Participation and Compliance in Tension: Developing Women-led Yarn Spinning Businesses in Tajikistan

Abstract

This paper presents a case study on two consecutive 4-year projects funded by IFAD that used participatory action research (PAR) to develop women-led yarn spinning businesses in rural Tajikistan. The case study explains how the PAR approach contributed to the project success and how it was affected by different compliance environments. The first project, managed by ICARDA, operated in an enabling compliance environment that supported field-level action based on a PAR-driven learning. The second project, managed by AKF, faced a high-burden compliance environment that affected field-level decision-making and created unforeseen costs for the project. The paper argues that cooperative learning and decision-making by the field staff and the stakeholders, facilitated by low burden compliance, is a cornerstone of effective, sustainable development. High-burden compliance systems can jeopardise project effectiveness and sustainability by prioritising procedural conformity over participatory, knowledge-based action.

Acknowledgements

The author participated in implementing the projects described in this case study as a principal investigator and project coordinator. She would like to thank IFAD for funding the projects, with special thanks to Laura Puletti and Antonio Rota who directed the two projects on behalf of IFAD. She would also like to thank Barbara Rischkowsky of ICARDA for managing the first project, to Nariman Nishanov for administrative support and to researchers Fazliddin Ikromov, Matazim Kosimov, Farhod Kosimov, Khonun Davlatquadamov, Khurshed Davlatov and Joaquin Mueller for implementing the activities. She would like to thank AKF and MSDPS staff for administering the second project, especially Kishwar Abdulalishoev, Najmiddin Gulomiddinov, Nekruz Asmatiloev and Ramziya Janatshoeva who helped with compliance and implementation. Special thanks are reserved for Farhod Kosimov, Khonun Davlatquadamov and Shakarbek Shamirov who coordinated the project activities at the field level. The author would like to express deep gratitude to Tulakhon Abdulazizova, Oygul Tursunova, Shahlo Norboeva, Zarina Abdubannobova, Rakhima Shirinshoeva and Jahonamo Abduraimova for organising the spinning groups, to Mir Mulkamonov for managing the fibre collection, to Abdul Basir Hotak for assisting with fibre dehairing in Afghanistan and to Casey Ryder of PortFiber who distributes the Tajik yarn in the US. She would like to thank Tim Durfee for editing the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.