ABSTRACT
Traditionally, fish farming in Asia has been a male-dominated activity, with women making large-scale contributions to feeding and taking care of fish (Barman 2001; Kelkar 2001; Kusakabe 2003; Sullivan 2004; Sriputinibondh et al. 2005). Thus, ownership of the natural resources associated with fish farming, such as rivers, ponds, etc., remains in the hands of the men. Access to and control over natural resources, as a form of capital, reinforce men’s authority over women. Neo-liberal approaches to poverty alleviation often emphasise entrepreneurial and market-based strategies intended to contribute to empowerment through enhanced access to resources by poor and marginalised people. Building on a poverty alleviation project in the Kundra block in the Koraput district of southern Odisha (India), the chapter investigates gender issues in natural resource management (particularly ponds) by examining the changing mechanisms of resource allocation. Aiming at understanding agency and the process of empowerment, this study investigates how women expand their access to and control over the natural and social resources that enable them to participate in decision-making, local accountability, and performance evaluation, which in turn brings them social and economic freedom and empowerment (Agarwal 1997; Kabeer 2005).
