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as tourist activities (Wilk et al. 2014). The case examines the spread of urbanized
lifestyle-induced changes in agricultural techniques, crops and livelihood
sources, and explores their potential for decreasing climate vulnerability.
The empowerment case
Despite possible negative effects that need to be proactively avoided when
initiating and running women's SHGs, such groups have the potential to trigger
far-reaching benefits. These include countering negative emotions related to
poverty such as shame, insecurity, fear and depression (Brock 1999); greater
mobility based on their identities as group members, beyond their homes and
communities in order to collaborate with other women (Tesoriero 2006); and
the creation and enhancement of empowerment, capability, citizenship and
participation in democratic processes. Study results from one community
in central India showed that local women perceived capacity as a key factor
in successful water management. In a participatory exercise they ranked it as
second highest (after access) of the five factors in the Water Prosperity Index:
Resources, Access, Use, Capacity and Environment (Wilk and Jonsson 2013).
In the research study, the concept of
capacity
included self-confidence,
problem-solving and social capital, illustrated by speaking and/or leading
meetings, holding a position in an organization, participating in mixed-gender
meetings, participating in training programmes, disseminating information
from training programmes, and travelling to the district and state capitals.
The women associated these skills and activities with their SHG membership.
Thus they saw the SHGs as a strong forum for empowerment, through their
experiences of regular savings practices, and belonging to an institution that
had economic resources and a voice in the community. These SHG-related
assets were also found to make SHG participants better water managers, and to
heighten their adaptive capacity to meet new, climate-related water challenges
(Jonsson and Wilk 2014). Greater self-confidence enabled them to speak at
gender-mixed meetings; and, with improved problem-solving skills, they
contacted and interacted with local government officials about problems such as
broken or declining flows in hand-pumps.
The ICT case
Cellular telephones are one form of ICT that have become very widespread
among all ages and societal classes. Although their use was first confined mainly
to wealthier people, by 2010 60 per cent of the population in sub-Saharan Africa
had cellphones. While the first to start using cellphones were primarily male,
educated, young, well-off and urban users, secondary adopters include young
and old, rich and poor, urban and rural (Aker and Mbiti 2010). One advantage
of cellphones is their availability in areas that previously lacked telephones,
as mobile coverage leapfrogged landlines. Reliance, however, on cellphones
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