4. DATA ANALYSIS

4.1 Group Formation and Objectives

In total, 38 groups were studied: eighteen women-only, nineteen mixed-sex and one men-only. The low score on men-only groups is also cited by Mutoro (1997) who found that only 2 out of 37 groups studied were men-only. In the study, only one group was 20 years old. This was also the only men-only group found in Ikolomani Division. Sixteen groups (42.1%) were below 4 years, seventeen groups (44.7%) were between 5-9 years while only five groups (13.2%) were 10 years and above. Ten mixed-sex groups were below 4 years compared to six women-only self-help groups. This is evidence of the new trend when gender sensitization, balance and involvement in development are at its peak.

Initially, groups were formed out of a pressing need in our traditional African societies. The findings of the study revealed that 33 out of 38 (86.8%) groups were formed by members’ own initiative. The remaining five were initiated by an external agent such as a village elder, AMREF, Agricultural officer, Field researcher or church organization. These findings concur with Mutoro (1997) and Khasiani (1992) who note that groups were currently formed by members or governments so that assistance programmes can be channelled through them. Khasiani (1992) while studying Mwethya groups noted that most groups form around a common need initiated by members themselves or as a response to local administration effort to mobilize labour to address a community need.

Membership in the group ranged from 12-349. Most women-only groups (61%) had membership below 20. The largest had 37 members. Mixed-sex groups were large in size and with gender balance. Of these groups, 26.3% had membership below 20. Four (21%) of the mixed-sex groups had membership beyond 100 and the largest had 349 members. This largest group “Lusumu multi group” in Navakholo Division was initiated and organized by the Anglican Church. On average, mixed-sex groups had group sizes of 58 while women-only groups had 20. There was a significant difference in group sizes between the two types of groups (p<0.05) (see table 3).

Table 3. Differences in group sizes

Group type	Average group size
Mixed-sex	58.400
Women-only	19.900
Difference	38.500
Df	33.000
T-value	1.972
Significance	P<0.05, significant

The findings also revealed that some women-only groups, though registered as women-only groups, had few men as members. They noted that men provided moral and financial support and advice. This was also a case in Mutoro’s (1997) study. She has noted that most women-only groups enlisted few male members who were seen as patrons or advisors and who ran some of the projects which were physically strenuous and traditionally male jobs such as bee keeping, masonary, fishing and lumbering.

To be eligible for membership, one was supposed to pay registration fee, make monthly contributions of a specified amount and abide by the group’s rules. Women-only self-help groups had additional requirements: one was to be from the same locality, married and fall within a specific age category. This concurs with Khasiani’s (1992) study. This finding could point to specific discussions and activities done by women-only groups and time constraints caused by many roles they have to accomplish within a limited time.

Group objectives were classified into six broad categories as indicated in table 4:

Table 4. Objectives by type of group

Objectives	Men-only (N)	Women -only (N)	Mixed-sex (N)	Total (N)	Total (%)
Financial/economic empowerment	1 (50%)	17 (63%)	19 (46.3%)	37	52.9
Social welfare	1 (50%)	10 (37%)	15 (36.6%)	26	37.0
Literacy improvement	-	-	2 (4.9%)	2	2.9
Rights awareness	-	-	2 (4.9%)	2	2.9
Health campaigns	-	-	2 (4.9%)	2	2.9
Ease of transport	-	-	1 (2.4%)	1	1.4
Total	2 (100%)	27 (100%)	41 (100%)	70	100.0

It is evident from the table that groups form for the purpose of economically empowering themselves. Closely, it is followed by social welfare. Financial empowerment does not occur in the absence of social welfare. The rest were for mixed-sex groups only and they include: literacy improvement; rights awareness; health campaign and ease of transport. These findings are in line with those of other groups as found by Kenneth (1973) and Staudt (1986). The group goals enlisted by group leaders concur with the reasons advanced by members for seeking membership in groups. This increases cohesiveness/unity in the groups. Festinger (1950) confirms that a marriage between group goals and individual goals increases unity and attraction to groups.

4.2 Demographic and Socio-economic Characteristics of Group Members

The age range of members in the sample was between 20-60 years. Women-only self-help groups had most of their members (61.7%) aged above 40 years while only 34.5% in mixed-sex self-help groups belonged to that age category. In all the groups sampled, only 6 members were not married. Four cases in women-only groups reported widowhood. These findings are in line with Khasiani (1992).

In most African traditional societies, group activity is seen as a source of supplementary income. The fact that most members in the study sample were married and with big families – 50% had more than 5 children, 44.4% less than 5 children – indicates the importance of group activity towards family livelihood. This finding is in line with Alila’s (1992) study which revealed average family size as 9 in Vihiga and 10 in Nyakach. Family pressure means that alternative sources for family survival are necessary (Masinde 1987; Monstead 1978).

A general finding made indicated that less than half (46%) of the sampled members had secondary education and above. Out of these 60.7%, were from mixed-sex self-help groups while only 39.3%were from women-only groups (see table 5)

Table 5. Education levels of members in the groups

Education levels	Women-only groups	Mixed-sex groups	Total
Primary and below	21(65.6%)	12 (41.4%)	33 (54%)
Secondary and post-secondary	11(34.4%)	17 (58.6%)	28 (46%)
Total	32 (100%)	29 (100%)	61 (100%)

Regardless of the literacy level, members in women-only groups remained as housewives and farmers while in mixed-sex groups only 34.2% were farmers; the rest teachers, businesspersons, carpenters, taxi drivers, etc. This indicates that their coming together was not based on an occupational bond. It also confirms the finding by Alila (1992) that people formed groups due to a sense of attachment and social bond to satisfy basic needs. Additionally, incomes from such occupations in the rural areas remained far much below compared to those of people in urban or metropolitan centres. The low incomes are attributed to failure to recognize incomes from rural agricultural work as noted by Alila (1992).

Population pressure also meant that those who depended on farming as a source of income were in a desperate state. The two divisions sampled were distinct in population density. This is evidenced in the findings that people from Navakholo Division had more land, on average 3.1 acres compared to 1.6 acres for those from Ikolomani. Only 2 (3.3%) out of 15 (24.6%) people with land acreage between 3 and 11 were from Ikolomani. Average family size was high in Navakholo, 21 (84%) households had family size above 5 and 2 (8%) families had size above 15 while in Ikolomani only 8 (22.2%) of the studied sample had above 5 members in a family. The large family size could be attributed to large land acreage. However, the findings revealed that 71.6% of the studied sample had access to less than 2 acres of land for farming. On average, land acreage was 2.4 acres. This is far much below the FAO recommended minimum acreage per family (3.5 acres/1.4 ha). The fact that the acreage was minimal for reasonable production corresponds with the findings on the incomes from farm activities. Most of the respondents (46.6%) reported incomes from the farm below Ksh. 5,000 while 16.7% were not even aware of incomes from the farm activities. The rest (36.7%) reported incomes over Ksh. 5,000.

The study also revealed that out of these scarce incomes, the highest expenditure was on education. This was a confirmation that most people especially in western Kenya spend more on social and long term investments than in productive and short term investments (Almy and Mbithi 1973; Alila 1992). They also fear taking risks. The score on education was followed by farm investments. Most of the incomes were spent on farms to improve production and this confirms responses on expenditure on food. Only few members from the study sample spent money in cash on food, health and clothing.

4.3 Group Activities

The major objective of the study was to identify the differences amongst men, mixed-sex and women-only groups. A number of activities done by each group were sought. These activities in themselves carry a cultural meaning which explains why some activities are done by specific groups only. Table 6 below shows these activities.

All the groups in the study sample had more than one project as table 6 reveals. The projects that carried more weight were merry-go-round with 21.4% scores. Merry-go-round is an activity where members meet at one point, contribute a specified amount of money which is given to one member wholesome or used for buying household wares which are given to that member. It may also involve contributing household wares every time they meet. It was high among women groups – 34% responses compared to 10% for mixed-sex groups. It was completely non existent amongst men groups. The findings concur with Mutoro (1997). In the 1990’s, merry-go-round took a different phase. Though not an income generating activity, it was and is a financial booster for the well-to-do. It turned out to be a form of a harambee/ fund raising whereby beside the members of the group, other dignitaries and regular guests were invited. The success of this depended highly on recognition and friendship ties one had. However, in the normal merry-go-round, the pride of members was that they were well equipped in terms of kitchen ware and therefore could not worry handling a larger number of visitors. Merry-go-round also had its own limitations.

Table 6. Activities by specific groups

Activity	Totals by group -Women-only (N)	Totals by group -Mixed-sex (N)	Totals by group -Men-only (N)	Total (N)	Grand total (%)
Merry go round	17 (34%)	5 (10%)	-	22	21.4
Crop farming	11 (22%)	10 (20%)	-	21	20.4
Social welfare	12 (24%)	5 (10%)	1 (33.3%)	18	17.5
Business	2 (4%)	10 (20%)	1 (33.3%)	13	12.5
Livestock farming	5 (10%)	6 (12%)	1 (33.3%)	12	11.7
Revolving loan fund	2 (4%)	4 (8%)	-	6	5.8
Brick making	-	3 (6%)	-	3	2.9
Adult education	-	2 (4%)	-	2	1.9
Health campaign	-	2 (4%)	-	2	1.9
Grain banking	1 (2%)	-	-	1	1.0
Transport	-	1 (2%)	-	1	1.0
Community mobilizer	-	1 (2%)	-	1	1.0
Facilitator training	-	1 (2%)	-	1	1.0
Total	50 (100%)	50 (100%)	3 (99.9%)	103	100.0

Crop farming had 20.4% responses. This is the major economic activity in the region and hence there were no major differences between women-only and mixed-sex groups. Women-only group responses were 22% compared to mixed-sex groups with 20% responses. Crop farming involved planting of vegetables, French beans, beans, nappier grass, and tree nurseries. These crops varied from region to region. For example, nappier grass, vegetables and beans had well established markets in Ikolomani. This is because in Ikolomani there is land scarcity and hence most households cannot afford enough grazing land for animals and still have some to plant other crops. Secondly, most people were turning into zero grazing breeds which require purchasing of nappier most often. French beans project is profitable. However, it highly depends on climate and manageability. Sometimes, delays in harvesting, its perishable nature and high technology requirements (fertilizers, spraying, harvesting) make the project non-viable. Most participants in the project became indebted to the French beans company when the product’s income was far much less compared to investments made. In Navakholo, the most common crops were maize, beans and sweet potatoes. This can be attributed to the availability of farming land. However, crop farming in Navakholo especially potatoes lack market because almost every homestead has it; furthermore, it is not a staple food. Lack of market coupled with poor transport and communication systems make it a non-viable project. Roads are earth, with many pot holes. Vehicles are also scarce. The common means of transport is the bicycle, which cannot go long distances or carry heavy luggage. Generally, crop project is highly successful amongst mixed-sex groups. Women’s time limitations and lack of skills hinder them from actively participating in such group projects, leading to failure of the groups.

Social welfare projects involved participation in activities such as funerals, marriages, birthday parties, remembrance rites, circumcision rites, visitations, ball games, and choirs. Participation involved contribution of finances, labour, food, and moral support. Some groups had developed a scheme-benevolent fund scheme from which money related to the above was drawn. In most of the groups, contributions were instant. Social welfare activities were common among women-only groups with 24% responses compared to 10% responses for mixed-sex groups. It was the third in rank among group projects with 17.5% responses. Funerals and circumcision rites were two major cultural festivities that retarded the community’s development (East African Standard, January 29, 2002).

Business projects ranked fourth with 12.6% responses. Business included selling of cereals (maize, beans, peas, and groundnuts), shop keeping, hotel running, and school uniform making and selling. Business was common among mixed-sex groups with 20% responses compared to women-only groups with 4% responses. Low responses for women-only groups can be attributed to time limitations because business is fulltime. Generally, business has a low opinion in the region. The regions studied were also far from big towns; hence, high reliance on products from their own farms. Another reason is that people fear taking risks. Therefore, even in the very rural areas, only outsiders confidently establish businesses and prosper. Apart from these reasons, low business responses were attributed to defaults in debt payment resulting from extended family ties. Business in the village automatically becomes a family or clan business – thus people squander without considering the cost of replenishing the business. This behaviour creates fear in those aspiring to start a business and also leads to total failure of those who have tried to do so. Further, a good business requires enough capital which women, due to gender stereotyping, cannot access hence cannot dare to enterprise.

Livestock/animal rearing with 11.7% responses was common amongst all the groups – 10% response for women-only groups and 12% for mixed-sex groups. The common animals reared were cattle, goats and few pigs and other related projects like dips. Most groups encouraged rearing of hybrid animals except for one group which still had local breeds due to financial handicaps. Cattle were highly valued because of their milk production and availability of market for the product. Piggery project had low opinion hence no large market for the product. The reasons advanced for the low opinion are related to cultural belief system. Most groups with animal projects had the vision of ensuring that each member became a proud owner of at least one hybrid cow. This finding concurs with Mutoro’s (1997) research on women-only group projects in Vihiga District.

Revolving loan scheme is a project where members of a group contribute money which they lend out to people at a low interest compared to commercial lending institutions. The locally organized project has not received popularity amongst people in the region. Only 5.8% responses indicated the practice of project. The project was common amongst mixed-sex groups with 8% responses compared to 4% responses from women-only groups. Women generally lack access to financial resources, therefore, are not in a position to run loaning projects (Pala 1975; Staudt 1975). However, the project encountered a number of problems such as high rates of default, delays in payment, lack of skills in managing accounts and leadership wrangles related to decision making on who to lend or not to. These problems are in line with those cited by Feldman (1982), Wanjau (1995) and Stromquist (1998).

Grain banking was a new project practiced by one group in Ikolomani Division initiated by Gender Sensitive Initiative (GSI) – a non-governmental organization. This is where group members during bumper harvest contribute maize to the group banking project. During famine, a certain percentage of each members share is given to him/her freely while the rest is sold to members at a fairly low price compared to the market rates. This in a way helps finance other group activities in the sense that maize was given freely but now it is being given out at a price.

The remaining projects, i.e., brick making, adult education, health campaign, transport, community mobilization and facilitator training were practised by mixed-sex groups only. Health projects included campaign against AIDS and practice of traditional medicine. These groups ran herbal clinics under management of herbalists. Transport involved leasing bicycles by jobless people who could transport people and luggage to different places at a fee. Included in the transport was the construction of bridges. Community mobilization and facilitator training were intended to sensitize the community and actively involve them in development.

Group projects mentioned by the sampled groups are in line with those enlisted by; Stamp (1975), Wipper (1975/76), Riria (1985), Staudt (1986), Alila (1992), Khasiani (1992), and Mutoro (1997). Drawing from the findings on group activities, women-only groups had a concentration in specific activities while mixed-sex groups showed a wide range of activities all through. The differences in types of activities can be attributed to the sex role distribution in groups, skills, culture, age and spirit of adventure especially amongst mixed-sex groups where most are youthful and adventurous. The findings concur with those by Khasiani (1992).

Incomes from Group Projects

Mixed-sex groups made outstanding performance in group activities compared to women groups. On average, mixed-sex groups made Ksh. 21,393.80 while women-only groups made Ksh. 6,440.80 per season. This difference was very significant (p<0.001). Although records were poorly kept or non existent, those groups which managed to report their incomes for the last 3 years showed a significant difference between the groups. On average, mixed-sex groups had Ksh. 25,301.30 while women-only groups had Ksh. 5,348.00. This difference was significant at p<0.025, df =19, t = 2.229. This shows that mixed-sex groups were more stable and progressive compared to women-only groups. However, most groups had no records on expenditures, re-investments and individual members’ monetary benefits from the group activity.

The type of activity practised determined the differences in contributions (time, money and materials) and commitment to group activities (attendance and frequency of meetings) which initially are based on cultural-gender division of labour. Responses on contributions towards group activity were widely spread in mixed-sex groups compared to women-only groups (see table 7). Contribution in kind apart from finance and time included: labour, timber, farm inputs (land and tools), herbs and drugs, sand and advice.

Table 7. Contribution in kind towards group activity

Type	Mixed-sex	Women-only	Total
Timber/furniture	1 (5.6%)	-	1 (3.2%)
Utensils	4 (22.2%)	6 (46.2%)	10 (32.3%)
Labour	3 (16.7%)	3 (23.1%)	6 (19.4%)
Foodstuff	1 (5.6%)	3 (23.1%)	4 (12.9%)
Farm inputs	6 (33.3%)	1 (7.7%)	7 (22.6%)
Herbs/drugs	2 (11.1%)	-	2 (6.5%)
Sand	1 (5.6%)	-	1 (3.2%)
Total	18 (100%)	13 (100%)	31 (100%)

Since women-only groups were welfare-oriented, contributions were in terms of labour, utensils and food (tea leaves, sugar, maize, and beans). The monetary contributions ranged from Ksh.30 to 2,050. Most of women-only groups’ monthly contributions were highly set, i.e., only 4 groups contributed between Ksh. 30 to 60, the rest were between Ksh. 100 to 200 while only 3 made Ksh. 300, 480, and 550 contributions, respectively. For mixed-sex groups, the range was higher (from Ksh.20 to Ksh.1500). However, only one mixed-sex group had contribution of up to Ksh. 1,500 and the only men-only group made a contribution of Ksh. 2,050 monthly. On average, mixed-sex groups contributed Ksh. 183.80 and 13.1 hours while average contributions for women-only groups were Ksh.186.40 and 4.3 hours. Monetary contributions show a contradiction; it was expected that men in the mixed-sex groups will make an impact in raising the levels of contributions. The findings show women having high visions; however members in women-only groups do not live up to this target – most of them default in payment of contributions, a confirmation of why women projects stall. Although mixed-sex groups have low average contributions, they are steady and regular. This is why they do perform well. Higher average contributions (with respect to time) for mixed-sex groups can be attributed to the presence of male members who provide moral support to members of the opposite sex. The differences in monetary contributions between the two groups were not significant. The difference in time investment in group activities was however significant between the two groups (p<0.05) (see table 8).

Table 8. Time contribution to group activities

Groups	Average time (hours)
Mixed-sex	13.100
Women-only	4.300
Differences	8.800
Df	32.000
T-value	1.914
Significance	P<0.05, significant

Commitment to group activities was also measured in terms of frequency of meetings. Average frequency of meetings was 1.8 times per month for mixed-sex groups and 1.6 for women-only groups. This difference was not significant although it points to the time constraints women-only undergo in fulfilling their everyday tasks.

4.4 Sustainability of Group

A number of factors were identified as determining group sustainability. These included: leadership, project management, financial status, group size, relation to other groups and government policies.

4.4.1 Leadership

While discussing group leadership, it was found that office bearers came into office through elections. On average, the term of service was three years except for two groups which reported that no elections had taken place since. Several factors were considered as necessary in determining who entered into office for good management). These included: age; education; public relation; ability; self control and transparency. To focus more on leadership, responses related to age, skill and education were sought for. In mixed-sex groups leadership was well distributed by sex-42 (53.8%) were male and 36 (46.2%) were female. Table 9 below shows age and education level of group leaders.

Table 9. Education and age of group leaders

Leadership office	Variables	Categories	Women-only groups	Mixed-sex groups	Grand total
Secretary	Education	Primary & below	9 (56.3%)	5 (26.3%)	14 (40%)
		Secondary & above	7 (43.7%)	14 (73.7%)	21 (60%)
		Total	16 (100%)	19 (100%)	35 (100%)
	Age	20-40	10 (62.5%)	13 (68.4)	23 (65.7%)
		41& above	6 (37.5%)	6 (31.6%)	12 (34.3%)
		Total	16 (100%)	19 (100%)	35 (100%)
Chairperson	Education	Primary & above	7 (43.7%)	8 (42.1%)	15 (42.9%)
		Secondary & above	9 (56.3%)	11 (57.9%)	20 (57.1%)
		Total	16 (100%)	19 (100%)	35 (100%)
	Age	20-40	6 (37.5%)	5 (26.3%)	11 (31.4%)
		41& above	10 (62.5%)	14 (73.7%)	24 (68.6%)
		Total	16 (100%)	19 (100%)	35 (100%)
Treasurer	Education	Primary & below	10 (62.5%)	7 (36.2%)	17 (48.6%)
		Secondary & above	6 (37.5%)	12 (63.2%)	18 (51.4%)
		Total	16 (100%)	19 (100%)	35 (100%)
	Age	20-40	6 (37.5%)	12 (63.2%)	18 (51.4%)
		41 & above	10 (62.5%)	7 (36.8%)	17 (48.6%)
		Total	16 (100%)	19 (100%)	35 (100%)

Observations from table 9 indicate that over 50% of the secretaries, chairpersons and treasurers had secondary and post-secondary education. However, mixed-sex groups had higher percentage of these compared to women- only groups. A higher percentage of the secretaries were 40 years and below compared to treasurers and chairpersons. A higher percentage of secretaries in mixed-sex groups were younger compared to women-only groups. The general findings regardless of type of group revealed that on average secretaries were 37 years, treasurers 42.6 years and chairpersons 45 years. These findings concur with Khasiani (1992, 31) who while studying Mwethya groups found that the “chairlady is usually older, articulate and confident. The treasurer is usually older and trusted. The secretary is usually younger and has to be literate”.

In general, women have had little access to education as indicated by the findings that 56.3% for women secretaries and 62.5% of women treasurers had only primary education or less. It shows the gender bias where preference has been given to men in this particular community. This therefore downplays their capability to manage effectively group affairs especially setting of goals that are relevant to their circumstances and endeavouring to realize them.

Out of the group leaders, 66.7% of mixed-sex groups and 39.6% of women-only groups had some skills/training in some field – though may not be practicing it. A higher percentage (60.4%) of women-only groups had no skills compared to 33.3% for mixed-sex groups (see table 10).

Table 10. Group leaders’ skills

Skill	Mixed-sex groups	Women-only groups	Total
Labour relations	-	1 (2.1%)	1 (1%)
Clerk	-	1 (2.1%)	1 (1%)
Nursing	-	2 (4.2%)	2 (1.9%)
Teacher	12 (21.1%)	6 (12.5%)	18 (17.1%)
Education officer	1 (1.8%)	-	1 (1%)
Administrator/chief	1 (1.8%)	-	1 (1%)
Lab technician	1 (1.8%)	-	1 (1%)
Business	2 (3.5%)	-	2 (1.9%)
Herbalists	2 (3.5%)	-	2 (1.9%)
Agriculturalists	4 (7%)	1 (2.1%)	5 (2.9%)
Secretary	2 (3.5%)	-	2 (4.8%)
Hotel management	1 (1.8%)	-	1 (1%)
Table 10. Contd.
Land registrar	1 (1.8%)	-	1 (1%)
Community development assistance	3 (5.3%)	3 (6.3%)	6 (5.7%)
Tailoring	5 (8.8%)	2 (4.2%)	7(6.7%)
Community health worker	2 (3.5%)	2 (4.2%)	4(3.8%)
Masonry	1 (1.8%)	-	1(1%)
Knitting	-	1(2.1%)	1(1%)
None	19 (33.3%)	29 (60.4%)	48 (45.7%)
Total	57 (100%)	48 (100%)	105 (100%)

Mixed-sex groups had leaders with a wide distribution of skills compared to women-only group leaders. Lack of skill response rates were high in women-only groups with 60.4% compared to 33.3% for mixed-sex groups.

Of the entire groups, 26.6% claimed to have had leadership training – 18.7% of women-only groups and 35.1% of mixed-sex groups. The content of the training was:

• Financial management;

• Group organization and management;

• Leadership skills; and

• Human relations and communication skills.

The training was in the form of seminars offered by a sponsoring organization’s government officials. Since most of the leaders were not trained, responses on group performance was highly based on memory rather than concrete records in books.

During the focus group discussions, some information was highlighted relating to group leadership. This information was on: model of a good leader; successes and failures of women as leaders; challenges of women as leaders and management of group projects.

A good leader is:

• Visionary and sets achievable goals; s/he is not arrogant and he builds team work by delegating duties and is concerned about members’ problems;

• Ready to accept advice and to serve; s/he leads through consensus and does not believe in rumours;

• A good communicator and s/he observes personal dignity;

• A role-model leading by example; and

• Reputable, patient and ready to sacrifice energy and resources for group benefits (selfless).

Success and failures of women as leaders

Regardless of culture and resource limitations faced by women, they have been able to make good leaders. That is why there are so many women-only groups in existence. The expressions below from focus group discussions show how successful women have been as leaders.

• Prevalence of women-only groups in society is an indication of good leadership.

• Women-only groups have been able to achieve their goals; e.g., merry-go-round activities have helped many to equip their homes. This was also the case with Karega (1995).

• They are elected into office by fellow women – an indication of confidence in them.

• Their maternal nature makes them more thoughtful and very concerned about life. They portray honesty and fairness.

Other indications showing women as good leaders were: they are good managers of farms; in some cases they have been elected as local Assistant-chiefs; in some homes where men have passed away, the family left behind have been very successful than where the wife has died.

The failures of women as leaders are listed below:

i) They don’t like one another, are not unified and are more selfish;

ii) Some groups have failed/collapsed due to mismanaged resources and illiteracy. Most are not educated; and

iii) Women like gossiping and this has torn apart most of the groups.

Challenges to women in group leadership:

• In some areas, administrations negatively influence women-only group activities (politicizes them); for example, NGOs are blocked by politicians/administration if they try to assist groups directly.

• Some duties require stamina, long distance travels which are risky and strenuous to birth-giving women. This is a challenge to women leaders because it limits their vision.

• Women feel inferior to come out strongly due to upbringing where men seem to make decisions that carry the day. These findings concur with Staudt (1975).

• Women are also economically weak and can do very little since they are dependent on men.

• Women are too busy to spare time for group work.

To overcome some of these challenges/weaknesses, various strategies were suggested. These included:

• Need for improving their educational/literacy level, i.e., encourage girl and adult education. This can be done through attitude change and institutional structuring where courses scheduled favour also women.

• Need for increasing exposure of women leaders through seminars and trips and training on management to improve their leadership qualities.

• Encourage long term projects or goals.

• Need for information dissemination where both men and women participate. The information should be related to role of women in development and the need for letting them work independently and freely.

Effective management of group activities

While in most groups the executive committee automatically became the project committee, focus group discussions indicated that group projects could be well managed if the following were adopted:

i) Specific committees should be elected to manage projects without the interference of group leaders, which promotes competition and hard work in the group.

ii) Leaders should make proposals that go with members’ interests, which allows for easier delegation of duties and team work.

iii) For any activity in the group that requires extra skills, the leaders should first engage group members for payment before employing people from outside the group.

4.4.2 Financial Status of the Group

This section gives information related to group assistance financially and in kind. Information from the Kakamega District Headquarters indicated that there were a number of Non-Banking Institutions operating in the region. These included: Kenya Rural Enterprise Programme (K-REP); Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT); Improve Your Business (IYB); National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK); Partnership for Productivity; Community Action on Rural Development (CARD); Gender Sensitive Initiative (GSI); Women Enterprise Development Kenya (WEDCO); Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA); Kenya Industrial Estates (KIE); the Catholic Church; the Anglican Church; Pride Kenya; Community Development Trust Fund (CDTF); Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organization (MYWO); Kenya Finland Cooperation (KENFINCO); KENAFYA; Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA); Finish International Development Agency (FINIDA); Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA); AMREF and FAO through the Ministry of Agriculture.

Most of the Organizations above were concerned with community projects. KWTF, WEDCO and Pride Kenya were the only institutions giving loans to groups or individuals through groups. In the study specific area, there were no NGOs on the ground. In Ikolomani Division, only one NGO was identified – GSI. It started in 1993 but was officially launched in the area in 1996. The NGO is involved in a number of activities related to: family education, health, transport, civic education, food security, youth and retired people. NGOs were non existent in Navakholo Division. The only NGO that was recognized was KENFINCO which some time had established water projects. The NGO is inactive in the region currently. The water projects in some places have stagnated due to community ignorance and inability to maintain them. AMREF at one time gave drugs to the groups that practiced health projects while FAO through the Ministry of Agriculture gave fertilizers and seeds to one group. The assistance ceased thereafter.

Financially, none of the studied groups was or had been assisted by any of the above-mentioned Lending Institutions. There was only one group sponsored by the Anglican Church in Navakholo Division. Assistance was mainly in other kinds than financial. Any other assistance to the group was by the government through “Poverty Eradication Programme”. The assistance was however not continuous (table 11).

Out of the nine groups that received the assistance, two women-only and four mixed-sex groups bought hybrid cows and maize for re-selling. The money that remained was shared amongst members. Three of the mixed-sex groups shared the money amongst themselves. Studies have noted that most groups were registered to access government funding and that the bank accounts opened have remained dormant. The funding was poor and the money only enabled groups to open accounts – that was the minimum balance. The little funds, however, generated a lot of misunderstanding rather than unity. Also, members within the sample reported sharing the money amongst themselves.

Table 11. Groups assisted by the government

Amount	Women-only groups	Mixed-sex groups	Men-only	Total
Less than 10,000	-	2	-	2
10,000 – 20,000	2	1	-	3
20,001 – 30,000	-	1	-	1
30,001 – 40,000	-	2	-	2
40,001 and above	-	1	-	1
None	16	12	1	29
Total	18	19	1	38

The government has, however, assisted the groups in some other ways. Under the Ministry of Culture and Social Services, the government of Kenya has employed Social Development Officers at district levels who work in conjunction with Social Development officers at divisional level and Social Development Assistants at locational levels. They help groups in the following areas:

• General supervision of groups

• Assisting groups in formulation of group constitution;

• Helping arbitrate differences in groups;

• Assisting in registration of groups; and

• Encouraging people to form groups.

It was found out from the focus group discussions that the sustainability of groups was highly dependent on groups’ internal sources rather than external funding. Thus, their main sources of funds were:

• Registration fees and monthly contributions;

• Harambee /fund raising activity;

• Merry-go-round, i.e., retaining some money in the account;

• Buying shares;

• Interest from loans;

• Business activities;

• Volunteer contributions/donations; and

• Raffles.

They strongly noted that sustainability of the group could be possible by:

• Focusing on their own efforts rather than depending on handouts;

• Borrowing money through proposals from NGOs and government;

• Discouraging short term project aims/goals such as merry-go-round where money is shared monthly; and

• Constantly reviewing group goals to make sure that they are progressive and positively geared.

4.4.3 Group Size

Although groups studied varied in size, the focus group discussion unanimously settled on small-sized groups because of the following reasons:

• Rotation was easy especially for those who practice merry-go-round;

• They are easy to manage, make decisions and delegate duties; and

• They are easy to share benefits.

Large groups had the advantage of making high contributions and easy time during funerals and weddings though they experienced problems in allocation of duties and management.

4.4.4 Group Relation with Others

The findings of the study show that groups interacted more especially during harambee/fund raising functions. Harambees took two different forms. One, harambees organized by government authorities towards building or funding institutions such as schools, hospitals, administration offices or community water projects. Groups within the locality were expected to contribute in cash or in kind.

The second form and which has been common in Western Province is referred to as “sindikiza maisha ya jikoni” literally translated as “Boosting kitchen related affairs”. Although it is aimed at equipping the house, it has turned out to be a fund-raising activity for individuals/families. The individual at whose home the fund drive takes place shoulders all the expenses and organizes for guests of honour and respectable personalities and friends from different groups and the neighbourhood. This requires keen planning because expenses are likely to exceed the collections during the fund-drive activity. Groups with such activities have turned out to be for those working and able rather than for those with limited access to resources as initially stated in their objectives. These forms of groups have caused antagonism – thus there is breaking up of groups/people into the rich and the poor. The rich even send letters of invitation to the poor for attending in the harambees. This definitely takes some form of capitalism where the rich continue to enrich themselves using the energies of the poor while the poor continue to grow poorer.

The two forms of groups have varying impact to the group. One, they attract people towards the group and increase cohesion especially when aspiring people and members within the group expect to gain from the group activities. On the other hand, when people within the group have varying interests –differentiated gains in terms of ability to organize and raise good money than fellow friends, there usually occurs disintegration in the group. These findings concur with Festinger’s (1950) who has noted that cohesion in groups is high when group and members’ goals and attitudes are similar, when there is cooperation rather than competition.

Although some forms of relationships amongst groups were disastrous, group relationships were advantageous because they encouraged a cooperative spirit in handling community issues. Such relationships also offered good ground for learning experiences from other groups and promoted exchange of programmes.

4.4.5 Effects of Government Policies on Groups and Their Activities

The government through its arms has a role to play towards groups. Although these roles are positively intended, sometimes the recipient is negatively affected. The following are some of the positive effects the groups enjoy from the government:

• Good mobilisers. The government through its Provincial Administration is capable of bringing people together (assembling) to attend to a specific event.

• Information Agents. The government through Barazas are in a position to educate the masses and disseminate important information to the concerned group of people.

• Security and protection. By requiring officialisation of every activity, the government is in a position to trap those who intend to steal from the masses. It also assists in loan recovery from defaulters.

• Recognition. Through its policies and legal procedures, groups get recognition which in the long term may enable the group access funds from external donors.

However, the government intentionally or unintentionally through its administration processes may negatively affect groups in:

• Party politics affect group activities in the sense that guests invited to boost group finances seek to know the groups political allegiance before they assist. This is also noted by Mutiso (n.d.).

• The government is too strict about NGOs assisting groups directly. They like to act as intermediaries which limits group performance because donors end up withholding funds.

• Government extension officers are not readily available or are too few to serve the groups.

• Corruption/bribery: When groups need assistance, for example formalizing harambees, District Officers demand money from the group. Two, they demand their attendance (have to attend the harambee function) so that they can know how much has been raised, get their share or even monitor the utilization of the money.

• Taxation: Groups are overtaxed in terms of contributions towards government activities.

4.5 Group Type and Their Effectiveness in Group Activities

Respondents where asked to their views in relation to group performance with respect to group type and their activities. The results are given in table 12.

Table 12. Members’ responses for the best group

Type of group	Frequency (N)	Percentage (%)
Men only	-	-
Women-only	8	13.1
Mixed-sex	42	68.9
Equal (all)	7	11.5
No response	4	6.5
Total	61	100.0

4.5.1 Mixed-Sex Groups

The findings in table 12 indicate the mixed-sex group as the best group. Even members from the women-only groups supported the mixed-sex groups. Several reasons were given this view:

• Financial stability. Men in the mixed-sex groups were seen to boost the group financially. Men also have access to other resources such as land. They can give land to group members for projects. This is because they have the right of ownership which women do not have or cannot be allowed by their husbands to extend such gesture to the group.

• Security. The presence of men in the groups is a security to women and projects. They are also a security against cultural inhibitions. Mixed-sex self-help groups discard some cultural practices especially inheritance of property after death of husband. Culture therefore is not a hindrance to group activities. Besides, men in the mixed-sex groups offer moral support.

• Variety of activities/projects. Specific activities as well as general ones are practiced by men and women. In the process, gender sensitization is effected in the sense that women are seen as co-partners in development. There is also the promotion of team work.

• Discipline. In mixed-sex groups, members exhibit discipline in time-keeping, higher percentage of accomplished projects and reduction in cases of rumour mongering.

• Decision making. Mixed-sex groups have the advantage of promoting long-term visions/goals. They have a wider scope of understanding and addressing issues.

• Stability. There is stability in leadership since men and women are elected to leadership positions.

• Competitive spirit. There is promotion of hard work amongst members and specific project committees.

• Increased productivity. Diversity in education and skills help reduce consequences that accompany groups that are homogeneous in sex, skills, literacy levels and status.

Mixed-sex groups, however, have their own weaknesses:

• Lack of commitment; e.g., irregular attendance (especially where both members of a family have membership in one group)

• Lack of freedom of expression; especially women find it difficult to express themselves before a group of men and women. This is also noted by Aries (1976).

• Inequality in distribution of resources. This creates enmity among group members; for example, where both members of a family are present, it means double share to that family unlike where only one person is a member. This statement can be refuted in the sense that when two members from same family have membership in the same group, the constitution does not provide for recognition of two as one in terms of contribution. Each person joins the group as an entity on his/her own and has to make contributions individually to the group. Although the argument is true, there are cases whereby members from one family are advanced loans and payment becomes difficult because they have to repay these loans from the same pool (pocket). One individual may end up delaying repayment or they make turns in repayment so that the payment is not on a regular basis. A case in point is K-REP – where this problem has been persistent because they failed to clarify membership criteria resulting to one group having a husband and wife as members (from a discussion with K-REP officials).

• Drunkenness amongst men in the groups causes indifferences and indiscipline in the groups.

• Fear of unfaithfulness.. This causes increased conflicts in homes. Men or women believe that their partners have extra-marital affairs.

• If both husband and wife are members of the same group, they may lack respect before other members especially when they have conflicts related to finances and group.

4.5.2 Women-only Groups

The following were advanced as the strength of women-only groups:

• Women-only groups promote confidential discussions. In the process, the members guide and counsel one another;

• Women-only groups provide a forum for women to exercise leadership skills;

• Women are exposed to new ideas to develop society and also new skills which enable them to supplement family resources;

• During bereavement, women-only groups have exhibited behaviour of consolation and emotional support;

• Donors prefer working with and supporting women-only groups compared to men-only or mixed-sex groups; and

• Women have an understanding amongst themselves because of the nature of their roles.

The weaknesses highlighted among women-only groups include the following:

• High rates of self-centredness;

• They lack independence of ownership of property and other valuable resources and hence have little to contribute towards group activities;

• Traditional beliefs and taboos block them from pursuing some projects such as banana and tree planting, observation of other family rules such as obedience to men and staying at home always;

• Illiteracy is a major drawback amongst women, hindering them from efficiently tackling management tasks in the group;

• Women have limited time to spend on extra activities outside the home. This implies that there are low rates of commitment amongst women-only groups;

• Lack of personality instilled in women by the patriarchal systems that determine the order of the day;

• Malice is high amongst women-only groups, which causes conflict in groups; and

• Discussions also revealed that women-only groups are used by politicians as grounds for campaigning to political office, after which they are neglected.

4.5.3 Men-only Groups

During the study period, only one men-only group was on the ground. Focus group discussions raised issues that were assumed to be the cause of this:

• Men are self-seekers/proud. They don’t accept defeat and don’t want to appear hopeless. Group activities to them are hopeless activities for hopeless people;

• Most of them are employed at far places and hence have little time for groups;

• There is a “know-too-much” attitude among men. They are too critical amongst themselves;

• Men have shifted family burdens to women and hence there is little that bothers them directly to see need for groups; and

• There is power struggle among men to assume leadership.

4.6 Group Activities and Culture

Culture refers to the way people live in society. It encompasses the belief system, the activities, behaviour (interaction processes) and the food they eat in a given society. This implies that all economic, social, political and religious activities follow the cultural definitions of a given community. In the study, group activities, interactions and general performance have indicated the influence of culture. This was evidenced by the kind of activities carried out by each group (with reference to membership, commitment to these activities, and the cultural values attached to them). The study findings have revealed that some activities had active participation while others did not. For example, savings and credit schemes, pig rearing, tree planting and business were less appreciated/practised by women-only groups. The reasons for not actively participating were related to: ignorance/negative attitude, financial handicaps, lack of market and cultural limitations. Mixed-sex groups therefore had an advantage of practising most of these activities because culture allowed men to do them.

Savings and credit schemes were not unanimously accepted. Observations show that only a small percentage of working people willingly applied for loans from commercial lending institutions. This finding is in line with Alila’s (1992) who noted that the common source of finance was the informal rotations, savings and credit associations and not the formal institutions. People in the area of study were reluctant to take loans for fear of losing their property.

Another reason which people gave from general discussions in Navakholo Division was that most organizations posed as genuine NGOs when they were not. For example, in the year 2000, a group of people by the name SIRET convinced people (individuals in groups) to contribute a certain percentage of money (ranging from Ksh.7,000 to 30,000) to top up the grant before having access to the donors’ money. After collecting enough of it from people, they disappeared. This has created fear in people to the extent that they cannot trust anybody who comes in the name of an NGO to give loans – they would rather go for commercial and expensively charged loans from commercial institution than cheap and dubious ones.

Apart from those activities with low participation, some had collective participation. These included: merry-go-round, dairy projects and cultural festivities. Merry-go-round was widely spread because of its benefits of equipping the homesteads with kitchen ware and financial benefits that accompany it. The dairy project on the other hand benefited members in terms of finances and protein sufficiency. Cultural festivities were a social obligation and therefore an obvious activity for the group. However, most people within the groups reported that such cultural festivities were disastrous to the group in terms of time and finances. They were forced to contribute so much towards the activity financially, and by offering food and labour. Time investments were also overwhelming. In fact, individuals reported so much attention on funerals and circumcisions rather than investing in children’s education. One of the local dailies commented that it was time luhyas (people residing in western province of Kenya – Vihiga, Kakamega, Bungoma, Mumias Districts) considered doing away with their time consuming and costly disposal of the dead. The paper stated that:

• In an agricultural country like Kenya where the rural community’s survival depends largely on farming, funerals are having a very serious negative impact on farming.

• People are virtually spending each day doing little else than burying their dead and observing burial rituals that go on for days on end. It is worse when the death occurs in far off towns such as Nairobi and Mombasa. In such situations, the rituals start with relatives and friends gathering at the rural home of the dead person and doing nothing but engaging in idle talk and eating.

• In towns where the death occurs, the ritual starts with the agonizing process of raising money for hospital bills, coffins, clothing and transportation of the funeral party to the rural home.

• Feeding mourners starts on the day the person dies and goes on through the burial day and beyond. The resources spent on burials are simply overwhelming (East African Standard, Tuesday, January 29, 2002).

Such state of affairs is worrying in a country whose economy has gone down and where the only strategy for rural development is the utilization of local resources which are diverted to other less urgent missions. The indication is that there is need for massive education and training programmes on the importance of utilizing local resources on more productive projects. Although cultural changes in rural areas are very difficult compared to urban areas, there is need for drastic changes on the approach towards such cultural practices.

Other factors that hamper group performance and progress include backward beliefs such as:

• Women are forbidden from tree/banana planting;

• Women talk seated in Barazas/chief’s public meetings as a sign of respect while men talk standing;

• Brick projects are not acceptable to women-only groups due to practices accompanying it such as the ritual of slaughtering a sheep for officially starting the burning process in which women are not allowed to participate. It is also done at night and women cannot justify to their husbands for being out the whole night;

• It was also reported that the society is characterized by ignorance and illiteracy which are attributed to culture; e.g., preferring to educate boys than girls. This causes inability to understand the importance of group activities and its dynamics;

• The culture of dependence on husbands especially financially makes women inactive and makes them lack the spirit of taking risks;

• Women are not allowed to own property and in fact they are themselves considered a “property” owned by men. One respondent noted that “some men are too traditional; they do not allow women and girls to be exposed”. They cannot work freely and independently;

• There is also lack of resources both financial and land for investment. The high population growth has led to scarcity of land. In the focus group discussions, it was noted that responses to AIDS campaign and family planning have been low. Men are competing to graduate to different classes (what they call form 1, 2, 3; meaning one wife, two wives, etc.);

• Investment in sugarcane project (in Navakholo) does not offer good benefits in relation to time and labour investments. The canes take too long in the farms and to make matters worse, there is also the manipulation of accounts by the sugar factory authority so that farmers end up being indebted to the factory in addition to giving in their land and service which could have been used for something else;

• Lack of markets for their products caused by over production of the same good and lack of transportation services to far away markets;

• Lack of trust in the office where members do not develop their energies wholeheartedly to serve; instead they use the office for personal gains. Leadership wrangles also distract members’ concentration on the group goals;

• Political impositions which lead to divisions in the groups as members are inclined to different political standings in the community;

• Male dominance which has left women inferior with a feeling of inadequacy to fulfil some of the demanding issues in the society;

• Men see themselves more worthy to participate in group activity. They ridicule one another holding that groups are women’s affairs; and

• Gossip back tracks group efforts by splitting members apart while environmental /climatic conditions greatly affect farming activities.

4.7 Benefits of Group Activity to Individuals and Community

4.7.1 Benefits of Group Activity

Benefits of group activity to society were identified through questions related to incomes (financial) from group activities, other benefits (to members and the extent to which these activities have benefited the larger community). The annual incomes reported by groups are represented in table 13.

Out of the groups studied, 39.5% (the highest) had incomes below Ksh. 5,000. Over half of these groups were women-only. The highest incomes reported by women-only self-help groups was Ksh.50,000. Over half of the mixed-sex groups had incomes of Ksh. 10,000. One mixed-sex self-help group had income of Ksh.120,000 while the only men-only group had Ksh.125,600. These findings imply that most groups were still low on their economic status compared to highly established groups in Central Province which buy shares from development companies (Marries and Somerset 1971). Although performance was poor, members were appreciative of the financial assistance and economic empowerment derived from groups in terms of dividends, loans, payment of hospital bills and school fees payment.

Table 13. Annual incomes from group activities

Category	Women-only	Mixed-sex	Men-only	Total
1-5,000	10 (55.6%)	5 (26.3%)	-	15 (39.5%)
5,001-10,000	1 (5.6%)	1 (5.3%)	-	2 (5.3%)
10,001-20,000	-	6 (31.6%)	-	6 (15.3%)
20,001-30,000	-	3 (15.8)	-	3 (7.9%)
30,001-40,000	-	1 (5.3%)	-	1 (2.6%)
40,001-50,000	1 (5.6%)	-	-	1 (2.6%)
50,001& above	-	1 (5.3%)	1 (100%)	2 (5.3%)
No response	6 (33.3%)	2 (10.5%)	-	8 (21.1%)
Total	18 (100.1%)	19 (100.1%)	1 (100%)	38 (100.1%)

Other benefits included: gaining of skills in various activities; improvement in the literacy levels; property ownership (hybrid cows and goats); employment; AIDS awareness; food security and improved diets; social welfare (sustained marriages, benevolent scheme, guidance and counselling, labour, instant contributions and items for work during period of cultural festivities).

Group activities also benefited the entire community. Such activities that extended to the community were: AIDS awareness programmes; bridges, planting of vegetables and nappier grass (availability in the proximity); business and others. The findings reveal that mixed-sex group activities spread wide and far – locational and divisional levels; thus, more members of the community benefited (especially herbal medicine, cattle dips, ball games, choirs and bridges) compared to women-only group activities. It was also noted from the focus group discussions that groups played the role of teaching social co-existence and development consciousness.

4.7.2 Weaknesses of Groups

One weakness of the groups was in management of funds. At the end of every annual year, members shared out all the incomes to spend during the Christmas celebrations/festivities and start again at the beginning of the New Year. In limited cases, members re-invested their profits in tangible assets. There were, however, no proper records of exact performances by the groups, pointing to the need for training groups in management skills. This was also echoed by the District Social Development Officer (DSDO) who noted that groups in the district had not been successful due to lack of management skills, illiteracy, poor leadership, financial/capital problem and lack of clear aims/objectives.

Groups also lacked commitment by its members. Most of the groups recorded the following in order of magnitude as the main reasons for non commitment: financial handicaps, household chores, ignorance, husbands’ hostility, lack of interest, failure of projects, unfaithfulness and social problems. To tackle non commitment, groups adopted the following: guidance and counselling, education, dismissal and loss of benefits, suspension, fine payment and warning. More than half of women-only groups also reported bearing with the problem because they understand what women face. This is a pointer to cause of failure of women-only groups. However, those groups that attached punishment to any mistake committed by a group member reported that punishment fostered cohesion, seriousness, behaviour change, improved timing and reduction in membership (only committed members remained).

4.8 Testing of Hypotheses

4.8.1 Test of Hypothesis One

The hypothesis states that “the male /female coexistence has appositive influence on the development and performance of self-help movement in Kakamega District”.

The findings of the study confirm this hypothesis in terms of the differences amongst different groups in that differentiation along sex lines is disastrous to group activities. The findings show that when men and women work together, the output is higher. The study findings have also revealed some factors in the mixed-sex groups that increase the rate of performance which are non-existent in women-only groups such as high education levels, skills, cultural factors, access to resources, time, power to influence and variety of projects. Such factors in the current study have explained the differences in performance between the groups.

4.8.2 Test of Hypothesis Two

The hypothesis stated that “the socio-cultural milieu of the community has negatively affected the self help movement as a development strategy”.

Culture determines behaviour (interactions), resource availability and use, type of activity practiced etc. In the study, culture influenced the access to resources (land, skills, and education). This led to differences in performance by women-only and mixed-sex groups. Culture limited women’s participation in certain activities. Lack of access to resources coupled with prohibition to undertake certain activities make the situation unbearable for women.

4.8.3 Test of Hypothesis Three

The hypothesis stated that “self help movement is an important development tool for the society”. The findings of the study have confirmed this especially based on the benefits the group activities have to members and the community at large. These include:

• Literacy;

• Health awareness campaigns;

• Bringing goods at affordable prices;

• Encouraging team work (social coexistence). Groups have been used to satisfy community needs directly and indirectly; for example, building health centres, schools, and administration offices.

• Groups have promoted rights’ awareness – initiating men in women-only groups or women in men-only groups has led to an awareness that each gender has an important role to play in development of society.

4.9 Problems Encountered

Some officers were suspicious of giving information due to past experience. People had taken statistics of groups in the guise of helping them and ended up deceiving them.

Group members want to know the gain they will receive after giving information related to their groups. The researcher, therefore, faced difficulty convincing them to give true information. Sometimes they try to paint a picture of a desperate state hoping that a well wisher will sympathize with their situation and come in to help.

Moreover, members from the same group gave varying information on the same item. These made the work of the researcher difficult.

There were also some serious communication problems. Most people did not understand English. Converting the questions into vernacular does not bring in a flow of information .The question was likely to be misinterpreted.

Some areas had steep slopes in that the simplest means of transport (bicycle) was impossible. In several instances, the researcher was forced to walk long distances.

The people do not know what exactly it is that they are doing. They form groups for the sake of forming groups. There are no clear cut objectives/goals. It was impossible to tell the researcher what they were doing.

In the focus group discussions, participants failed to honour their appointment. Most of them were coming late while others failed to come.