Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Gender And Globalisation

PhD Candidates at the Divisioin of Gender and Globalisation

 

Ana Alvarenga de Castro    

 

PhD Title “Peasant Women Facing the Minas-Rio System's Impacts, Brazil: a Gender Perspective on Food Sovereignty and Neo-Extractivism in Latin America" 

 

Brief Description of my PhD project: Women farmers are responsible for around 50% of the world food supply, most of them producing in the global South. They are also relevant holders of productive and reproductive assets for sustainable peasant livelihoods. At the same time, they suffer from lack of access to natural resources and food. The PhD candidate dicusses this problematic in the context of one mining environmental conflict (Minas-Rio system, in Brazil) which is part of a neo-extractivist approach onto Latin America, from the standpoints of Feminist Political Ecology and Agroecology.

 

Professional Experience:

  •  8 years experience in social-environmental analysis and projects in Brazil. Highlights:

  • Consultant at the Urban Agriculture Program (FIOCRUZ/AS-PTA) advisoring small-scale women farmers on agroecological systems in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro;

    Coordinator in the Project Adapta Mata Atlântica (REDEH/Brazilian Justice Ministry) mapping and selecting priority spots for improving social-environmental resilience on climate risks;

    Environmental licensing for housing enterprises and land and forest uses in the municipality of  Petrópolis – RJ.

  • Masters' degree in multi-disciplinary program on Sustainable Development (globalmdp.org) – Research on Participatory Management of Protected Areas Boot camps (2012): 1. Atlantic Forest (Water and Soil Conservation Plan for Bonfin area, Petrópolis – Rio de Janeiro); Amazon (The Women Medicinal Plants' Use in Ilha das Cinzas, Pará/Amapá); 3. Savannah (The transfer mechanism of 20% of Niassa Reserve's revenue to the Mecula's District communities, Mozambique).

 


 

Emma Awino Oketch

 

PhD Title: “Women’s Contribution to Food Security in Structural Conflicts in Kenya”
 

Brief Description of my PhD project: In the literature women are portrayed as victims in need of empowerment and protection in situations of structural conflict. This framing of victimhood obscures their agency and the important role they play in contributing to sustainable livelihoods, food and nutritional security. The study therefore seeks to analyse the role women play as active agents and the strategies that they employ in contributing to food and nutritional security and the outcome and influences of these strategies in policy making.

 

Professional Experience:

  • I have been in the field of academia for the last 13 years. I have lectured at the University of Nairobi’s Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies and the Department of Political Science and Public Administration; the Defense Staff College and Strathmore University.

  • I have been engaged in consultancy work for various institutions e.g. UNWomen, UNDP, Heinrich Boll Foundation, Strathmore University and  Caucus for Women’s Leadership

  • I have been a trainer of trainers in Sexual and Gender Based Violence, negotiations and conflict management, gender and security issues and governance issues e.g. Kenya Association of Women in Policing (KAWP), peacekeepers at IPSTC, members of the County Assemblies and shadow parliament, journalists, female electoral candidates

 


Teilprojekt 10 „Gender order: Embedding gender in horticultural value chains”

 

 


 

Ruth Wanjiku Githiga

 

We are deeply saddened to announce the sudden loss of our PhD student and colleague Ruth Githiga.

 

Ruth was a very dedicated scholar, esteemed colleague and wonderful friend. She was warm, cheerful, loving and bright. We will remember her for her kindness, her positive spirit and her cooperativeness. We will be missing her enriching presence – both in personal as well as in academic ways.

She was about to submit her PhD thesis during the following weeks. Her intellectual interventions inspired the research project Hortinlea thoroughly.

Ruth will be lacking. Our thoughts are with her family and her friends in Kenya.

The whole team of Gender and Globalization and the Hortinlea subprojects

 


Christine Bauhardt
Guelay Çağlar
Ann Kingiri
Parto Teherani-Krönner
Meike Brueckner
Emma Oketch
Ann Aswani
Suse Brettin
Virginia Kuskow
Inken Behrmann
Vanessa Schmidt
Hortense Vekris
Monika Wakefield

 

 

PhD Title: "Commercialization of African Indigenous Vegetables and its Effect on Intrahousehold Gender Dynamics in Kenya"

 

Brief Description of my PhD project: My research aims at investigating how commercialization of African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) has leads to changes in gender dynamics at the household level.

Women in Kenya contribute significantly to AIVs production. Currently there is an increasing trend of AIVs commercialization as a result of value chain innovation and modernization. However effects of commercialization have to be critically analysed from a gender perspective.  Gender dynamics will be better understood at the household level since it forms the basic unit where production and consumption takes place.

 

Professional Experience:

  • Production officer at Farm Concern International- Working with the rural Community to promote production and consumption of African Indigenous Vegetables(AIVs) in Kiambu County

  • Project Manager at Kenya Flower Council-Spearheading development of  a national mechanism for industry wide compliance in the flower Sector, Kenya

  • Research assistant-University of Nairobi- Carrying out research on feasible methods to reduce post harvest losses in tropical fruits

 


Teilprojekt 10 „Gender order: Embedding gender in horticultural value chains”

 

 


 

Anne Aswani Musotsi

 

PhD Title: "Influence of Consumption of African Indigenous Vegetables on Food Security of Households in Kenya"

 

Brief Description of my PhD project: In my PhD, I am studying the food consumption habits of households in Kenya and how these influence consumption of African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs). I will be investigating preparation and cooking methods used for AIVs and their contribution to food and nutrition security of households. Preliminary results show that dimensions of gender, socio-economic status, time and price of AIVs are factors that influence consumption of AIVs at household level. Also, there are differences in consumption in urban (Nairobi), peri-urban (Nakuru), and rural (Kakamega) areas. Further research is underway to verify whether there are differences in consumption between men and women, and also people of different socio-economic status.

 

Professional Experience:

  • PhD. Student/ Researcher at African Centre of Technology Studies (ACTS) - Kenya on the GLObE-HORTINLEA project; SP 7b- Meal Cultures. SP 7b is based in the Division of Gender and Globalization, Humboldt University of Berlin

  • Previously conducted research on Recipe documentation of African Indigenous Vegetables and their role in food security in western Kenya; study funded by Bioversity International

  • Conducted a study on the role of Home gardening on food security of households in western Kenya as part of Master of Science degree in Community Nutrition and Development