Innovative Approach to Development Proves That Grandmas Know Best

Grandmothers, like this one from Rajasthan, India, can be powerful forces of change.

Grandmothers in the Kati district of Mali, in West Africa, used to advise pregnant women to work harder so their muscles would be strong for childbirth, and to eat less so their babies would be smaller and easier to push out. But with participatory learning programs promoted by The Grandmother Project, in collaboration with partner organizations, older women are now more likely to encourage their younger counterparts to rest and eat more and healthier food when they are expecting.

The Grandmother Project (GMP), a non-profit organization, is designed to recognize and strengthen the leadership role that senior women, most of whom are grandmothers, play in communities across the developing world. While most development programs imported from the West focus on youth as the change makers of society, the GMP respects the cultural significance and indigenous knowledge of elderly women in traditional societies. “In this approach we have become important in our village,” one Malian grandmother explains about the project. “Before, we were ignored. Usually only younger women were involved. We weren’t included and, therefore, we couldn’t learn new things.”

In most non-western cultures, says GMP president Judi Aubel, senior women are valued for their wealth of knowledge and integral role in family life, especially as advisors to younger women on issues of family health and child-rearing. GMP studies have found that involving grandmothers in discussions of modern health practices can be a more effective way of disseminating information to a community (and ensuring that the recommendations are implemented) than ignoring the role these women play.

In Serer villages in western Senegal, the number of grandmothers advising pregnant women to decrease their workload jumped from 20 percent to 87 percent following a year-long grandmother-inclusive program through GMP in collaboration with the Christian Children’s Fund. In villages where a grandmother strategy was used to promote optimal nutritional practices, 91 percent of women of reproductive age reported resting more than usual during their last pregnancy, compared to only 34 percent of such women in communities that did not incorporate grandmothers in the program.

“There is a gap between cultural roles and realities and development programs,” Aubel says, adding that a “youth bias” exists in most aid projects. Her support to development programs in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America suggests that working with, rather than against, the deeply held values of a culture will help aid workers and communities work together more successfully. “This is a rule in our society,” explains one community leader from Navoi, Uzbekistan. “You must listen to what your elders advise. Since time began people have learned from their elders.”

This story was produced by Eye on Earth, a joint project of the Worldwatch Institute and the blue moon fund. View the complete archive of Eye on Earth stories, or contact Staff Writer Alana Herro at aherro [AT] worldwatch [DOT] org with your questions, comments, and story ideas.