Gender Differences and Opportunities in Granseei

I traveled by air to Granseei with UNICEF Suriname Country Director Mary Louise Eagelton.  Granseei was noticibly smaller and more isolated than Brokopondo.  They have cell phone coverage, but do not have any electricity. There is one local store with a generator where people can charge their phones for a dollar.  One of the political parties has delivered a generator, but no one has set it up yet (see picture below.)  It is not yet clear who will maintain the generator, or how the community will ration their fuel allocation.   However, it does not seem that the community will feel responsible for uptake.  As the informal leader noted, “You don‘t have to feed me but if you‘re going to give me electricity then you better fix it. ”

There were few men in the village, as most had left for work in the city or in French Guyana.  Those that stayed have little to do, besides for the boat man, who is the same as the shop owner.  One man makes furniture, while others earn cash from hunting, fishing, and growing vegetables which they can sell to older people who recieve Social Security payments from the government.  A few insights from the men’s focus group that may inform technology design:

“We don’t know how to read but we can do things in our head.”

“If it was a picture and text, one person could figure it out and help the others.”

“People who know those things usually leave, it would be good if people here knew how to do those things.”

Gender differences are stark.  The women we spoke to had stopped going to school because of the interior wars, and were not able to read, write, or send text messages.  The men are much more exposed to outside ideas because they leave for extended periods to earn money, while women largely rely on radio and word of mouth.  Women fear having to go to the city to fill out government forms, where they know that they will be taken advantage because of their lack of education.   They express a firm interest in adult education programs where they would be able to learn basic literacy.

Focus Group, Men

Furniture Shop

Village Leader

New Generator waiting by the riverbank

At the “winkie” (local store)

Washing Dishes

Advertisement