Participatory Evaluation of a Rice Flour Mill by Poor Rural Women Lessons from Bangladesh

This research note describes a participatory action research project that aimed to address the needs of poor women in processing rice for income generation in southwestern Bangladesh. A rice flour mill for converting rice grains into dry rice flour was introduced by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and WAVE Foundation. 1 This study revealed that this machine is technically efficient, economically viable, and socially acceptable among women operators and sellers of rice products. The portable rice flour mill provided women rice flour operators with an income, developed women's self-esteem and social status, and empowered them to make their own decisions in spending their earnings. This project, therefore, demonstrates that it is possible to address strategic gender needs through the introduction of a technology focused on practical gender needs. However, factors to consider in addressing the technological needs of poor women are as follows:definition of target groups, appropriateness of technology, provision of "hands-on" training on the operation and simple troubleshooting of the machine, facilitate women to organize themselves, foster close collaboration between social scientists, agricultural engineers, technology developers, and NGOs, use a gender-sensitive participatory approach, target for full capacity utilization of the machine and sustainability, and ensure women's ownership of the initiative.