Over the past few decades, research on bamboo has focussed on technical aspects such as cultivation, plantation, preservation and utilization. Far less attention has been given to the people, women and men, who are the major participants of various bamboo-based rural development and utilization activities. Recently the importance of addressing the needs, concerns and priorities of these people to enable the development of the bamboo sector on a sustainable basis has become apparent.

A Gender Assessment Study (GAS) was initiated in Yunnan province, southwestern China, in 2003 with the aim of making a basic gender situation analysis on bamboo-based rural development and utilization activities. This is the first activity initiated by INBAR to view and analyze bamboo both as a forest resource and as a means of livelihood for rural people from the perspective of gender. The proposal for the study was first put forward as a Group Action Plan at the end of the Gender Training Workshop on Women's Capacity Building and Rural Development organized by Winrock International in August 2002, and later gained active financial support from both INBAR and Winrock. It was conducted in the form of a case study/field survey in several selected counties/villages in Yunnan.

The initiation of this gender assessment study is the reflection of INBAR and other NGO's awareness and acknowledgement of the critical roles played by women in bamboo-based development activities and the need to integrate gender concern into the related projects and interventions. Besides making a general qualitative assessment of the gender situation, one important objective of this study was to identify gender-blind spots, i.e. gender-related problems and constraints existing in bamboo-related forestry policies/programs with a view to making feasible recommendations for sustainable gender-sensitive solutions for future bamboo-based development programs. The findings and analyses generated from the GAS will have representative implications for understanding the overall gender situation in bamboo based rural industries in China, and will serve as a comparative example for future gender case assessment studies in other areas of China and other bamboo-growing, developing countries.

Two field studies were concluded in several selected counties and villages within Yunnan in March-April and July-August 2003, respectively. The findings are being presented in a paper which is in the final phase of preparation.

A Yi nationality woman is cutting bamboo chopsticks


Women processing bamboo shoots

A bamboo chopstick processing factory

Woman making bamboo chopsticks

Female villagers' group interview

Interviewing elderly villagers