Perceived changes in physical capital Bongo

Bongo women reported many positive changes in the physical environment during the last twenty years. There is a strong increase in potable water due to increased numbers of bore- holes, dams, wells and dugouts. There are more schools, and all schools now have buildings and furniture. There is improved market infrastructure. Many farmers now make use of bullock ploughs and carts. The women were happy about the availability of a telephone facility and of electricity in Bongo Town and of grinding mills for flour and shea butter production in many villages nowadays. They only regarded the increase of dam-related malaria as a negative side effect of the improved water availability in the area.

In Anafobisi, one of the older women tells us that there used to be a river where they could fetch water all year long. Probably this was about 50 years ago. In 1969 a dam got constructed which in the end stopped the flowing of water. Twenty years ago the quality of the water was bad and it spread diseases, whilst now “you can watch right through it,” which means the quality has improved, partly thanks to the introduction of boreholes. Water is more available than in former days. People from Anafobisi now use water from the nearby Vea-dam, for farm work, building et cetera. Even during the dry season they have water. The NGO ‘Rural Aid’ has been providing boreholes, financed by IFAD/MOFA. The people also have hand-dug wells. There are 14 of those, from which 9 are providing water at this moment.

Before 1983 there used to be four rivers in the village area of Balungu, with water all year through. Nowadays, all the rivers dry up in the course of the dry season. Thanks to the bore-holes and wells, there is still sufficient water. The women from Balungu gave different reasons for the drying up of the rivers:

· the Vea-dam · low rainfall

· tree felling

· the only small-scale dam they had, has broken down

The quality of the water has improved. Before 1983 the people were forced to drink from the rivers. This caused diseases like guinea worm, stomach trouble, bad cough and diarrhoea. According to the women, nowadays they only suffer of diarrhoea, and, according to them, this is due to bad household keeping.

The men from Balungu agree: there were many water bodies in the past. They used to fish in some ponds that were about drying up. In such ponds water could even be scooped out for domestic use. People and animals could come and drink from these ponds. Access to water has become a problem since the ponds dried up. The Vea dam has claimed all the water bodies. Villagers now depend on the bore-holes for water. Rivers have dried up because of decreasing rainfall. In olden days farmers used to sow three months after December. Now planting is done five months after December. Because of scanty rains the water table has gone down and the little rain that falls runs off.

Balungu women commented very positively about the improved road network. In former days there only used to be one road in the village area, now there are three, and a fourth one is under construction. They are very happy with them, because it is now easier to carry their loads to town. The building techniques of the local houses have improved. This is partly the result of new building materials like zinc and mud blocks. Nowadays there are more modern buildings in the surroundings of Balungu and Longo.

However, Balungu women insisted that many other improvements in physical capital were still needed.In the rainy season it is very difficult for the people to cross the river. Therefore, bridges should be built. The women wish there was a youth centre or a handicraft centre, so that those who are good at certain crafts, can teach the ones who are still learning. A bookshop should be built in the neighbourhood so that the school-going children don’t have to travel far to obtain their learning-materials. A day nursery should be built as well.

Bongo men who were present at the inception workshop reported positively about the fact that more and better roads have increased the accessibility of the district. People have invested a lot in their houses during the last decades. The designs of houses are nicer now, and it

beautifies the area. It even provides an extra stimulus for tourism and the ‘status’ of the area is enhanced. The better quality of many houses has improved the living conditions (e.g. it creates a ‘micro cooling effect’). Like their spouses many Bongo men are very positive about the major improvements in the water situation. Many bore-holes, dams and dugouts lead to increased water availability, better water quality and reduction in water borne diseases. Less time is spent on fetching water. There is more water now for livestock, for irrigation, and for building. Possibilities for fishing have increased. And water has a cooling effect on the environment. Bongo men criticised the fact that roads are untarred, which, according to them, enhances erosion. The erosion in the area undermines houses and there have been cases of collapsing walls causing death. Despite the positive changes in the water availability men from Bongo note that many rivers still dry up in the dry season. On the other hand the strong increase in water masses increases breeding environments for mosquitoes, and bilharzia. There are also many cases of children getting drowned.

The impressive improvement of the water situation can be illustrated by observations in Anafobisi.

There are five bore-holes in Anafobisi and each clan-section in the village has one bore-hole. Besides the bore- holes, there are about ten wells.There were no bore-holes and only few wells before 1980.

There are five boreholes in Longo and there are also seven boreholes in Balungu. These were built in 1980-81. There is one primary school in Balungu and one in Longo, and there is one Junior Secondary School in Balungu. The schools have been there since colonial times. There is one health centre, a village market and a dam in Balungu. The dam used to be a dug-out about forty years ago but was made a dam seven years ago. The health centre was built four years ago but has not yet been officially opened. The village market has been in existence since colonial times. The area has many wells. For example, Balungu has thirteen wells. The first well was built in 1969-1970. There is an area council office at Balungu, which is also serving Longo. There is a social centre at

Longo. A new road to Vea was constructed in the early 1980s. Roads are un-tarred. There are two church buildings: a Catholic Church and a church for the SDA (Seventh Day Adventists).

Garu

As most important positive changes in physical capital the women from Garu reported that bore-holes have improved; there are more dams for dry season gardening (mainly used for onions); the road network has improved a lot; women now make use of donkey carts and there is a much better availability of schools, clinics, churches and better-quality houses in many villages. As a negative development they see that land is taken from some unwilling owners for community use (public buildings) without proper agreement and adequate compensation.

Women in Kugsabilla confirm that in the past they used to fetch water from open streams and rivers that gave them cholera, guinea worm, and goiter. Now they have wells and bore-holes nearby and disease levels have come down. Women from Tambalug said that they only have one bore-hole and there are three hand-dug wells in their village.

The men from Garu who were present during the inception workshop reported a substantial increase of water dams and dugouts (and as a result more reliable water sources and more fish). There are more roads and improved access, making travelling more easy. And compared to twenty years ago there is an increase in number, variety and use of agricultural tools. As negative aspects of physical capital they said that siltation of the water bodies is a major problem, caused by erosion. Road quality is poor due to low maintenance. And tools often have a poor quality. They also told us that there have been many cases of wrong use or even abuse of pesticides.

Men from Kugsabilla told us that one of the first things that started to change in the village was the introduction of bullock ploughs. These were introduced some 50 years ago and have gained importance ever since.

The Kugsabilla men also agree that the drinking water situation is better now than it was in the past. In the past there were very few wells and no bore-holes. Apart from the few wells drinking water was fetched from streams and rivers. Since 1977 3 bore-holes have been constructed and. In addition to these there are many wells in the village now. To ensure that water is available at all times Water Management Committees have been formed. Each committee comprises 10 people, males and females. The ratio of males to females varies from one committee to another, e.g. 6:4, 5:5. The committee members are responsible for the maintenance of the pumps, tidiness of the surroundings of the bore-holes and arranging of meetings. When a committee is not discharging its duties to the satisfaction of the community it is reconstituted. Contributions are made for the maintenance of the bore-hole. These contributions vary from bore-hole to bore-hole. For the 3 bore-holes the annual contributions are 1000 cedis per married man and woman, 2000 cedis per man and 10,000 cedis per married man. For those who pay 2000 cedis per man the married women pay 1000 cedis and for those who pay 10,000 cedis per man the married women pay 8,000 cedis annually. Those who pay higher rates are not many and in addition they want to open a savings account from which they will withdraw money to maintain the bore-hole. Those who contribute less make extra contributions to maintain the pump when it breaks down. There are two dams in the community. The Kugsabilla men saw major benefits of the improved water situation:

• Closeness to residence

• Reduction in diseases, especially guinea worm • Availability of water for animals

• Water for pito brewing and • Water for building construction

The road leading to Kugsabilla village from the junction was made by the Presbyterian Church, when it was established in 1963. The main road was, however, constructed by the government. Buildings that have been constructed in the village apart from people’s houses are a fertiliser store, a school (pavilion, 1995), school quarters (1979, after a start in the old church in 1975), a day-nursery, a church, a clinic and two mosques (first

one about thirty years old?). There is no Junior Secondary School or Senior Secondary School in the village. There is a JSS and a SSS at one-hour walk, in Tempane.

In Tambalug the men who were discussing during the focus group meetings had this to say about the changes in physical capital during the last decades. They confirmed that the village has one bore-hole and three wells. At the household level, an important increase in physical capital concerns the increased ownership of donkey carts and bullock ploughs. One third of the households owns donkey(s) and a donkey cart. Two thirds of the households own a bullock plough. Bullock farming was first introduced in colonial times, but the vast majority of farmers in the village have adopted bullock farming in the past two decades. Only four farmers used bullocks to till their land twenty years ago. Nobody owned a donkey cart twenty years ago. Donkey carts owners use their carts to transport own goods and goods of others (for money or in barter relations); to carry water and to transport construction materials. Donkey carts are occasionally used as ‘ambulance’. The increase in bicycle ownership is spectacular. In the whole village, only two men owned bicycles twenty years ago. Nowadays virtually every man and most male adolescents own a bicycle. Most women also ride bicycles, but they do not own bicycles

themselves.

The men from Tambalug complained about the fact that their village has been ‘forgotten’ with regard to other improvements which are demanded. Compared to Kugsabilla, and even the two villages in Bongo, the public investments in physical capital have been rather meagre. The village has no school. The village has no market. In several compounds in the village, goods are sold (table-top selling). The men in the group discussion indicated that in the dry season they cycle to Garu Town market almost every day for different reasons. There is no grinding mill in the village. People grind their grains in the neighbouring village. The traditional method of grinding grains (with stones) has been abandoned by all households in the village more than twenty years ago. No other public buildings can be found in the village either. A motorable dirt road passes through the village, but is in a bad shape. On several occasions, community members have collectively filled potholes in the road. The village has no dam or dugout.

At the end of the Focus Group Discussion, we asked the male participants in Tambalug which type of

intervention was most urgently needed in the community. They responded that a dam and/or dugouts should be constructed and that the road should be improved. We asked them whether they had ever tried to construct a dugout themselves. They replied that they did, but that the water flows destroyed their dugout almost immediately.

2.4 Perceived changes in human capital