouri Noodlers: Fishing for Identity (2012).

Stephen Jeanetta is an Extension Associate Professor in Rural Sociology at the University of Missouri. His work focuses on fostering the development of community organisations, the design and facilitation of community planning processes, and building inclusive communities. Jeanetta has also served as coordinator of the Community Development Academy since 1999. His research focuses primarily on development and community change. Jeanetta has community development experience in both rural and urban areas of Missouri and has experience internationally with projects in Guyana, Germany, Kenya, and the Amazon region of Brazil where he was also a fellow in the International Leadership Development Program sponsored by the Partners of the Americas and the Kellogg Foundation.

Billystrom Jivetti holds a PhD from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Master's from Oklahoma State University. He is an Assistant Professor of Sociology in the Division of Social Sciences and Humanities at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas. His dissertation research explored the impact of the Millennium Village Promise on community networks in western Kenya. He has participated in research on improving the livelihoods of women in Kenya and the impacts of globalisation on Kenyan development.