How Does Gardening Activities Fit into the Lives And Gendered Responsibilities of Women? The Case of Vegetable Cultivation in Morogoro Municipality

Authors

Betty David Mntambo, Open University of Tanzania, Tanzania.Follow

Abstract

This study explored how gardening activities fit into the lives and gendered responsibilities of female gardeners. The specific objectives were to understand how a woman allocates her time to fit into domestic and gardening activities; how domestic work affect the participation of women in gardening activities; as well as the implications of the struggle to balance domestic and gardening activities. The study was conducted among female gardeners who cultivate and sell leafy vegetables in Morogoro Municipality. The study adopted a descriptive qualitative approach, whereby snowball sampling was used to select 17 female gardeners cultivating in open spaces. In-depth interviews and life histories research methods were used to document the experiences and efforts of female gardeners in balancing gardening and domestic activities. Results showed that despite female’s financial contribution to the household, gender responsibilities have not changed; and a woman is expected to do all domestic activities. In this case, a female gardener must balance between gardening activities and domestic work, whereas sometimes her participation in gardening is compromised. The extent to which domestic activities affects gardening activities depends on the age of a female gardener, marital status, age of her children, and the availability of other female members in a household who support her. These determine the extent of domestic activities a woman performs as her duties before going to a garden. The study concludes that participation of women in gardening activities elevate their economic position, although the struggle to accomplish the productive and reproductive roles is real: gardening activities are imposing new routines that intensify their labour. Furthermore, the limited availability of household assistance and increased work-burden hinder opportunities for women to expand vegetable cultivation, as well as having adequate time to rest.

Recommended Citation

Mntambo, Betty David (2021) "How Does Gardening Activities Fit into the Lives And Gendered Responsibilities of Women? The Case of Vegetable Cultivation in Morogoro Municipality," Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences: Vol. 10 : No. 2 , Article 7.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v10.i2.3