challenging compared to livelihood for men in Ile-Oluji, because the water situation in Ose is a more difficult one. Some of the men here have more than one wife to make their (the men’s!) lives easier. Since they have to buy water both for drinking and domestic use, their lives revolve much more around water than those of the men in Ile-Oluji. Even the participants who have more than two wives would want the women to assist in the farm if possible. However, due to the time and energy involved in collection of water, they are exempt. The participant with the borehole had a different approach to the situation because he hardly had a feel for the water challenges in the village. This male participant is a good example of how water can impact on the livelihood of an individual and consequently of a community. Apart from his farming, his wife managed the sales of the water too, alongside her shop just in front of the house. She was able to enhance her livelihood even though she was in the house (see Pittaluga, Salvati and Seghieri, 2004).
7.5 Livelihood and Impact of Indigenous Water Management on Residents of Ese-Odo
linked to this livelihood. Ten per cent of the women were observed to be involved in trading while no significant number of men were found. However, in terms of fishing, 18% of the men as against 4% of the women were involved.
Being a traditional doctor is one of the livelihoods in this area chosen by 4% of the men (n=66), and less than 2% of the women (n=66). The village is a dynamic one, in the sense that both the men and the women are almost always busy with something. Accessibility to water and the materials used for water management is a huge factor limiting the livelihood of most rural dwellers.
7.5.1 Water Management and Livelihood Implications for Women
Water management in Ese-Odo was quite different from that of other communities of study because the women here depend fully on the streams and river for their water sources, which, like with other women, is a major activity that has left them with no time but to be petty traders.
NARRATIVE 1
Bimbo
Bimbo trades with fish.
“I am a trader in selling fish. When they bring the fish from the river, sometimes we have to go and wait for them for hours, because it is first come first serve. I am also a teacher in the primary school there, but I only go when I have a free period, because I have to be available when they are bringing the fish from the river. These two activities have tried to combine so as to meet up with ends meet, although it is very difficult because, one of the problems is we do not have tap water, which could have made life very easy for us. We go to the stream every morning to fetch water and then take care of the water locally so that it can be drinkable. This is our first point of activity as a woman because, if you do not do it, none of the family members can go out, and if you do not do it well people would start getting sick.”
NARRATIVE 2
Kehinde
Kehinde’s primary source of water is streams and the seasonal rainfall.
“For you to be able to fetch good water you have to set out very early in the morning, which means that other business opportunity must be sacrificed so as to get good water. We had had meeting with the King and met the community leaders on the possible solution, but it is like no cares since it does not really have a direct impact on their source of income. Whether you like it or not, we are behind but not all women would tell you this. This is a community where the men do not care about their wife, in as much as there is food and water, they come eat, drink and go.
We are so tied down with the responsibility of having to provide good drinking water for our
household since the community has failed to heed our suggestion that is also working for the neighbouring communities, where presently they hardly go to the stream for water, they have been able to bring the water closer to them. Anybody can go and fetch, or the women can fetch at a more convenient time for them.”
NARRATIVE 3
Romoke, shares the sentiments of other women, and said that since their culture does not allow the women to be vocal, this is a reason why women cannot be good farmers like the men.
“Do you know how much we can make from cocoa; there are lands that are not been used, wasting away. Of a truth we do not have plenty land, but the little we have is not even being used adequately. The money we can get from crop farming far outweighs what we get from fishing, fishing too is a lot of money, and we know that it might be difficult for a woman to do this because of the depth of the river, which is not advisable. Even the men that go and fish go in team of at least three because the boat is a big one, when they go they can spend the next two days on the water. The reason the farming which is what we can easily do alongside trading is difficult is because we spend much energy on fetching of water, which is not easy; due to my age I cannot be waking up very early to fetch from the Yemoja source which is very clean, and it is that is close to us here. I use my boat to go a little farther into the water to collect directly from the main source of the Yemoja spring. Here you have to be careful, this is done every day because this particular water is best used fresh. If this stress is taking away, we can then become more useful to ourselves and this community.”
Other women identified that their challenges were being caused by the way the men trivialise water issues in all their discussion at the community level. Women showed an interest beyond petty sales in front of the house to the selling of fishes and, more, to the acquisition of lands for
farming which, according to one of the female participants, is even underutilised by the men. But all of these are merely wishful thinking for these women here because their cultural and religious beliefs about the role of women do not enhance their livelihoods.
7.5.2 Masculinity in Water Management and Livelihood
The men in this village were found to be mostly fishermen and farmers that spend most of their time on the water. They have a livelihood that the women look up to and wish they could share/have. But because women have to do the bidding of their husbands, their livelihoods have been compromised for their husbands’ livelihood.
NARRATIVE 4
Olubode is a professional fisherman; he learned the fishing techniques from his father.
“I started out as a farmer on arable and cash crop, but latter changed to fishing because this seems to be bringing more money to me than the farming. There are others who are involved in farming that are doing very well, so I think it is a matter of luck. Big fishing is done by setting traps and by experience we almost know the likely path of the fish, because they are also clever, such that if they pass this path today, they would definitely not come by it tomorrow; you have to study their path before you set the trap or else you will catch nothing.”
The men leave early in the morning first to study the path of the fish, which can take a few hours, and thereafter they start to prepare the trap. Sometimes their boat can be filled with fish, but since the buyers are always specific on the nature or types of fish, they have to keep searching until they locate a particular kind of fish. While they are busy doing this, the women are at home helping out to take care of the house, because, according to the men, women cannot do this kind of job where you spend hours on the water.
NARRATIVE 5
Chief Alabeni has a big farm of cocoa which should be more than a hectare and has also some boys who are helping him out with fishing; hence he does more of a supervisory job. Also, he is the head of all the traditional doctors in the village, which makes him highly respected in the community.
“The only challenge which is so big, and we are trying to solve is the water issue. Yes, we have rivers and streams, but you cannot just go there and drink you have to fetch preferably from the Yemoja source which is not very big, unless you are able to go a little further into the river to get the real source of the Yemoja spring. Why I said water is a major challenge now is that while I was very young till I was like fifteen years old, I observed that our mothers and everyone had their farms, such that at the end of the year everyone brings something to our father, like rejoicing together using some of the harvest from the farm. But now we do not have things like that again, because there are other things the women need to give attention while we do the farming.”