ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a production activity model for categorizing and comparing time use in rural households, and illustrates the use of the model. It discusses the relationship of women's time use to the food supply and nutritional status of household members in two Malawi villages. The chapter explains the theoretical perspective that led to the use of the activity model, describes the research methodology and methodological problems related to collecting time use data and the results. Day-long observations were chosen for the Malawi research in order to gain a more complete picture of the actual amount of time spent on each particular activity. The study in Malawi was divided into two phases. The first phase, carried out in August 1981, was a general survey of rural household functioning in two nearby villages, Mkwinda and Patsankhondo. Phase 2 of the study was carried out in February and July, 1982, during the height of the growing season and after the harvest.
