Adaptation Strategies of the Sustainable Livelihood Considerations for the Internal Displacement Women in Sri Lanka Kennedy D Gunawardana Professor of Accounting University of Sri Jayawardanapura. Sri Lanka
[email protected]
ABSTRACT Intensification of forced population displacements as an onslaught of ethnic conflicts and human rights violation negatively affected the socio-economic status of many South Asian countries. Sri Lankan Internal Displacement (IDP) population escalated at a soaring rate subsequent to the historical military triumph over Tamil Eelam (Civil War) rebellions. Cataclysms of the prolonged insurgence disrupted livelihood activities thus imposing socio-economic impediments amidst thousands of displaced people. Among the affected, women were considered as most vulnerable. Owing to the loss of their counterpart family burdens shifted on their shoulders, in making them the de facto heads of households. These women engaged in numerous entrepreneurial activities in diverse sectors of the economy in order to supplement their families. Unfortunately, the outbreak of Eelam war 3 erupting from Eastern Sri Lanka destroyed many of their livelihoods. Despite such trauma women of North-eastern part of Sri Lanka, the sample under study were recently resettled from IDP camps to their previous villages. The IDP women were depend on government and International nongovernmental organization (INGO) assistance than adapting to the changes of their independent sustainable livelihood pattern. These women entrepreneurs found nothing than war ruins on their return hence, facing immense constraints to continue their livelihood activities as addressed, dependence rate also very high and current initiatives taken by the government/INGOs, were not sufficient and prevailing with some issues of their assistance programmes. There is requirement to make them independent entrepreneurs by providing training, changing mind sets for adaptation of the new livelihood. Further adaptation strategies by using local resources were discussed. 1 Introduction The colossal intensification of forced population displacements as an onslaught of ethnic conflicts, and human rights violations across the globe had accrued 26 Million internally displaced people by the end of 2008 according to the IDMC (2009). During this period the South and South East Asian IDP population grew at a staggering 13% with Sri Lanka the country under study reporting 485,000 IDPs as a cataclysm of the recently concluded Eelam wars. A recent study by the HRW, 2008 (cited in IDMC, 2009) highlighted women and children represent more than 80% of the Sri Lankan IDP population, and most of these women had either 1
lost their breadwinners or were struggling to attain sustainable livelihood in order to satisfy their basic socio-economical needs. Even though the number of donor agencies and assistance programmes has seemed to paramount, their effect and focus on sustainable development has been criticised by academics and practitioners. Women entrepreneurship, as a successful remedy to address sustainable livelihood development in such post disaster situations has been evolving since the end of the cold war. Its capability to eradicate major issues such as unemployment, dependency, sexual harassments and socioeconomic growth issues has spurred it as one of the most influential mechanisms to be deployed in such trauma. Recent work of ILO - SAAT (International Labour Organisation – South Asian Multidisciplinary Advisory Team) in Bangladesh, Vietnam and China has created many successful women entrepreneurs through the introduction of intense training programmes, micro financing, business development services etc. Hence this study especially focussed on the IDP women of Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, thrives to validate the vitality of women entrepreneurship as a measure to overcome the socio-economic constraints while reviewing success and failures of such initiatives taken by donor agencies and the local government during the post disaster rebuilding process of the Tsunami aftermath in Sri Lanka. 1.2 Problem statement Excruciating Government expenditure to subsidy the internally displaced persons of Sri Lanka and resource constraints faced by the IDP Women of Batticaloa in seizing the evolving entrepreneurial opportunities in order to make sustainable livelihoods prompted the investigation of possible remedies to overcome these issues. Hence this study commenced with the critical question; “What are the evolving entrepreneurial opportunities in the post conflict areas of Batticaloa? How will these entrepreneurial opportunities bring sustainable livelihood opportunities to the IDP Women?” This research question paved the instigator of this study to understand the importance of Women Entrepreneurship as an influential tool to empower IDPs in a resource starved environment with optimum use of resources in order to create sustainable livelihoods. Hence screening the issue from different viewpoints to deliver remedies using extant literature to benefit all stakeholders involved, whilst highlighting critical success factors of entrepreneurs emerging from similar socio-economic conditions. 1.3 Problem justification Women entrepreneurs in the Northeast of Sri Lanka played a pivotal role in economic development (Ayadurai and Sohail, 2004) prior to the outbreak of Eelam War III which began in 2006. Ayadurai further pointed these women entrepreneurs operated in agriculture, Fisheries, livestock rearing and MSMEs with minimum resources and support by donor agencies hence hindering their growth and development. 2
Signs of hope rose among thousands of IDPs living in camps when history was made as government concluded the protracted Eelam wars, but their envision of prosperity did not remain for long as they returned to their own villages this ill fated people had nothing left for themselves than ruins of war. Destruction of infrastructure, market place and high security zones has left this people with no other option than to rely on the assistance of government/ NGOs aid programmes. This situation has increased government expenditure, human rights issues, and adverse socio-economic constraints despite such catastrophes unfortunately the number of academic, professional research on this subject area in Sri Lanka is insignificant. Therefore this study deems its importance as pivotal in order to address a huge research gap in such a resource starved environment. 1.4 Objectives of the study This investigation comprises of 6 objectives in order to solve the issue under study, the objectives are as follows;
To find out the entrepreneurial profiles and the entrepreneurial opportunities of the IDP Women of Batticaloa.
To find out the resource constraints of these women with response to their respective entrepreneurial profiles, previous entrepreneurial activities and opportunities identified.
To find out the initiatives taken by the Government and INGOs to address the resource constraints and entrepreneurial opportunities identified.
To find out the issues with regard to initiatives taken by the Government/INGO in developing women entrepreneurs towards attaining sustainable livelihoods.
To recommend the most preeminent set of initiatives required to assist women entrepreneurs of Batticaloa with reference to extent literature and previous case studies.
1.5 Significance of the study This study will provide holistic unbiased insights into the current resettlement and rebuilding policies and practices of the Government and other interested stakeholders operating in the post conflict areas of Batticaloa in order to reduce the ambiguity among academic practitioners, politicians, general public and the Internally displaced persons. Whilst assessing the strengths and weaknesses of current policies deployed to create sustainable livelihood through entrepreneurship. The reference materials and the literature reviewed in this study will provide foreign and local NGOs a broader idea of previous successes and failures of Sri Lankan entrepreneurs in situations quite similar to the current context. 3
Despite, its emphasis on Women Entrepreneurship this study will be a classical case study for Managers involved in strategic decision making, resource allocations and problem solving. 1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study only focuses on Internally displaced persons geographically situated within the boundaries of Batticaloa This study demographically focuses only on resettled Women IDPs with particular interest on Entrepreneurship as identified under objective 01. This study will only review the initiatives taken by the Sri Lankan Government and the INGOs operating within Sri Lanka with specific focus on the strategies deployed for the period from 2007-2010. Due to the lack of transparency on some government funded projects, this study will only consider projects published under the three year master plan for Eastern province development. The IDPs of concern in this study are the ones whom have been displaced by manmade catastrophes thus eliminate natural disasters such as floods, tsunamis and storms. This study will not consider political view points or criticisms as this study is solely for academic purposes and hence concentrates only on Socio-economical issues.
2.1 Evolution of women entrepreneurship Discovery of the antecedents of entrepreneurship is an intimidating task as entrepreneurship by nature is a multifaceted area of research (Audretsch, 2002) with an ill defined paradigm, Shane and Venkataraman, 2000 (cited in Murphy et.al. 2006) evolving from the fields of economics, business, sociology and psychology (Herbert and Link 1989; Murphy et al. 2006). Pre historic interpretation on entrepreneurship by De Roover in 1963, Drayton in 2004 and Baumol in 1990 (all cited in Murphy et al. 2006) foreshadowed the prevalence of entrepreneurship even during the 50th BCE as a successful mechanism for survival in constrained environments. The “paradoxical legacy” for women during the post-Soviet context (Ashwin, 2000 cited in Allen et. al, 2007) mainstreamed the emergence of ‘Women Entrepreneurship’. Women were forced to take over the patriarchal role of their families as their husbands were dead or engaged in war, during this era. Thus prompting them to explore for wealth generating opportunities by recognising their own capabilities in those resource starved environments for survival, hence to this extent women began their legendary tale of entrepreneurship by setting up MSMEs in informal/formal sectors (Singh and Belwal, 2007) and engaged in production/service industries familiar to them (i.e. Food, transportation, textiles etc) Allen et.al.2007. Women’s role as breadwinners prolonged with the outbreak of World War 2 which was consecutively followed by cataclysms of the Cold War thus, burdening women with more responsibilities on family subsistence. Efforts of these women entrepreneurs proved to make distinct differences within constrained communities (McClelland et al. 2005) as they surpassed their primary objective of self sufficiency whilst creating employment opportunities, and 4
economic activities which led to sustainable socio-economic development (Singh and Belwal, 2007; Greene et al. 2003) by remedying pivotal issues such as human trafficking, unemployment and sexual harassment against their companions (Aidis et al. 2006; Jalbert, 2000). According to Hisrich et al. 1997 (cited in Riebe, 2003) women owned businesses grew at a staggering pace during 1970 - 1997 from 5% to 38% and by the end of 2003 internationally, one in ten women were considered to be managing their own businesses whilst accounting for one third of all businesses in developed countries (Riebe, 2003). Today, in America 10.1 million firms are owned by women entrepreneurs thus creating 13 million jobs and generating over $1.9 trillion in sales (Center for Women’s Business Research, 2009). In comparison, to the developed economies augmentation of women entrepreneurship in the South Asian region (developing countries) seems less as women entrepreneurs are clustered more in the informal sector (i.e. unregistered in small units), hence creating discrepancies in accurately estimating statistics of their prevalence (UNESCAP, 2005). Despite this issue, it is evident by analysing the work of USAID 2005 and UNESCAP, 2005 the pivotal role these women play as producers, traders, owners and operators of MSMEs Greene et al. 2003 in both production and service sectors. Hence to this extent Women entrepreneurs are considered and recognised as a “key ingredient in the modern economic development recipe” (Kirschoff and Philips, 1989 cited in Singh and Belwal, 2007) with the capability to remedy socio-economic impediments as discussed previously thus stimulating governments and NGOs to actively seek ways and means to promote entrepreneurship in constrained environments as a catalyst to attain sustainable development (Singh and Belwal, 2007). 2.2 Defining entrepreneurship Multifarious contributions to the concept from diverse academic disciplines (Audretsch, 2002) resulted in the absence of a uniform definition for entrepreneurship thus, prompting researchers to turn their attention in fulfilling this gap. Herbert and Link (1989), were able to classify the work of prominent researchers (Schumpeter, Knight and Kirzner) in the field of entrepreneurship into three distinct academic traditions as the German, Chicago and Austrian respectively prior defining entrepreneurship from an economic point of view as; making innovative, responsible decisions of available resources among alternative uses in turn to affect the appropriateness of its usage. Donnely et al. 1990 (Cited in Singh and Belwal, 2007) in their definition from a management perspective added entrepreneurship as something propelled by an idea, personal goals or ambitions of an individual which requires resources and proper management. Despite numerous definitions, the OECD, 1998 (cited in Audretsch 2002) proposed the most prevalent and convincing definition of entrepreneurship which is accepted by a majority of academics and practitioners they defined;
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“Entrepreneurs as agents of change and growth in a market economy and they can act to accelerate the generation, dissemination and application of innovative ideas... Entrepreneurs not only seek out and identify potentially profitable economic opportunities but are also willing to take risks to see if their hunches are right” OECD, 1998 (cited in Audretsch 2002) As accepted by many practitioners and academics this report too is depicted around the OECD, 1998 definition. All though the theoretical population of this study is all IDP women entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka the author of this report derives a sampling frame from ILO, 2005 report on IDP women with utmost vulnerability hence, the sampling frame includes only widowed and heads of households as per the ILO categorisation. Therefore the study sample contains women from 5 of the most vulnerable areas of Batticaloa. Title Three-year Eastern Province Development Plan: 2007 Livelihood And Employment Creation Livelihood Gap Analysis Common Humanitarian Action Plan DEVELOPING WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN SOUTH ASIA: ISSUES, INITIATIVES AND EXPERIENCES Rural women in Sri Lanka’s post-conflict rural economy Statistical information Table 1 .1 Time lines
Authority Department Planning ILO
of
Year National 2007 2005
ILO UN
2008 2009
UNESCAP
2005
Center for Women’s Research 2006 Sri Lanka Batticaloa District Secretariat 2009
4.1 Entrepreneurial profiles and evolving opportunities 4.1.1 Significance of the objective from a theoretical perspective Eminence of investigating women entrepreneurial profiles was prevalent from the inception of the concept (i.e. the concept of women entrepreneurship); in fact it was deemed and dealt with much priority among academics due to its aptitude of dealing with constrained environments. Greene et al. 2003 in their expedition on the theoretical evolution of women entrepreneurship found plenty of research on this area, especially by Hisrich and O’Brien the most prominent Table 1.2 advocates of investigating female entrepreneurial profiles. These researches focussed more on the demographics (Age, marital status, education) and industrial choice of women entrepreneurs thus, highlighting the distinct intensions, motivational 6
factors and strategic orientation of them in comparison to their male counterparts. Therefore, understanding these differences and issues is pivotal (Greene et al. 2003) in laying a strong foundation to this study. Hence to this end, the author of this report enlightens its readers with important information with regard to women entrepreneurs of Batticaloa and evolving Demographics Characteristics 25-40 Age Due to the loss of their bread winners Motivation Widowed Marital status Less than or equivalent to grade 5 Education entrepreneurial opportunities as an initial first step, prior moving to remainder of the objectives. 4.2 Entrepreneurial profiles of the women in Batticaloa 4.2.1. Age and Motivation to start up A UNESCAP, 2005 study on women entrepreneurs of South Asia found; a majority of women entrepreneurs within the age group of 25-40 hence, illuminating on their roles as heads of households. Most of widowed women in the East of Sri Lanka, within the above age group (Ayadurai and Sohail, 2004) went into start their own business due to the loss of their bread winners. Such stimulus to engage in entrepreneurial activity is termed by Das, 2000 cited in (UNESCAP, 2005) as ‘forced entrepreneurship’ (refer table 2 below). Forced entrepreneurship evolved amidst the Batticaloa women as a mechanism to address their financial difficulties. They became entrepreneurs by default in order to protect their family and themselves from malnutrition (Center for women’s research, 2006), vulnerability and sexual harassment evolving due to the lack of protection/privacy needs Watchlist, 2008 cited in (1). Table 1: Types of women entrepreneurship
5 7
4.2.2 Marital Status Catastrophes of war in Batticaloa left many women dear departed hence, burdening them with the patriarchal role of their families, a recent survey by the ILO (2008) reported the number of widows in Batticaloa to be 4833 whilst the female headed households recording a confounding number as it amounted to 5152. Owing to this situation, Batticaloa reports the lowest female labour force participation in Sri Lanka. Female proportion of the labour force in Batticaloa reports to be only 16.2% (Department of Census & statistics, 2008) in comparison to a country average of 33.2%. This situation therefore has made these women highly dependent on foreign/local aids for survival. 4.2.3 Education Women entrepreneurs in the East of Sri Lanka have been ill fated in many ways in spite of the cataclysms of war, cultural barriers prevailing from traditional norms, values and beliefs restricted women from attaining adequate education. According to a survey of the Center for Women’s Research Sri Lanka (2006) 64% of females did not study beyond grade 5. As an aftermath most of the IDP women entrepreneurs who had lost their previous livelihoods since the outbreak of the 3rd Eelam war (as discussed in the next), are employed in informal sectors earning a marginal wage as low as Rs 90/- per day (IDMC, 2009) or are highly dependent on the Rs 200/- and dry rations worth of Rs 175/- provided to each family on a weekly basis by the local government of (INFORM, 2005 cited in IDMC, 2009). 4.3 Previous livelihood activities of women entrepreneurs The rich natural resource base in Batticaloa varying from a 73.5 Km lagoon famous for its crabs, 58734 Hectares of paddy land, 32000 acres of cashew cultivation land, 49339 Hectares of Highland and Home gardens (Batticaloa District Secretariat, 2009) made the district a significant agricultural hub of Sri Lanka prior to the ethnic conflicts (Three year Eastern province development plan, 2007). This rich heritage of natural resources supported the living of 46300 families in Batticaloa. Close to an 80% of the entire population of the district (Batticaloa District Secretariat, 2009) were engaged in agriculture and the remainder were active in MSMEs/Industry activities. Henceforth, the following sub-sections of this report will confer the contribution of Women entrepreneurs and their livelihood activities, prior to the recently concluded scandals of the LTTE. 4.3.1 Agriculture Women’s participation in the field of agriculture and fishing (i.e. In the shallow waters of the lagoon) expanded at the absence of their spouses whom were, disabled or dead due to the cruelty of war (Center for Women’s Research Sri Lanka, 2006), and their main entrepreneurial activities 8
were paddy cultivation during the day time and collecting fish for drying and salting in the evenings to make a sufficient income for living (Center for Women’s Research Sri Lanka, 2006). 4.3.2 Livestock rearing Among other agricultural activities were livestock rearing of chicken, goats and cattle. According to the survey of (Center for Women’s Research Sri Lanka, 2006) for Sri Lanka livestock rearing in the North and East surpassed the all island growth rates during 1990 -1995. Some women engaged in fish harvesting as well in order to process and market them at a higher price. 4.3.3 MSME Meanwhile, women whom were landless or extremely poor were engaged in marketing the catch of their companions and trading the agricultural output as middlemen (Center for Women’s Research Sri Lanka, 2006) these women extended their earnings by a miniscule via preparing rice flour based food for sale, putting up very small grocery shops or while selling handicrafts. 4.3.4 Informal industry Batticaloa reports a staggering 58.7% of its labour force in the informal sector (Department of Census & statistics, 2008) to top the country statistics. The main reason for the existence of informal industry is their resource constraints (discussed in detail in objective 2). Among the entrepreneurial activities of women in this sector are mat weaving, rice pounding, dress making, preparation of fishing nets and selling betel leaves (Batticaloa District secretariat, 2009). 4.4 Evolving entrepreneurial opportunities Policy reforms and more emphasis on developing women has been stemmed by UN Millennium Development Goals programme hence, making Sri Lanka the first country in South Asia with early investments in Gender empowerments reported Neil Buhne (UNDP RCC, 2008). In addition, the NEP agricultural program reserves a special clause in assisting women due to recognition of their efforts at the absence of their spouse (Center for Women’s Research Sri Lanka, 2006). Despite positive policy reforms development projects as comprehensive as the ‘Nagenehira Navodaya’ (i.e. The Eastern Revival) has planned mammoth investments in developing agriculture, tourism, industries and MSME sectors (discussed extensively in chapter 4) of the Eastern province. These developments together with cultural reforms and acceptance of women entrepreneurship in the province has increased potent for success and sustainability in the future. Although these envisions draw a better image for women entrepreneurship, it is important to note the remaining constraints in responding to opportunities as discussed in the following sections.
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4.5 Resource constraints of women entrepreneurs 4.5.1 Significance of the objective from a theoretical perspective The second phase of women entrepreneurship dating back to the early 1990’s stemmed from Gartner 1989 (cited in Greene et.al., 2003) who heavily criticised academics for giving more prominence in investigating only the traits of women entrepreneurs, acknowledging this challenge Brush and Hisrich 1991 (cited in Greene et.al., 2003) in their work identified constraints of women entrepreneurship in order to change the global emphasis on women entrepreneurship literature in to a new paradigm. Since then much work on women entrepreneurship focussed on resource constraints (i.e. financial/knowledge based), inhibiting factors of growth etc... A recent study by Andotra and Pooja, 2006 in post-conflict Kathua a state within the borders of India-Pakistan with similar socio-economic conditions to Batticaloa found, among the prominent constraints of rural entrepreneurs were; wastage of resources due to poor managerial skills, lack of knowledge regarding inputs, markets and technology. Their findings were similar to the study of Ayadurai, 2005 whom investigated on the constraints faced by women entrepreneurs of the North-East Sri Lanka, in which she concluded Finance/funding to start up/continue, lack of adequate support and recognition from NGOs and the local government, capacity building through structured entrepreneurship programs, technical and technological development as imperative to enhance the productivity and profitability of these women. Hence to this extent the following sub-section of the report investigates current resource constraints of women entrepreneurs living in Batticaloa with regard to their entrepreneurial profiles, previous livelihood activities and the evolving opportunities identified above . 4.5.2 Resource constraints in general As observed in the previous chapter women entrepreneurs were highly dependent on the natural resources in order to supplement their basic livelihood. However few years after the military insurgence, when these women IDPs returned back to their villages, with hope to resume their traditional entrepreneurial activities they had to face many constraints (Three year Eastern Province Development Plan, 2007) varying from infrastructure, access to markets, landlessness and lack of basic inputs to name a few. This situation is apparent when, employment sector wise statistics prior to the outbreak of the 3 rd Eelam wars, are compared with current labour force statistics. The yearly employment survey of the Department of Census and Statistics, 2006 (cited in Center for Women’s Research Sri Lanka, 2006) reported 21% of women were engaged in agriculture hence, making it the prominent sector of the East. In comparison, data sets for 2008 (Department of Census & statistics, 2008) reports the situation vice versa, and industry and services have gained prominence with 86.3% (52.3%, 34% respectively) of employment generation thus, clearly indicating the impact of war on their livelihood patterns. 10
4.5.3 Resource constraints sector wise The following sub-sections of this report will address basic resource constrains faced by women of Chenkalady, Batticaloa with reference to their previous entrepreneurial profiles and sectors first. Then, highlighting assistance needs to all women in general to succeed as entrepreneurs in response to the evolving opportunities. 4.5.3.1 Agricultural sector Basic inputs As reported earlier in chapter 1 the agricultural sector played a pivotal role among women entrepreneurs, despite minimal support from the interested stakeholders, due to its substantial availability. But the situation they experience today, is the totally opposite hence, demanding women to learn how to survive and grow (i.e. strategic orientation for anyone in the modern economy) with what they get. The basic resource constraints of women entrepreneurs stemming from the agricultural sector are extracted from an ILO, 2008 study and depicted in table 3. Sub-Sector wise requirements Paddy Home Highland Cashew Coconut Garden crops Water Inputs and Good 10seedlings Basic inputs Quality paddy seeds pumps, fencing quality plant per & fertilizer, Agro wells, material & fertilizer, beneficiary, cash grants, cash grants cash grants fencing insecticides and home material & garden seeds inputs 323 acres 321 acres 23 acres 436 acres Total land 2697 acres requirement Post harvest technology, use of machines, pest and disease controls, Training seeds processing and germination, seed paddy production required Source – ILO,2008 Table 2: Basic input requirements: Agriculture 4.5.3.2 Key issues hindering performance The three year master plan for Eastern development, 2007 highlighted the following factors as inhibiters of growth
Low productivity, slow growth rate, inadequate diversification and applicability of resources Slow adaption into modern agricultural practices Lack of management, capital and technological skills. 11
4.5.4 Fisheries sector Basic resource requirements of women entrepreneurs engaged in fish harvesting, processing, fishing net mending, drying and salting etc are addressed under this sub section. Women normally conduct their fishing activities in the lagoon as discussed in chapter 1 whilst, some engage in preparing the nets, processing fish and marketing them in order to make a living. Even though they fall into the small business category we make an exception here to identify resources required to continue the sector on its entirety. The following table highlights the basic requirements to resume women entrepreneurial activities in the fisheries sector. Table 3: Basic resource requirement: Fisheries NEEDS FISHERIES SECTOR (In general) Fishing nets, canoes and Rs. 25000 capital grant per person Basic resources Training required in In fish processing, net and cage mending, capacity building general Source – ILO, 2008 4.5.5 Livestock sector Women entrepreneurs stemming from the Livestock rearing sector requires the following basic resources in order to resume proceedings, the data on this table are abbreviated from the ILO, 2008 report. NEEDS
Basic resources
LIVESTOCK Sub-Sector wise requirements Cattle Goats Backyard poultry Fencing material, Goat sheds, cross bred Hybrid chicks cross bred milking goats poultry pens cows, cattle sheds
&
Source – ILO 2008 4.5.5.1 Key issues hindering performance The key issues for underperformance in the livestock rearing sector identified by the local government include.
Loss of traditional farming knowledge erupting from brain drain and the fleeing of farmers from war affected areas. Loss of productive stock (i.e. death and disruption of both livestock and farmers) 12
Transportation issues leading to reluctance of poultry production (i.e. they are perishable soon) (Three year Eastern Province Development Plan, 2007).
4.5.6 Business industry The predominant industry for women entrepreneurs currently is the informal business and service sector (as discussed in the previous chapter), although considered as predominant the results of Census and statistics, 2008 survey for Batticaloa unveils only 22.9% of the entire women population are economically active despite their presence on formal or informal sector. NEEDS
BUSINESS INDUSTRY (Informal sector) Sub-Sector wise requirements Brick making Small shops Cement blocks
Palmyrah products Basic resources Start up capital Start up capital Start up capital Start up capital of Rs. 20,000 of Rs.25,000 of Rs.35,000 of Rs.10,000 each each each each 85 42 61 Total number of 135 women Assistant Seekers Source- ILO, 2009 4.5.6.1 Key issues hindering performance The local government also identified many reasons pertaining to low productivity of the business industry in the Eastern Province Development plan, among them are
Lack of markets to sell their products directly in order to gain more profits Lack of skills due to the lack of trainers and assistance to help knowledge transfer. Lack of information centres and communication modes in order to understand current demand and trends. (Three year Eastern Province Development Plan, 2007)
4.5.7 Lack of management skills in general (Agriculture, Fisheries, Livestock, business) As discussed in the previous chapter 4.2.3 most of the women entrepreneurs lack basic education hence, the probability of them misusing/wasting resources in a highly resource constrained environment (as discussed above) is very high. And despite this, some women recently entering the field of entrepreneurship due to the latest calamities of Eelam wars are in high need of training and skill development in order to successfully undertake their new roles reported ILO, 2005. 13
4.5.8 Micro financing needs of women entrepreneurs (In all sectors) The next most common resource constraint for all women entrepreneurs is micro credit. This situation has led many entrepreneurs to borrow from private lenders (Three year Eastern Province Development Plan, 2007) at a high interest rate hence, pressurising them with over burdensome that leads to depression or failure of businesses. ILO, 2008 identified the number of women entrepreneurs in need of micro credit and their respective sectors as shown in table. Table 4: Micro credit needs NEEDS
MICRO CREDIT Agriculture
Livestock
Fisheries
per 75,000 per 35,000 Amount needed 60,000 beneficiary beneficiary beneficiary in SLR Three-year Eastern Province Development Plan: 2007
Business industries per 25,000 beneficiary
per
4.6 Initiatives of the Government and INGOs 4.6.1 Significance of the objective from a theoretical perspective Literature on women entrepreneurship headed towards a new sphere after the catastrophes of the 2004 Tsunami hence, some academics and practitioners merged the ideology of entrepreneurship with disaster management literature, in order to increase the efficient use of humanitarian aids and effectiveness of development goals in the affected countries towards building sustainable livelihoods Alexander et al, 2006. The UN team present in many of these post-conflict countries take charge in governing responses of local governments and NGOs hence, they are considered as the experts of addressing initiatives pertaining to the work of interested stakeholders, which is the next objective of our expedition. ILOs work in Bangladesh, 2001 (cited in Ayadurai and Sohail, 2004) to promote selfemployment for women, revealed aggressive government policy changes towards integrating women into economic development as the major success of Bangladeshis. ILO launched a similar program for Vietnamese in 2003 cited in (cited in Ayadurai and Sohail, 2004), in collaboration with the local government to train and develop women owned MSME, at the end of the program women reported to have dramatic increases in sales better living conditions. These changes Governments and INGOs can make to a constrained environment in order to stabilise it stimulated the author of this report in investigating the local conditions of the Batticaloa women, thus the following sub-sections of this study will look into the initiatives taken by the local Government and INGOs in supporting the women entrepreneurs under study. 14
4.6.2 Initiatives taken by the local government; sector wise 4.6.2.1 Agriculture Initiatives proposed by the Government in addressing entrepreneurial constraints (as discussed above) can be categorised into two major areas that is as initiatives to address Agriculture sector constraints, and Initiatives to address entrepreneurial constrains. Please refer appendix A to get a comprehensive idea of the proposed financial investment of these projects. 4.6.2.1.1 Objectives of these initiatives in general In general purview proposed initiatives of the Government concentrates more towards attracting private sector investment with the propensity to increase employment opportunities whilst enhancing technical skills of farming communities in order to be more productive. 4.6.2.1.2 Significance; constraints addressed Government objectives on agriculture sector development pertains to resolve most of the technical incapability’s of people thus, to reduce issues related to slow growth, technical/ technological skills and basic input related problems. 4.6.2.1.3 Initiatives to address Agriculture sector constraints Programmes categorised under this study are derived from the local governments ‘three year master plan’ (Three year Eastern Province Development Plan, 2007) towards developing the agricultural sector. Hence the objectives and significance of these plans as depicted in table 1 are more towards solving issues related to infrastructure development and investment attraction. 4.6.2.1.4 Initiatives to address Agriculture sector constraints Table 5: Initiatives to address Agriculture sector constraints Programmes
Objectives
Significance; Constraints Duration addressed Mitigates issues related to 2007-2010 lands and cultivation areas ruined by war Helps agro-industry 2007-2010 development
To increase the cultivation area and cropping intensity To establish industrial zones and stimulate private investment To increase In order to identify 2007-2010 agricultural research opportunities and issues stations related to the agro sector Three year Eastern Province Development Plan, 2007 Production and productivity enhancement Promotion of industrial crops and agro-based industries Agricultural research and extension systems
15
4.6.2.1.5 Initiatives to address individual entrepreneurial constrains The Government initiatives taken to resolve individual entrepreneurial constraints and basic requirements are categorised under table. The focus of these initiatives is mainly to solve technical short comings (as discussed) of the entrepreneurs.
Programmes
Objectives
Significance; Constraints Duration addressed entrepreneurs by 2007-2010 Farm mechanisation To fill skills gaps by Helps training them with adequate and post-harvest introducing appropriate farm skills to operate. technology mechanisation To establish economic Provides entrepreneurs access 2007-2010 Agricultural centres, storages, to markets in order to marketing community market stimulate agricultural centres in order to activities improve market facilities To encourage Helps expand 2007-2010 Crop diversification cultivation of new entrepreneurship through crops and cultivation product diversification. practices Three year Eastern Province Development Plan, 2007 4.6.2.2 Fisheries sector The main objectives of the government in solving constraints with regard to the fisheries sector also can be divided into the previous categories as illustrated in table1 (Initiatives to address individual entrepreneurial constraints) and Initiatives to address Fisheries sector constraints (illustrated in table). 4.6.2.2.1 Objectives of these initiatives in general Government’s proposed projects in developing both individual and fisheries sector is mainly focussed to ensure the food security and nutritional status of people. Despite its prime focus, the initiatives of the government in providing training and storing facilities by investing in infrastructure development; highlights its emphasis on improving the quality and standards of fish products.
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4.6.2.2.2 Significance; constraints addressed These initiatives by the government emphasises more on the basic requirements of entrepreneurs by providing them with boats/fishing gears whilst remedying the key issues faced by entrepreneurs through developing access to markets, appropriate training and storing facilities much needed by entrepreneurs to protect their harvest. 4.6.2.2.3 Initiatives to address individual entrepreneurial constrains Table 6: Initiatives to address individual entrepreneurial constrains
Programmes
Objectives in general
Significance; Project constraints Duration addressed in general Development of inland To provide access to Provides basic markets inputs fisheries Introduction/replacement of To provide adequate Provides boats and fishing gear entrepreneurs a 2007-2010 Upgrading of fish markets and knowledge and training good price to retail sales centres To protect and safeguard their products Construction of fishery their harvest training centre Construction of 2 ice plants and 2 fish processing centres. Three-year Eastern Province Development Plan: 2007 4.6.2.2.4 Initiatives to address Fisheries sector constraints Table 7: 4 Initiatives to address Fisheries sector constraints
Programmes
Objectives in general
Development of fishery harbours
To induce wholesale auctioning
Construction of fish landing cites Construction of fisheries office/quarters
To ensure quality of products
Significance; Duration constraints addressed in general Addresses issues related to safety, storage, quality and infrastructure. 2007 2010
Three-year Eastern Province Development Plan: 2007
17
4.6.2.3 Livestock rearing sector The government proposed initiatives to address constrains of the livestock sector also can be divided into Initiatives to address individual entrepreneurial constrains (as depicted in table) and Initiatives to address Livestock sector constraints (illustrated in table)
4.6.2.3.1 Objectives of these initiatives in general The government objective in proposing initiatives for this sector mainly focuses on reintegrating livestock rearing into economic development. Most of the infrastructure development, research centres and training facilities proposed under this sector will help entrepreneurs in value addition whilst smoothly transferring technology to fill skills gaps (as addressed under objective 2). 4.6.2.3.2 Significance; constraints addressed These initiatives are focussed to mitigate technical constraints of entrepreneurs, evolving from brain drain and destruction of productive stock
Table 8: Initiatives to address individual entrepreneurial constrains
Programmes Dairy development Poultry development Upgrading livestock animals Livestock feed resources development project Establishment of cold storage facilities Establishment of animal husbandry schools
Duration 2007 - 2010
Table 9: Initiatives to address Livestock sector constraints
Programmes Establishment of model integrated farms Establishment of veterinary investigation centres Establishment of milk processing unit Expansion of production capacity of Milco (pvt) Ltd.
Duration
2007 - 2010
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4.2.6.4 MSME sector 4.2.6.4.1 Objective of the initiative MSME sector in the eastern province has grown in rapid succession as an after math of the war hence; the proposed development allocates Microfinance facilities to encourage entrepreneurs in resuming/starting business ventures in order to achieve short/long term economical goals of the province. 4.2.6.4.2 Significance; constraints addressed As discussed in chapter most women entrepreneurs despite their respective sector of employment, required a loan or some form of cash grant to precede their previous entrepreneurial activities. Some recently widowed women with family responsibilities were highly in need of start up capital. 4.6.3 Initiatives taken by INGOs 4.6.3.1 Initiatives supporting women entrepreneurs Prior to the Midyear review, CHAP there were UN, 2009 5 INGO projects under consideration to develop Agricultural based livelihood activities of Batticaloa, 2 projects on economic and infrastructure development. The objectives of these projects are portrayed on table (11, 13) 4.6.3.2 Initiatives supporting basic needs of IDP Despite the 7 programmes mentioned above all other projects were focussing on emergency relief (i.e. temporary assistance and basic needs) for IDPs. The focus of the remainder of initiatives are as follows; 1 project on providing food aids, 3 projects addressing health related issues and 5 projects on assisting housing, water and sanitation requirements. The following tables respectively (12,14 & 15) illustrate the objectives of these initiatives.
19
Table 10: Initiatives supporting women entrepreneurs: Agriculture
Table 11: Initiatives to assist IDPs
20
Table 12: Initiatives supporting women entrepreneurs: Economic
Table
13:
Initiatives
to
assist
IDPs
21
Table 14: Initiatives to assist IDPs
4.7 Issues of the initiatives
Gilbert 2005 (cited in Alexander et.al. 2006) in his study, criticised INGOs for underestimating long term recovery initiatives in many of their aid programmes. He further stated that INGOs concentrate more on immediate emergency relief hence, seldom responding to income generating activities of the affected. Alexander et.al. 2006 counter argued Gilberts thought and commented such response to be quite obvious as INGOs need more time to analyse and understand locally affected people and their development needs. 22
Despite these arguments the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition, 2006 (cited in Alexander et.al. 2006) highlighted the importance of quickly adapting from emergency relief to sustainable livelihood development assistance of the affected communities, in order to reduce the level of dependency of displaced persons as well as affected countries. Since then, this ideology was adapted by many INGOs and Governments and today most of the relief programmes in many developing countries looks into restoring/developing sustainable livelihood activities through MSMEs UNDP, 2006 (cited in Alexander et.al. 2006). Henceforth, the following sub-sections of this study closely observes the initiatives of both INGOs and the local government taken to assist livelihood needs of women entrepreneurs, in comparison to the levels of support they provide to emergency relief. 4.7.1 Issues related to initiatives of the local government 4.7.2 Training managerial skills of entrepreneurs As discussed under the previous chapter, most of the Government objectives in revitalising agriculture looked into developing technical skills of entrepreneurs in order to ensure productivity. But seldom addressed a key aspect that the author pointed in chapter 1, which is the level of inadequate education amidst women entrepreneurs. In order to understand and manage a business well an entrepreneur should be trained first of all on how to manage scarce resources (Kodthuwakku and Rosa, 2002). 4.7.3 Heavy emphasis in infrastructure development As discussed in the previous chapter most of the government’s initiatives are towards infrastructure development and sector wise development hence neglecting individual entrepreneurs and selecting private investors as their focal point of interest, this statement is very much evident as we look at the tables 1,2,3
4.7.4 Legislation issues According to an IPCS, 2008 cited in report (IDMC, 2009) the Sri Lankan government has no special legislation to address the specific needs of IDPs hence to this end, the biggest issue the women entrepreneurs recently resettled undergo is the number of check posts hindering them from moving freely within their villages. 4.7.2 Issues related to INGO initiatives Project cancellation The INGOs governed by United Nations have contributed to socio-economic development in many countries through the promotion of women entrepreneurship, as we discussed throughout 23
this paper. But unfortunately their effect on the socio-economic development in Batticaloa is yet to be seen. One of the main reasons behind this is the cancellation of 5 major livelihood development projects by UN, 2009 during their midyear review of the development programs, these programs are depicted in table X,C This decision has and will affect the women entrepreneurs of Batticaloa in many ways thus, hindering them from gaining world renowned expertise of many organisations. Table 15: Project cancellation of INGOs
Table 16: Project cancellation of INGOs
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4.7.2.1 Unavailability of sufficient funds As pointed out in the previous chapter, 11 out of the 12 remaining projects approved for Batticaloa in 2009 are still pending (UN, 2009) due to lack of funds. The UN team in Sri Lanka has been facing this problem for more than two years now. According to 1 the main reason for such drawback is the negative image of the local Governments treatment of IDPs amidst some foreign countries. Despite these issues United Nations continues to be the prominent donor agency for Sri Lanka, their contribution for 2009 up to date is $ 97 million (UN, 2009) and they donated $ 173 million in 2008 (UN, 2009). Emphasis on emergency relief than livelihood Another pivotal issue of the INGO programs for Batticaloa is its emphasis on providing emergency relief and basic needs; as depicted in table VVV. Currently only 2 projects out of 7 are focussed on livelihood development, the major issue hindering INGOs to enforce sustainable livelihood development as pointed in (IDMC, 2009) is restricted access to some areas due to security concerns.
4.8 Recommendations 4.8.1 Issues hindering women entrepreneurship viewed from all possible viewpoints. As discussed in chapter 02 women entrepreneurship is a mechanism to overcome hardships stemming from constrained environments and building sustainable livelihood has been prevalent since the post-soviet context (Ashwin, 2000 cited in Allen et.al. 2007). The competition of the business environment has hastened with time hence, women requires more support and motivation to conquer all barriers. Hence, the following section of the study amalgamates all the issues discussed from objectives 1 to 4 in order to view issues hindering women entrepreneurs from attaining sustainable livelihood, from all possible viewpoints (i.e. from entrepreneurs profiles, evolving opportunities, resource constraints, government/INGO initiatives, issues related to such initiatives) prior recommending appropriate solutions which have been successful in similar socio-economic contexts. Also importantly all recommendations given here are accepted norms by the International Labour organisation. A practical example Research work of Kodithuwakku and Rosa (2002) based on a natural experiment on the resettlement of entrepreneurs in a village close to Mahaveli dam Sri Lanka, identified the importance of management skills as a prime tool an entrepreneur should posit in order to be successful.
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In 1984, the Government of Sri Lanka resettled these entrepreneurs by providing them basic inputs in the forms of cash and land. The Government also built infrastructure (similar to the current government initiatives discussed in) in order to support entrepreneurial activities, but ten years later a survey by the government found majority of the entrepreneur’s gone bankrupt. The findings of the root cause bought into limelight most of the villagers were unsuccessful due to lack of management and wastage of resources. Among other reasons was borrowing from private investors at a higher interest rate (as discussed in). 4.8.2 Recommendations and conclusion 4.8.2.1 Economic mapping exercises As achieved through the first and second objectives of this study, it is pivotal for policy makers to understand the profiles of women entrepreneurs and their constraints relative to evolving market opportunities, in order to provide them with the necessary development assists, it is fair enough to develop infrastructure and providing them with basic inputs (as the SLG is doing) but what’s pivotal here is to understand their current requirements first (ILO, 2005). 4.8.2.2 Business Development Services The very first objective of this study highlighted 64% of women entrepreneurs lacked education beyond grade 5 hence; it was among the biggest constraints for women in order to response to the evolving entrepreneurial opportunities. This issue was overlooked by the Government’s initiatives as discussed in the 3rd objective of this study therefore making it among the deficiencies of initiatives (as discussed in the 4th objective) that needs to be addressed in order to ensure sustainable livelihood attainment of women entrepreneurs. According to the ILO, 2005 BDS is an effective tool to address poor levels of education, weak management skills, product deficiencies and lack of marketing skills of women entrepreneurs. BDS are also pivotal in filling skills gaps erupting from the loss of experts (as discussed). 4.8.2.3 Collaboration with partner organisations As discussed in p18 successful women entrepreneurs for instance; the EAP Edirisinghe group of companies led by a Mrs. Soma Edirisinghe or the owner of ODEL outlets Mrs. Ottara Chandiram, women of this calibre stemming from the same country can be used in decision making processes as they have experienced many hardships prior reaching the acme of their careers. 4.8.2.4 Building up associations for entrepreneurs Encouraging women entrepreneurs to from networks and communities (ILO, 2005) can help them share their expertise and even resources/capabilities with another. Today in the business world we see large scale companies merging together in building sustainable competitive advantage, so why not these small scale business women.
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4.8.2.5 Sustainability The ultimate goal of all the recommendations discussed above should be aimed towards sustainability, the ability to make these women standalone is very important because assistance from a government/INGO will not last forever, hence these women should be rigorously trained to attain sustainability no matter which initiative is used. REFERENCES Aidis, R., F. Welter, D. Smallbone and N. Isakova. 2006. ‘Female Entrepreneurship in Transition Economies: the Case of Lithuania and Ukraine’ Feminist Economics, forthcoming. Alexander, B., C. Chan-Halbrendt, and W. Salim (2006), “Sustainable livelihood considerations for disaster risk management: Implications for implementation of the government of Indonesia tsunami recovery plan”. Disaster Prevention and Management, 15(1), pp. 31-50. Allen, I.E., Elam, A., Langowitz, N. & Dean, M. 2008. Global Entrepreneurhip Monitor: 2007 report on women entrepreneurship. www.gemconsortium.com. Andotra,N., Pooja.M (2006). ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN RURAL MICRO AGRI -LINKED BUSINESSES. Journal of Asia Entrepreneurship and Sustainability [online]. Vol. 2, [Accessed 12th Sep 2009 ], p.134 - 147. Available from: . Audretsch, David B. (2002), Entrepreneurship: A Survey of the Literature. Prepared for the European Commission, Enterprise Directorate General. Institute for Development Strategies, Indiana University, mimeo, July. Ayadurai,S. and Sohail,M.S. (2004). PROFILE OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN A WARTORN AREA: CASE STUDY OF NORTHEAST SRI LANKA . Journal of development entrepreneurship [online]. [Accessed 14th Sep 2009 ], Available from: . Ayadurai,S. (2005). AN INSIGHT INTO THE “CONSTRAINTS” FACED BY WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN A WAR-TORN AREA: CASE STUDY OF THE NORTHEAST OF SRI LANKA. Journal of Asia Entrepreneurship and Sustainability [online]. Vol. 2, [Accessed 12th Sep 2009 ], p.61 - 74. Available from: . Batticaloa District Secretariat, 2009, Statistical information [Online], Available: http://www.ds.gov.lk/dist_batticaloa/english/statistical_info_of_dis_sec.html [Accesssed 17 th Sep 2009]. Center for Women’s Research Sri Lanka, 2006. Rural women in Sri Lanka’s post-conflict rural economy. Thailand: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Department of Census & statistics, 2008, Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey Final Report – 2008. Colombo 7, DCS.
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Greene,P.G., Hart, M.M., Gatewood,E.J., Brush, C.G., & Carter, N.M., (2003). Women Entrepreneurs: Moving Front and Center: An Overview of Research and Theory. Coleman white paper series, Vol. 3, p. 1-47 [Accessed on 13th Sep 2009] from http;//www.usasbe.org. Herbert,R.F and Link,A,N (1989). In Search of the Meaning of Entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics [online]. Vol. 1, [Accessed 11th Sep 2009 ], p.39--49.. Available from: . ILO, 2005. Livelihood And Employment Creation. Colombo: International Labour Organisation. ILO, 2008. Livelihood Gap Analysis. Colombo: International Labour Organisation . Internally Displaced Monitoring Centre, 2009. Civilians displaced by conflict facing severe humanitarian crisis, Geneva: Norwegian refugee council. Jalbert, S.E. (2000). Women entrepreneurs in the global economy. Washington, DC: Center for International Private Enterprise. Kodithuwakku, S. S., & Rosa, P. (2002). The entrepreneurial process and economic success in a constrained environment. Journal of Business Venturing, 17, 431-465. McClelland,E., Swail,J., Bell,J. and Ibbotson, P (2005). Following the pathway of female entrepreneurs. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour [online]. Vol. 11, [Accessed 13th Sep 2009 ], p.84-107. Available from: . Murphy,P.J., Liao,J., and Welsch,H.P. (2006). A conceptual history of entrepreneurial thought. Journal of Management History [online]. Vol. 12, [Accessed 14th Sep 2009 ], p.12-35. Available from: . Riebe, M. (2003). 'Growth-oriented Women Entrepreneurs: making it their way’, International Small Business Council conference paper. Singh,G. Belwal,R. (2007). Entrepreneurship and SMEs in Ethiopia. Gender in Management: An International Journal [online]. Vol. 23, [Accessed 11th Sep 2009 ], p.120-136. Available from: . Three-year Eastern Province Development Plan: 2007- 2010, Department of National Planning, Ministry of Finance and Planning, November 2007. UNESCAP, 2005. DEVELOPING WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN SOUTH ASIA: ISSUES, INITIATIVES AND EXPERIENCES. Thailand: UNESCAP. UN, 2009. Common Humanitarian Action Plan. Sri Lanka: United Nations CHAP. United Nations Development Programme’s Regional Centre in Colombo (2008). Investing in women yields high returns to social and economic development. Press release, issued 19th Feb 2008. 28
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APPENDICES APPENDIX A
Three-year Eastern Province Development Plan: 2007
30
APPENDIX B
Threeyear Eastern
Province Development Plan: 2007
31
APPENDIX C
Three-year Eastern Province Development Plan: 2007
32
APPENDIX D
Three-year Eastern Province Development Plan: 2007
33
