King of All Fruits!

One of big reasons I want to travel to Pakistan in summer is MANGOES!

I tasted the first mango in this trip and it took me back in time to my childhood. Hot summer afternoons when everyone would be sleeping and we would slip out of the bedrooms to play in the grounds with large mango trees bent with loads of ripe and unripe mangoes. Hitting the identified with rocks and long sticks and fighting for the best catch, running away from honey bees, and sitting in the shade in the end to count and evaluate our catch. The sweetest, juiciest, refreshing and best fruit I've ever had, no doubt the King of fruits and a taste of heaven. 

Did you know that mangoes have been eaten since 5000 years ago. They had been a symbol of love in ancient times and not to mention that Bhudda is mentioned to sit and meditate under a mango tree. The famous paisley design that we eastern women have on every second piece of clothing we own is actually based on the shape of a mango. 

I didnot miss a day of having mangoes, sometimes several times a day. Forgot to mention the smell of the mangoes. If you have a few mangoes sitting in the basket of the dinning room the whole house would be smelling. And interesting enough now mango smell is found in many sprays, candles, etc in the west as well. 

The other fun thing about mango is that once the season starts, it takes away the worry of feeding picky kids. Mango is eaten fresh, raw, with bread, in milkshakes and smoothies, as toppings, sauce or chutney, in cakes and desserts, etc The creative possibilities are endless.

Gender Mainstreaming 2

Gwadar International Airport

We all know about Gwadar's strategically important geographical location. I have been hearing about the interest of so many international players in this deep sea port, loads of foreign direct investment especially from China, and not to forget many Pakistani Americans including our friends who invested in Gwadar's housing schemes, thus I considered myself lucky to be visiting this small fishing town along the Makran Coast.

Firstly, no direct flights to Gwadar from Lahore, only from Karachi that goes twice a week in the mornings. I had to fly to Karachi last night to take today's flight to Gwadar. And that is the worst part of going to Gwadar...there is no time efficient way for this travel. 

Getting into the ATR plane from Karachi to Gawadar...

Arrived in Gwadar, walking from ATR to the airport entrance...

Gwadar International Airport... the smallest airport I have seen ever!

Gender Mainstreaming in Horticulture and Fisheries

Rural women generally have less access to productive natural resources and opportunities such as education, capital, land, etc.  Gender mainstreaming is not a replacement of targeted women focused policies, instead adopting a gender perspective means focusing on BOTH men and women and their relationship with each other and natural resources in projects so that both can equally benefit from the development policies.  The important point is that Gender Mainstreaming should never be a one time exercise rather an integral part of the entire planning and implementation process that continues throughout the life of the project.

Women are not very visible in agriculture in Balochistan but as I have started my interviews, it is evident that they are playing a vital role in the agricultural activities in Balochistan. But their productivity is low on farm related work and is more concentrated on homebound components of agriculture sector such as fodder chopping, seed sorting and cleaning, pre and post harvest produce handling, live stock management and dairy production.

The project focuses on Fruit farms and fisheries, both largely male dominant professions in Balochistan. According to a national baseline survey, the majority of the producers, farm owners, and agribusiness owners are men. The proportion of men farm owners is 99.56 percent whereas women own farms very rarely and haven't found any in Balochistan. It will be challenging to engage women directly in agricultural activities in most areas of Pashtun and Baloch belts in the province without grassroots level mobilization and village and community level. If the team desires to increase its impact on women, they will need to establish linkages with community based local organizations having expertise in working with women.

Gender Mainstreaming 1

Travelling to Balochistan

I was looking foward to doing field visits in Quetta, Chaman, and Gwadar areas but it seems my workplan will be changing.

Lately too many bombings in Quetta especially in the last week and the security conditions are changing rapidly. Due to the current political and security concerns, the Quetta office has been shut down and Chaman travel is also out of question. Gwadar visit is still a possibility, lets see what happens!

Balochistan

 

Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan with 44% of country’s total area and only 5 % of total population. The least developed province of Pakistan with severe electricity and water shortage. Strategically located sharing the western border with Afghanistan and Iran, the province has a long coastal line on Arabian Sea in the South.

Known as the fruit basket of Pakistan, Balochistan provides 90 % of grapes, cherries and almonds, 60% of peaches, pomegranates and apricots, and 70 % of country’s dates annually. Also producing  200,000 tons of fish yearly.

The project that brought me here is focused in Quetta, Chaman, and Gwadar regions of Balochistan helping fruit farmers and fishermen increase their productivity and decrease their post harvest losses through learning new techniques and establishing national and international market linkages. I will be helping with gender mainstreaming in the existing program model and designing a gender integration strategy for their new interventions.