Unseen Faces, Unheard Voices

Rare finds It is quite rare to find women activists working on women workers' issues in the oil palm plantations of Indonesia. They are generally part of the administration but very few are involved in organizing workers. Generally, NGOs organizing labour are very focused on broad issues like wages, land grabbing and unfair treatment by capitalists and agribusinesses. The focus on women is minimal as a target group for organizing and considered for supplementary activities to support the men who are being organized.  They may have be aware of gender inequality but this does not extend to efforts to implement gender mainstreaming in the programmes and campaigns. There is still an obvious gap and women are not benefiting from programmes. A higher level of commitment and focus is required to ensure women benefit from labour organizing. Solidarity As a feminist researcher working on social justice issues affecting women in the oil palm industry, I want to establ...

I arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia on 1st March 2013. This portends my second phase of the research. I must admit, I was verily prepared for Indonesia. Many upheavals and changes had left me quite emotionally drained. Nevertheless, the work must go on. I was instantly shocked at how much things cost in Jakarta. Well definitely not as bad as KL. However, it would be straining a limited stipend. Backpackers - 6 Degrees, Jakarta Fortunately, the gods of travel were kind to me which led me to 6 Degrees, Cikini Raya, Jakarta. It turned out to be a mixed blessing. I was very worried about the lack of privacy but I was pleasantly surprised by the pods concept available at 6 Degrees. Yes, even a curtain can make a great difference. Plus I was paying ridiculously affordable rates in one of the most expensive cities in S.E.A. Food - killed me Ah...food which was my undoing entirely. Fooled by a very fortunately experience in Yogjakarta where I had a smorgasbord of street food and survived. ...

How does one conduct an in-depth interview without becoming emotionally moved by the powerful narrative unfolding before him/her? One must be a rock or an automaton to remain unaffected. I am all flesh, unfortunately. I try practicing being present, breathing and channeling love towards my interviewee throughout the process. I hope to make them understand that I am trustworthy and will handle their story with care and love. Yeah, is using love for research purposes a valid academic practice? Enter feminism. It is undeniable that, consciousness raising affects both the interviewer and the interviewee. I can think of three valid scenarios where this can be proven. Acknowledgement of reality Women's lives are real, acknowledging that she lived in a rural community, had children, laboured in a plantation and raised her family is reality, as far as I am concerned. It is also but one experience which contributes to a larger narrative. When she tells her-story, she re-creates her ...

I am on a much needed holiday! I am exploring Davao and its wonders! I am not far away from work but I just needed to celebrate 50 household interviews in difficult circumstances. I also need the down time to work on my FGDs. I need to develop a kick ass framework that weaves into the workshop and empowerment activities must be suitable for their situation. I also need to give the heads up to both cooperatives on when I intend to carry out the FGDs. I am very certain that it will go well.

The knowledge of running a household is something that is often taken for granted. Since it is women's work it can't be rocket science, can it? Well, it is. Women run households with such exacting details because they work with very limited resources. One of the respondents today, exemplified this quality. She could tell me exactly how much detergent is required for 1 day's laundry and where to get the best bargain for it. She also could compare prices in the co-op store in Kenram to prices in most shops in Isulan. This is a video of Erlida Octavia who describes the cost of detergent and where she purchases it.  See her video here -  Erlida's Laundry Costs

I attended a course on implementing Participatory Capability and Vulnerability Assessment (PCVA) for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climatic Change Adaptation (CCA) from 17 to 21 September 2012. It was organized by OXFAM Mindanao with a few other local NGOs.  Despite, my busy schedule I accepted this opportunity to learn and fine tune my methods for the research that I am conducting. The framework of my research is based on participatory methods informed by feminist analysis. The methods which were introduced were not very different to the ideas which I already had, however the opportunity to incorporate feminist analysis in the process was really valuable.  Barangay Lasak, Columbio This barangay (village) is one of the barangay's in Columbio district with a total land area of 2, 676 hectares of which 2, 080 (77.73%)  is agricultural. The community is largely involved in farming with corn being its substantial produce. It was also the barangay selecte...

L One of the respondents I interviewed was a 50 year old woman in a polygamous marriage. Her husband, S has 4 wives including her. She is the first wife who is registered as a legal spouse under the Shariah Law. She was married to S at the age of 15. She has 8 children by him. Her husband's second wife lives in the home lot provided him. Both wives live within a 1 metre proximity of each other. The second wife has 4 children by S. The third wife is not on amicable terms with L so she hardly spoke about this woman. All three wives' of S live in the same barangay. The fourth wife is rumoured to be in General Santos a city about 60 kms away from Mapantig. L was informed of this marriage by a close relative.  Male Privilege S earns P 6,000.00 as an assistant to a harvester. His job is to assist harvesters to lug the transfer the fresh fruit bunches to pick up points. This could mean he carries an average of 30 - 60 fresh fruit bunches. Each bunch can weigh up to 50 k...