Chapter 6: Small-Scale Food Processing Training (Peru)²⁶

6.1 Background
6.2 The training
6.3 The sample
6.4 Findings
6.5 Conclusions

²⁶ Exchange rate (1998) 5 sol = £1 sterling

6.1 Background

This project was part of a programme of support for small scale technology development provided by Intermediate Technology (IT) Peru. The project operated between 1993 and 1998 under the title 'Small-scale Food Processing Training Facility Project', with funding provided by DFID (then ODA), the European Commission and the CODESPA Foundation, a Spanish NGO. It was run from three training centres based in Lima, Cajamarca and Huancayo. Although the project has now finished, SENATI, a large national semi-private organisation specialising in training and support for business management, has taken over some of the technologies developed and is offering training courses in these areas.

Peru's economy in the 1980s went through a period of serious decline brought about by guerilla violence, rampant inflation (an average of 2406 percent during 1982-1992 according to Creevey 1996, p 24), chronic budget deficits, drought, and a decline in the value of its commodities. One consequence of this was a mass influx of population from the rural areas into the towns, so that Peru now has 70 percent of its population living in urban areas. Another was the huge growth of the informal sector, as people failed to find jobs in the formal economy. The informal sector is estimated to account for 33 percent of the economically active population. Successive governments have tried to support the development of this sector, in particular through legislation to facilitate the development of micro-enterprises and improved access to credit (Rodriguez et al 1998). The last decade has witnessed some years of economic stability and social order, and the country is now thought to be on the road to recovery.

As in the other countries featured in this study, women in Peru have on the whole less access to formal education and to formal and skilled employment than men. They also earn less than men on average and have a limited decision-making role within the household.

This case study examines training provided by IT Peru in Lima and Huancayo. Lima, the capital city, has a population of 6 million. Huancayo, a much poorer town, lies in the central Andes and has a population of over 200,000. Because it is linked to the capital by a major highway (one hour's drive), it is a principal source of food for Lima.

Given the large size of the informal sector and the upturn in the economy, the 1990s saw a growing interest in agro-processing technologies. IT Peru has worked for a long time in developing activities in food processing through training and technological assistance to small producers. Between 1989 and 1991 it implemented a UNIFEM-funded project developing food processing alternatives in three areas of Peru, targeting women producers in particular. This involvement led to the identification and development of ten different technologies and over 35 different products which were suited to small scale producers in food processing in different parts of the country. After a pilot phase in 1992, the Small-scale Food Processing Training project began.

The long term aims of the project were to encourage employment, increase incomes and promote the economic development of low-income sectors in Peru through the development of small food processing enterprises. In the short term it aimed to provide training and technological assistance relating to production, marketing and management in such enterprises. Women were targeted in particular. The training was intended both for those who wished to start up a new line of productive activity and for those who wished to expand an existing one. IT Peru implemented the training course in collaboration with INPET, a local NGO specialising in management training and assistance, and FOVIDA, a local NGO providing credit among a range of services. INPET and FOVIDA provided the marketing/management component of the training while IT was responsible for the technical component. The intention was that the programme would become self-financing and would be taken over by SENATI at the end of the five-year period. This has occurred in part.

A range of courses in small-scale food processing technology were taught within the programme. The most popular were in the production of: ice-cream (which accounted for a quarter of all courses run), chocolate, pickles and bottled fruit, fruit juices and spirits, yoghurt, sweets, wines, snacks, bread and cakes. This study only looked at courses in fruit processing (concentrated fruit juice and bottled fruit) which were being run in Lima and in bread making, run in Huancayo.

In some cases, training was requested by local organisations. The two courses covered by the study were provided at the request of FOVIDA and FONDEMI, another local NGO, and were intended primarily for poor women. Eligibility for credit was often dependent on individuals following this training.

According to Rodriguez et al (1998), between 1993 and 1996, 809 people had been trained on the project, of whom 35 percent were men and 65 percent women. Of those trained, 50 percent were micro-entrepreneurs, 36 percent extension workers, and 14 percent came from women's groups. However, the 1996 evaluation showed low results of the training. For micro-enterpreneurs (50 percent of those trained), 19 percent had increased sales and/or improved product quality, 9 percent had become (new) micro-entrepreneurs and 60 percent had acquired some knowledge but had yet to put it into practice.

6.2 The training

6.2.1 The training observed

The following description of the training courses is taken from Rodriguez et al (1998).

The total duration of the courses varied from 18-30 hours, usually spread over 4-6 days and each with an average of 15-20 participants. Courses consisted of two parts: a technology component, which accounted for two-thirds of the training time, and a management component, which accounted for the remaining one-third. The general outline of each course was as follows:

First module
Presentation of technology
Description of processing flow
Practical demonstration

Second module
Marketing aspects
Group formation
Practical production

Third module
Final product quality control
Evaluation of the results
Determination of the sale price

The second module would begin with marketing, in which the results of market studies and surveys were presented to the participants. These provided up-to-date information on opportunities for introducing or improving their products. This was complemented by exercises in which groups of four to five have to find solutions to specific marketing problems. Then, small groups made the product under the supervision of several technicians. Many of the practical training sessions were carried out in local small enterprises (e.g. bakeries and dairies). This enabled the participants to watch a profit-making business in action and to discuss opportunities and constraints with successful entrepreneurs.

In the third module, the manufactured products were evaluated by group members. Particular attention was paid to aspects relating to quality control, hygiene and equipment handling. In addition, the costs and sales price were determined from the price of raw materials, inputs and services available in the area.

After monitoring the first two years of implementation, when results were found to be poor, it was recognised that some participants needed individual follow-up (termed 'technical assistance' in this project). This was introduced in 1995 and constituted what we have termed in this study 'informal training'. It is similar to the informal business advice provided on the Sudan programme. In the Peru case, it aimed to help resolve specific problems relating to technology and production experienced by the individual micro-entrepreneurs and to provide additional information and advice.

6.2.1 The training observed

The research was carried out by Nora Cardenas during the period October 1997 to August 1998. Training in two technologies was given: the first being the manufacture of concentrated fruit juice and bottled fruit and the second bread making. The former courses lasted four days, the latter three, with each session lasting approximately four to five hours. These usually took place in the afternoon and evening, as the participants were busy working in the mornings. In contrast to the Ethiopian and Indian studies, this training focused more on technical skills (70 percent of the input) than on business skills. Both courses were held in November 1997. The baseline survey was carried out over the same period. It was followed by three visits, made between February and August 1998.

In addition to the interviews with participants, the researcher interviewed three trainers/training officers (two female and one male) from IT Peru, who taught the fruit processing and bread making courses, and one trainer (female) from FOVIDA (the credit organisation) who taught the marketing/management course, and one other (male) trainer who taught an introductory session on basic marketing. She also observed and commented on a total of five training sessions spread over two courses on fruit processing in November and December in Lima, and three sessions on a bread making course in November in Huancayo. Brief details of each of the courses are provided below based on the researchers' observations and interviews with trainers.

Concentrated fruit juice and bottled fruit

Two separate courses in fruit juice and bottled fruit production were observed by the researcher, the first in November (two sessions observed) and the second in December (three sessions observed). Both ran for six hours per day for four days and were located in the Surco district of Lima (a district of mixed affluent and slum dwellings). Three trainers were observed, two in fruit processing and one in marketing. The training was provided at the request of the credit organisation FOVIDA, participation in the course being a condition for accessing a loan. Trainees did not pay for this course.

The first course was attended by between 16 women and 13 women respectively on the two days observed and by two men on both days. The second course was attended by 13 women on the first day and by the same number of women and four men on the second and third days. On the first day observed on the latter course, the practical work was delayed and the women started leaving before the end (7.30 p.m.) because it was late. All remained to the end on the second day observed.

Participants on these courses were supposed to have prior experience of productive work, preferably food preparation. It was expected that they were already engaged in running small enterprises, not necessarily because they wished to do so but because there were no formal employment opportunities available. The specific training objectives of the course were to:

· contribute to improved technology to increase income
· provide information about costs, markets and investment
· provide technical assistance (follow-up) where this is requested by the trainee.

· the production of concentrated fruit juice and bottled fruit
· hygiene procedures
· use of preservatives
· quality control
· pricing
· market research
· product evaluation.

2 hours	facilitating
1.0-1.5 hours	directing the trainees in practical tasks
10-20 minutes	lecturing
20-30 minutes	demonstrating
10-20 minutes	advising
5 minutes	passing on information

Teaching aids used were paper, printed material (e.g. brochures, instruction manuals) and overhead projector. Items of equipment used were cookers, blenders and bottles. Chemicals (preservatives) were also used along with the fruit and other ingredients.

On the respective levels of participation of men and women, the researcher observed that one male participant was very quiet. Some of the women participated a great deal, asking many questions and making jokes. They showed a great deal of interest. Other women contributed little or nothing. The researcher commented that this was not a homogenous group, some of the trainees had a high level of education and learnt faster than the rest. The trainers also did not motivate the trainees to participate more fully.

The researcher also noted that, with respect to the technical aspects of the training, the methodology was not gender sensitive. There was no particular strategy used to distinguish between women's and men's needs or motivations. Only in the session on marketing was there observed to be some attempt at awareness and confidence building among the largely female group. This session appeared to motivate the women because it addressed personal aspects of business, including business skills, leadership, personal relations, respect for others etc. In the other sessions, the trainers' attitudes and comments appeared stereotyped, stressing the qualities of obedience, hard work and passivity among women.

At the same time, the researcher was doubtful whether the women would be able to make the products being demonstrated because of lack of machinery, lack of practice in using the required ingredients, especially preservatives, and lack of time. Also they were not used to calculating costs; it would take them too long and they did not appear to see it as important.

According to the trainers interviewed (two female and one male), the objectives had been met for the women in the sense that they had acquired the necessary skills and information to produce these items at home. Where these had not been made use of, this could be attributed to:

· lack of self-confidence
· a poor selection of trainees (many were involved in non-food 'quick sale' activities)
· an inability to take decisions and risks
· lack of business aptitude
· insufficient information about marketing (the course should provide more on this)
· the high price of ingredients - the product may be too expensive for the target market
· the husband's lack of understanding of the woman's work
· the lack of access to credit.

· keeping them informed
· giving them knowledge about a product
· providing them with the skills to prepare it
· self-confidence.

Bread making

This course took place over three days in Huancayo in November 1997, lasting five hours per day. Two of the training days were spent in the training centre and the third on visits to local bakeries. There were between 12 and 16 participants on the course, of whom four on the first two days were men. No men attended on the third day. The observer commented that attendance was not regular, and that some participants arrived on the second and even the third day only. The second day of the course finished late and people started leaving, so that only three female students saw the bread finished.

The training had been requested by FONDEMI, a Peruvian semi-private organisation involved in small enterprise development. It was intended to target existing baker micro-entrepreneurs and would introduce them to new types of bread and new procedures. A small charge was levied on participants.

The topics covered by the course were the production of different types of bread and buns (such as those used in hot dogs). Teaching aids comprised blackboard and handouts, while all the usual bakery equipment was available (oven, kneading machine, scales etc). The course was run by a male trainer and two assistants, who gave very few opportunities to the trainees for any practical activity. The trainer spent most of the time demonstrating and giving information and advice. While the bread was in the oven, he explained the theoretical aspects of the course and gave practical advice. The only practical activity that the trainees engaged in was kneading the dough, and even then the women were not allowed to practise kneading with the machine because they were judged as 'not strong enough'. In the researcher's opinion, there was no direction/instructing of the women in practical tasks, no skills acquired and no facilitating or awareness/confidence building. The third day was spent at local bakeries.

The women appeared to be more interested than the men, they asked more questions and were looking forward to doing some practical work. They were therefore upset and dissatisfied when they were denied the opportunity to do this. The researcher commented that the course did not motivate the women at all to start up in the bakery business, a traditional male domain.

The observer's personal assessment of the course was that it had totally failed to meet its objectives, as it was not relevant to the trainees. The reasons given for this were that:

· the group was not an appropriate target group; they were mainly young women (students) who knew nothing or very little about bread, whereas the course seemed to be designed for an advanced level

· the trainer had been unable to modify the course content to meet the trainees' needs

· the bread and buns being made were not appropriate for the market in this area, because the ingredients were not available locally (e.g. for brown bread). Moreover, there was no market locally for this type of bread - the four practising bakers who attended the course were from poor parts of the town and this bread could only be sold to an upper class population in Lima. (The intention of this course was in fact to provide practising bakers with skills in these new types of bread which could be sold in the more lucrative markets of the wealthier parts of Lima).

The trainer thought that the women would not be able to make use of a course in bread making, even if they did acquire the skills, because they lacked physical strength and they needed to make a high investment. For men too he saw investment as a problem as the costs of running a bakery are high.

6.3 The sample

6.3.1 The Group 1 women
6.3.2 The Group 2 women
6.3.3 The men

There were 15 people in the Group 1 sample and 14 in Group 2. This case study differed from the others in that some men had been added to the usual sample of 10 women. In Group 1, five men were included and four in Group 2. The reason for their inclusion was that, in a mixed training setting, it would be useful to investigate the type of impact the training had on women and men respectively, also the type and size of small businesses they were engaged in, and their opinion of the training.

Seven of the ten Group 1 women in the sample attended the training on fruit processing (a traditional female line of production) and three attended the training in bread making (a traditional male line). Of the five men in the Group 1 sample, all attended bread making (though not all were on the course observed).

The ten women in Group 1 were aged between 22 and 59, with half the sample being in their 30's. Six were married, one was widowed, one single and two were single mothers. The men were older, with four of the five being aged 50 to 60. The sample of women was on the whole somewhat older than those in the other case studies. They had also had considerably more education than those in the other case studies, with all having completed primary education and some secondary. There were children in all the households, and all those in their late teens appeared to have completed secondary schooling, while the younger ones were currently in either primary or secondary school. Of the ten women, three had current loans from FOVIDA (two had two loans) and in another three cases there were family loans, taken out in one case by the father, in one by the husband and in the third by the mother (as head of household). Of the men, all had one or more loans taken from a range of organisations (not FOVIDA) and they were much larger than those held by the women. The latter ranged from 500 to 1000 sol (£100-£200), whereas the men's loans were in the range 3000-11,000 sol (£600-£2,200).

In Group 2, there were ten women and four men. The women's ages also ranged from 22 to 59. Only one woman was unmarried. Three of the men were in their 30's, the fourth was aged 42. Of the total of 14, only seven took up production using the technology learnt. Two of these were women, one who took up fruit processing and the other bread and cake making. The others had received training in ice cream, crisps, spirits and jam.

This case study was unusual in that so few of the participants made use of the skills taught on the training. In the case of fruit processing, the low level of take-up was clearly affected by the presence of el Niño, which was afflicting Peru at the time. This climatic phenomenon had resulted in fruit of poor quality, scarcity and increased prices. It may have been that at another time, more women would have taken it up as a commercial enterprise. In the case of the bread making course, it was not well targeted (see below).

6.3.1 The Group 1 women

The women who featured in this case study were all poor, living in peri-urban slum areas and earning low incomes. They were however in real terms better off than the women in the other studies, and had a much higher level of education. However, they worked extremely long hours.

Of the seven women in the sample who took the course in concentrated fruit juice and bottled fruit, only two actually made use of the skills learnt and started production. These were Celinda and Lili, and only Celinda started making it for sale soon after the training; Lili made it at first only for home consumption. Significantly, however, neither made it as instructed by the trainer.

Celinda was aged 47 and was married with two sons, aged 22 and 16, who were both studying. She herself had attended secondary school. She currently had two loans from FOVIDA in her name, one of 500 sol (£100) for 4 months and the other of 1000 sol (£200) for 10 months. Her husband, who was a painter and worked irregularly, had also taken out a loan of 4000 sol (£800) with the Bank of Materials to fix the roof of the house.

At the time of the training, Celinda was earning 30-40 sol (£6-8) per day from selling fruit salad and fresh fruit juice in the wholesale market. Preparation and selling would take her 10-11 hours per day. She used her income to pay off her own and her husband's loans and to redecorate the house. She also belonged to a women's organisation.

By the time of the first follow-up visit (February), Celinda was making concentrated juice using a combination of fruits (apple, pineapple, papaya etc) as well as fruit salad. However, she did not prepare the juice in the way they were taught because the ingredients were too expensive and she would not be able to buy preservatives in small quantities. She could not make a profit if she did it in the way they were told. She made the juice in the traditional way, as if preparing a syrup and without using preservative. She actually worked a little less than before because she was able to prepare two days' juice at a time. Despite her success, her income had stayed the same - the price of ingredients had gone up and, although it was a good time to sell juice (summer) she could not raise the prices. Bottled fruit was difficult to make profitable at this time as the price of fruit was high, as a result of el Niño. However, she intended to try in the winter.

She considered the training course was useful because it helped her to produce a quality product at a faster rate and she had been able to put some of the skills learnt to good use. Also, despite the generally unfavourable economic circumstances brought about by el Niño, her income had remained constant, when it might easily have declined. However, her health was not good; she had to get up early and commute two hours to sell her fruit products in a market where she had regular customers. The researcher thought that she could benefit from some technical assistance (follow-up).

On the second follow-up visit, she was found to be continuing to prepare concentrated juice along with fruit salad but only on sunny days. When it was cold she prepared porridge and rice pudding. Despite the adverse economic conditions, she had been able to increase her net income slightly, by about 10%. She used the profit to pay back her loan as well as her husband's. Although she was experiencing some success, she did not want to work harder because she had to travel such a long way and she had very little time to rest. She intended to continue in the same line of business, hopefully with the help of her daughter-in-law. She recorded her exact profit and loss figures systematically.

Because she was able to work faster, she now had time to attend a leadership training course in the afternoons. She liked taking courses. Her husband did not interfere with her business, nor did he help her. He spent most of the time looking for a job as he was once again unemployed.

The researcher reported that her two sons in particular valued what she was doing and she herself was motivated to earn. By the time of the third visit, she was no longer preparing fruit but porridge and rice pudding because it was winter. Her income had declined a little. She expected to start preparing fruit again next summer and would do bottled fruit as well. She would like to open a shop. Her husband was now helping her more as he continued to be out of work and she was so busy. He would wash his own clothes, do some of the housework, and in the evening if nobody was at home he might do some cooking.

Lili was aged 49, married with two sons and a daughter. She attended school until 4^th grade of secondary, her husband completed secondary. She was earning 50-60 sol (£10-12) per day from preparing and selling food (for company orders), selling fish and fried chicken in the street, and selling clothes. She worked very long hours, 13-14 hours per day. Her husband was a casual labourer earning 150 sol per week. Her daughter prepared pancakes, which brought in a small income, while one of her sons was a waiter and the other worked in a factory. With the income she had earned over the years, she had bought a piece of land and was saving to pay for healthcare when necessary. The family had no loans.

Lili was the only other woman in the sample to try producing concentrated fruit juice, but until the final follow-up visit, she had done this only for home consumption and like Celinda without using preservatives. As these preservatives were expensive, she could not include juice in her menus for customers (she was making breakfasts now as well as lunches to order) because the price would be too high. She also said she had been unable to learn how to make bottled fruit because the trainer went too fast. She was however constantly looking for new opportunities. She had recently joined a credit group organised by a NGO to start a yoghurt business.

By the time of the second visit, Lili reported an increase in income to about 80 sol (£16) per day, with one of her sons helping her regularly. However, by the third visit this had declined to about 70 sol, and she was working fewer hours. She said she had also started making concentrated juice, making 15 bottles every fortnight. She had not used chemicals. She sold everything in one day and considered this successful. She did not however indicate whether she would continue. She commented that her husband had started helping her; he had been out of work for months and, as she was busy, he would wash his own clothes, clean and also help her to slice vegetables in the morning, but only at home where nobody could see him. He said he was embarrassed to be seen working for his wife. As she was the sole earner, and responsible for all the household income, she increasingly took decisions independently. She no longer discussed her business with her husband because he was not supportive.

Of the other five women in the Group 1 sample who followed this course, none took up fruit processing. Brief details of these women's businesses are given and their reasons for not moving into fruit processing.

Dany was aged 33, was married with four children and living apart from her husband. She had completed the fourth grade of secondary school. Once she had accounted for her loan repayments her daily net income was 12 sol (£2.40), earned from preparing and selling porridge, corn liquor, cheap stew and rice pudding. This occupied her for 8-12 hours a day. Her income had recently decreased due to competition in her line of activity. She was holding two loans from FOVIDA, one of 300 sol (£60) and the other 700 (£140), for four and six months respectively.

By the time of the first follow-up visit, the FOVIDA credit had allowed Dany to diversify. She had started selling clothes as well as preparing food and sweets, and was doing well. She was selling less food because it was the summer and sales always fell then. She said she had understood the process of preserving fruit from the training but had been unable to start up in this line of activity because it needed a thermometer, scales, tools to measure acidity etc, preservatives and other chemicals. She did not have money to buy these. She would like to do this though. Her income had increased by 20% by the time of the second visit but had fallen again by the third.

Maria was aged 37, married with two sons and two daughters. She had attended secondary school and her husband studied accountancy. They had no loans. In the past she has received training in selling EYBO beauty products and customer attraction. She earned 60 sol (£12) weekly from selling fruit salad and EYBO products, and 70 sol (£14) per month as a beauty consultant working in the afternoons. She worked 9-10 hours per day altogether. She also employed a woman to distribute the fruit salad to schools. Her husband drove a taxi, earning 70 sol per day. With her income she bought household items, including food and clothes for the children, these being expenses shared with her husband. She had recently bought a colour TV.

She said that she had learnt the skills of making juice, but only a little about bottled fruit. She said they did not learn a lot because the trainer demonstrated with his assistant and had no patience with them. After the training, she had intended starting up in this line as a family business because the cost of preparing fruit salad was high and there was a lot of competition. But when she went to buy the ingredients she was told she had to have a licence and council registration. She intended to get a licence and start producing fruit juice. Her husband would help her.

By the time of the second visit, her income had declined. Her teenage daughter had had a child and her husband was very angry. He insisted that she stay at home to look after her children. At the time of the third visit, she said she had tried making fruit juice once with a friend but not for sale.

Eulalia was aged 39 and was married with one daughter and two sons. She had completed primary schooling, as had her husband. She was earning 15 sol (£3) per day from making and selling kebabs, which she did in the evening for 6 hours (6 pm to midnight). Her husband was a baker, earning 150-200 sol (£30-40) weekly. She spent her income on paying the electricity and water, the interest on the 3,500 sol (£700) loan that her husband had taken with the Bank of Materials to build their house, and essential materials for her business, for the house and for the children. She had no loan in her own name.

At the time of the first follow-up visit, Eulalia was continuing to make and sell kebabs for six hours in the evening, but had added porridge, rice pudding and fried fish. The amount of kebab sold had also increased partly because her husband was now unemployed so he helped her in the kebab stall. She also took advantage of the summer season to sell soft drinks on the beach during the day. Her net income had more than trebled to 50 sol (£10) per day. Her husband was very supportive of her work and happy to be independent and 'in business' rather than being an employee. Although she had learnt the skills of preserving fruit, she said she had been unable to start this because the fruit was very expensive and not very good at the present time.

By the time of the second visit, Eulalia had taken out a loan with FOVIDA and used it to expand her business further. Her husband was now working with her full-time. As he was new to the business he was ready to take her advice. She now had a market stall and they also sold from home. They made 140-150 sol per day on the basis of about 10 hours of work, ten times what she had earned working on her own four months earlier. They sold sausages and kebabs in the market in the daytime and sweets and fritters from their home in the evening. She was currently attending a course on 'costs' provided by FOVIDA.

Eulalia was obviously business-minded and the most successful of the Group 1 women in expanding her productive work. She had been doing some market research and would like to open a small restaurant in her house as there were few such places selling lunches in that area. She had decided not to take up making fruit juice or bottled fruit as she said that in winter no one wanted to buy these items and she had been told that the ingredients were expensive. Significantly, she attributed her success to her access to credit which allowed her to open a stall in the market. Also to her husband's help; even though he had been offered some work again, he had declined because he was busy working with her. This was the only clear case in this sample of a woman's status in the household increasing considerably and the husband showing a significant change of attitude towards her work.

However, by the final visit, she had had to leave the stall in the market because she did not have a licence. She continued to sell fritters and kebabs from her house but her income had declined dramatically and her husband was looking for work once more. Her aspiration was to take a fixed stall legally in the market, which her husband could manage; for herself, she would like to have the house decorated and part of it converted into a restaurant. She could continue to sell ready made food from there.

Eulalia's case illustrates once again the uncertain circumstances in which poor women work. She was one of only two women (the other being Hiwot in the Ethiopian sample) to experience a very large income increase, and in her case she had not used the skills she had learnt during training. However, like Hiwot, she had increased her income tenfold with her husband working alongside her. In her case, this profitable fledgling business was curtailed because she did not have the required licence (in Hiwot's case her husband took it over). Likewise, other women in the Peru sample were unable to engage in fruit processing legally because they could not afford the licence and the materials. Without capital and collateral to obtain large loans, poor women cannot afford to set themselves up legally in their own micro-enterprises and are required to operate with the continuous risk of eviction and/or prosecution.

Carmen was aged 43, a single parent, with a son in primary school. She lived with her mother and her brother who was in the army. She had completed secondary school and had studied nursing. She was working as a teacher earning 240 sol (£48) per month, and also earned a small income of 20 sol (£4) per month by decorating balloons and making decorations. She spent four hours a day teaching (plus one hour's preparation) and another three hours decorating balloons while watching TV. She paid the household bills, her son's lunches and school materials, food and materials for her teacher's work. The family had no loans. Carmen was also active in the neighbourhood - she was the public relations secretary of a local women's organisation (mothers' club) and secretary of a local committee on restructuring the neighbourhood. She also attended dressmaking classes.

She said she had thought of starting up in fruit juice production during the summer but she did not have the available cash to start. The material was expensive. She did not want to join a group to buy the ingredients in bulk - she did not like working in a group and she was busy with her other activities. By the time of the first follow-up visit, she was teaching balloon decorations to women in the mothers' club and working part-time as a dental assistant. By the time of the second visit her income had increased slightly because she was making a few dresses for sale. She would like to specialise in dressmaking. By the final visit, though, her income had decreased again. She was continuing to make some dresses but no longer decorated balloons as the market for these had dried up.

Josefina was aged 59 and a widow. Living with her were her two grown up sons, three grandchildren and one daughter in law. She had completed primary schooling. She was working for four hours a day in a church garden. She had already undergone some training, firstly in water growing techniques, which helped her to find the job in the church garden and to grow vegetables. She also attended training with FOVIDA for businesswomen, which taught her about credit, market research, pricing and customers. She had taken out two loans, one of 700 sol (£140) from FOVIDA for six months, to start a restaurant with her son, and the other from the Bank of Materials of 3,500 sol (£700) over five years to repair the bathroom and kitchen.

Josefina said she was unable to use the skills acquired during the fruit processing course; it required a lot of ingredients and materials such as thermometer and scales. These were very technical courses which required working capital to buy the materials. She had not learnt how to make bottled fruit because the trainer was not patient with them. By the time of the second visit, she had stopped working in the church garden and only sold marinated shellfish at weekends. Her income had declined. She had also joined a group of six women at the mothers' club which had accessed credit to start a yoghurt business. She was very optimistic about this. She would also like to open a shop selling shellfish with her son. However, by the third visit, she was not working at all because she had been ill.

Of the three women who followed the bread making course in Huancayo:

Raquel was aged 32 and single. She lived in her father's house together with her mother, four brothers, her sister-in-law and two nephews. She had attended school until 5^th grade secondary and had also already attended a SENATI course on baking bread, also another course on dressmaking.

She shared her time between the bakery, her mother's market stall and the house shop, which one of her brothers ran. She spent 6-7 hours a day on these activities. In addition to helping on the production side of the bakery, where her father and one other brother worked, she also kept the records of its income and expenditure. Her contribution to the family income was re-invested in the bakery and helped pay off the family's loans. The mother had taken out two loans, one of 3000 sol (£600) for seven months to install an oven in the kitchen and the other of 5000 sol (£1000) for six months to replace the car. The whole family contributed to paying these off, with monthly repayments totalling 1300 sol (£260).

At the time of the first follow-up visit, Raquel said she was spending three more hours per day in the bakery. She would like to do more but her other activities (the market stall and the shop) and her current health problems (dental treatment) prevented her. The bakery continued to produce the same type of bread and buns, although the amount of buns had increased. Although prices had been pushed up by el Niño, the working conditions and household income and expenditure pattern remained the same. They were trying to improve the quality of their products and to advertise, so as to sell to shops in the winter. For this reason, they were buying a van.

At the time of the second follow-up visit, Raquel was even more involved in the bakery, especially baking special bread. She spent five hours per day on this. In addition, she continued with dressmaking and selling in the market. She thought that the most useful part of the training had been the part which dealt with the use of 'improver'. She was now making a specialist type of bread called chancay. Production had increased with income reaching 800 sol (£160) per week. The profit was being used to pay for the car. This bakery seemed to be expanding successfully. However, she herself wanted to give more time to dressmaking.

Hilda was aged 22 and lived with her parents, her nine-month old child and her brother of 23. She had previously had some training with SENATI in dairy products, bottling fruit and bread. Hilda considered herself as the manager of the bakery; she also sold bread from home and cleaned the kitchen (used for baking bread). Her father distributed bread while her mother also sold bread in fairs. The bakery employed three master bakers and three assistants, earning a net profit of 43 sol (£8.60) daily. Her father had taken out a loan of 3,500 sol (£700) to expand the bakery with repayment in one month. Her brother had also taken out a loan but she did not know how much. Most of the income went on her brother's studies (mechanics at SENATI) and food for the family.

Hilda worked 12 hours per day in the bakery. Four hours were spent cleaning, which she would like to be able to pay someone else to do. She would like to expand the bakery, turn it into a shop to serve customers on the premises and to sell cakes as well as bread. She saw lack of time, organisation and specialisation, credit and training as the principal barriers. She would like to have training in chocolates, cakes, pancakes, business administration and marketing techniques.

Hilda considered the main problem in the family business as being the master bakers: they were never on time and they did not listen to her as a businesswoman because she was female. They thought they knew it all. However, her parents accepted her suggestions (even if the masters did not) and she was involved in decisions on bread production, hygiene, managing money and sales. As for changes in her life, she would like to have a 'stronger character' so as to be respected by others and to study languages and computing. She considered that a lack of self-esteem and money prevented her from making these changes.

At the time of the first follow-up visit, Hilda reported that they were concentrating more on cake making in the bakery and that the family had opened a shop, with her sister in charge. Since attending the training, she had started to question the way they were doing things and she was producing a variety of cakes. She also baked the special bread taught to her in the training course but only for the family. She had received some technical assistance (follow-up) in cake making and was of the opinion that this form of training was more effective than formal courses and she appeared to have benefited from it. Her income had not really increased but she was working independently for the first time, buying her own ingredients for cakes with the money her father gave her to invest in this. She was also saving so as to be able to invest further in the business. She would like to specialise in fine confectionery.

At the time of the second visit, Hilda was more involved in making cakes and had increased her sales by 30 percent. She spent 3-4 hours per day on this. She would like to learn how to make a greater variety of cakes and distribute them in different places but it was difficult with the housework and her daughter. She used smaller amounts than she was taught in the technical assistance because the product would be too expensive for customers to buy otherwise. She felt that she was involved in decision-making although perhaps she was not listened to sometimes because she was a woman. Her parents appreciated her work more now and took up her suggestions. She felt more self-confident. However, after this visit, she left the bakery to work in a yoghurt business because of a disagreement with her father who would no longer let her work independently and ignored her opinion on all matters concerning the bakery. By the third visit, she had returned and was working again in the bakery, but was not making cakes. She seemed very bitter about her father.

Melva was 33, married with two children, one of seven and another of a year old. She had completed a university degree in engineering, her husband in industrial relations. She was working as a schoolteacher for 430 sol (£86) per month (five hours per day in the afternoon), while he was a taxi driver earning 700 sol (£140) per month. They had no loans. With the income they earned, they invested in the bakery, building an oven and buying machinery. Between 3.00 a.m. and 6.30 a.m. she ran the bakery located near their house and supervised the workers. They had four workers. The master baker was problematic because he did not want to work with recipes and sometimes did not come. The bakery work was therefore very demanding.

She was very critical of the bread making course; she thought it had not fulfilled the group's expectations. It seemed to have been designed to benefit the trainer and his assistant and, although they had learnt something, the ingredients could not be found in this area. So the training was useless and a waste of time and money.

Nevertheless, Melva would like to own her own bakery, but she needed a loan, and it was for that reason that she had taken the training (also to learn new skills and acquire more knowledge). She saw lack of credit as the main problem in developing a business. She would also like training in quality control, chocolate making, cakes and fritters, and dairy products such as yoghurt, cheese and butter.

She would like to have more independence. Her husband's work prevented him from helping her with the housework. She would like to work more in baking and to have more training. She saw her children as the main constraint in this respect. However, by the first follow-up visit, Melva reported that she had stopped working in the bakery due to jealousy and arguments with her brothers-in-law and parents-in-law. She and her husband and children were leaving the area.

6.3.2 The Group 2 women

In the second group of ten women, only two women had taken up the technologies taught them. Both were from Huancayo and had followed the course there (the Group 1 women had followed the Lima course).

Eduviges was 43. Her husband was an electrical technician. They had two children and no loans. She had attended a 15 day fruit processing course in 1994. Before that, she had been making and selling potato starch and bean pancakes. She found this training very useful and having established that there was sufficient fresh fruit available locally and working out that she could make a profit from it, she decided to switch to making concentrated fruit juice. She would buy fruit daily from the local market and make the juice during the morning, with the help of her two sisters. They employed two boys to deliver the juice to schools (to order) in the afternoon where the students would buy it. Fruit was plentiful and cheap in Huancayo, unlike Lima, so they were able to produce a bottle of juice for 0.80 cents (16 pence) whereas it would cost 1.50 or 2.00 sol in Lima. Her monthly net income was 280-300 sol (£56-60). There was not much competition as the Lima product was so much more expensive and not of a superior quality. She had received some technical assistance from IT. She would do the accounts every evening.

Like the two Group 1 women, they were making the juice 'informally' without preservative or machinery; they only used a stabiliser to prevent the fruit remaining at the bottom of the bottle. Despite this, they claimed the juice had a shelf life of two months. They would either buy new bottles or used ones which they would wash carefully. They paid much attention to cleanliness, being familiar with the health risks (especially cholera) of unsafe food processing. There had been no health problems in the schools as a result of their product. Eduviges would like to expand and formalise this business as fruit was cheap and plentiful in Huancayo. The profit was not large but it was sufficient, especially as her husband earned a good salary.

However, by the following November when she was re-interviewed (after the official end of the field work), el Niño had made production of juice too difficult. They had stopped in August and had switched to making nougat which they also sold to the schools in the area. She was hopeful that by December they could return to fruit processing.

In the year since she was last interviewed, they had expanded their production and it was more organised. She and her two sisters had been joined by two cousins and they worked alternate shifts to coincide with school times. Those whose children went to school in the morning worked in the mornings and vice versa. She was thinking of employing a girl to do the domestic work so as to devote more time to the business. Before stopping in August, they had expanded from 15-20 dozen bottles the previous year to 50 to 60 dozen now. She did not specify her monthly income but on the basis of the quantities sold it must have been around 500-550 sol (£100-110), nearly double what it was the previous year. She said she would like to formalise the business, using preservatives and obtaining health and safety clearance from the municipality so as to work on a large scale and sell to neighbouring towns. They would do this in six months' time when they had sufficient funds for the certificate. She had not taken any loan to date but would do so in the future when she came to expand. Her husband had also become more supportive, following an accident which had meant that he was without any income for three months. He had started to appreciate what she was doing and to respect her more. He no longer went out drinking with his friends and now helped around the house (even with cooking and laundry). Their children had also benefited and were able to continue studying. She had been able to finish construction of their house.

Eduviges was the only woman in the two groups to make a serious income out of fruit processing. She had done very well and had reached the stage of wishing to formalise the business. Celinda in Group 1 had also shown potential but the unfavourable circumstances at the time prevented her from making a good profit at this early stage. However, it is possible that this line of activity was more suited to Huancayo, where fruit was plentiful and cheap, than to Lima, where Celinda lived.

Zoila was aged 46, married with two grown up children. They had no loans currently. She had had training in 1994 from IT in bread and biscuit making and attended a further course in 1997 to learn about making speciality bread and cakes. Her income has increased somewhat. She had been running a shop selling bread and cakes, soft drinks and sweets before she went on the training. She then took a loan to buy an oven. She would bake cakes twice a week. She also made sweets and titbits for parties. The family was being threatened with eviction from their rented house and they were very worried. She would like to expand, but where they were living at the time was very small and she had no capital to invest in it. Moreover, three new bakeries had opened in the neighbourhood so she was selling less. Her husband was largely unemployed since he had lost his job in a government office as a result of alcoholism; however, he was now working sometimes selling gas cylinders. He was also helping her a little more. He was more supportive seeing that she was able to generate an income.

Of the other eight women in the Group 2 sample, and the four men, five others had used the technology which they were taught. These were: ice-cream, crisps, fruit spirits and jam. They all experienced some small increase in income with the exception of the one producing fruit spirits.

6.3.3 The men

All of the men in the Group 1 sample had followed the bread making course. As already pointed out, they were considerably older than the women, with four of them aged between 50 and 60. The fifth was 34 years old. Four were married, and one was a widower. The comparisons with the women, which their inclusion in the sample permitted, are instructive.

All but one of the men had had some secondary education (one had only completed primary). Some had attended previous courses in bread making. They were attending the IT bread making course to learn new techniques and new types of bread.

All five men owned a family bakery and the equipment used to run it; they were also considered head of the household and owner of the house. One valued his house at 80,000 sol (£16,000), another had land worth 80,000 sol and a third had savings worth 42,000 sol (£8400). One had a car, another a lorry. They had significant assets to serve as collateral when taking out loans. Not surprisingly, their loans were much larger than those that the women had. They ranged from 3,000 to 11,000 sol (£600-£2200) (with one, from a moneylender, for 30,000 sol) and some had repayments spread over two to three years. The women's loans were small and all short term, of a few months' duration.

The wives and in some cases the daughters or sons either helped out in the bakery, or, as was the case with two wives, ran a shop that the husband also owned. One of the men also ran a small removal business. The widowed man, Isaac, was working on his own at the start of the field work period but his son joined him later to work with him in the bakery. All with the exception of Isaac also employed between one and four master bakers or assistants in the bakery. Net income from the bakery was in the region of 45-80 sol (£9-16) per day (gross income around 350 sol). The men worked long hours - one said he started at 11 p.m. and worked 16 hours a day. Competition was tough. They all saw the main constraint to expansion as being lack of capital.

The extent to which they took all important decisions relating to the household and the business varied, but on the whole they appeared to retain overall control of the decision-making process. One man, however, did claim to share everything with his wife and gave her control over all the income from the bakery.

As regards their views on the three day course in bread making, they all criticised it for the type of bread it was teaching them to make. They considered it too expensive for sale locally, where people only paid ten cents or less for bread, whereas it was necessary to charge 35 cents for these specialist breads. Also, they were not popular in this area as people only ate French bread. As Isaac said, 'What we need is training which responds to our needs; we're not against diversification but we cannot put prices up'. The fact that the course was intended to teach them to make specialist breads (as explained in 6.3) so that they could sell them in the more affluent parts of Lima (one hour's drive away) seems to have been lost on them. Two of the men said that they made buns and chancay bread as taught but with reduced ingredients as these were too expensive. There was therefore no significant evidence that the training course had helped increase their incomes.

The first follow-up interviews were held at a time when the price of ingredients had gone up considerably (by as much as 30%) because of the effects of el Niño. By the time of the second visit, the situation was easing and bread production and income had gone back up to their previous levels (15-30% increase in production but lower increase in income). By the final visit, two continued to see an income increase (but in part due to other business activities such as a shop or bar), two saw their income decline and one saw no change. However, none were optimistic about growth - there was too much competition in bread making, they had to work very long hours, hired labour was unreliable and the price of ingredients had gone up.

6.4 Findings

Of the seven Group 1 women who followed the course in fruit processing, only one (Celinda) had moved straightaway into commercial production on a small scale and one other (Lili) had tried making some juice for home consumption. She later started to produce it for sale. The other five women had not started up in this line of activity, even though they had attended the course with the intention of doing so. The three women who followed the bread making course had found it of limited use, Raquel had found it of some use (learning about 'improver' especially) but Hilda had found the technical assistance more useful. Melva thought it was a waste of time.

Through the interviews, it was clear that a number of the women showed good business potential, most worked extremely long hours and were ready to work even longer if it would increase their income. Some showed considerable business acumen and ability to adapt to difficult or changing circumstances, e.g. Celinda had seen a market for concentrated juice; Dany, despite earning a very small income, had decided to diversify and to sell clothes as well as prepared foodstuffs because she knew that in summer there was a drop in sales of cooked food; she had subsequently seen a small increase in income. Lili was doing well selling prepared dishes to order and clothes (and also trying out fruit juice). Eulalia had done extremely well in expanding her small business from selling kebabs to offering other snacks and foodstuffs. Carmen had gone into dressmaking when balloon decoration stopped being profitable. In bread and cake making, both Hilda and Raquel had tried new items with some success. One of the women in Group 2 (Eduviges) had done well out of making concentrated fruit juice and wished to formalise it as a business. However, only Eulalia, Lili and Eduviges could be said to have been able to develop a proper micro-enterprise with regular customers and a well-defined market for their products. It was impossible, however, to say whether they had used skills in doing this which they had acquired from the management component of the training or from their own experience in the market. The others were largely responding flexibly to difficult market conditions with only short term income in mind.

It is impossible to speculate how many of those women who received training in this technology might have attempted to move into fruit processing if the economic conditions had been more favourable. There was no doubt that the low quality and high price of fruit resulting from el Niño was a major deterrent. Eduviges in Huancayo seemed to be less affected by this than the women in Lima. However, it was also the case that the training itself was poorly targeted in that the initial investment costs of obtaining licences, equipment and chemicals were too high for poor women to afford. Only Celinda had been convinced of the feasibility of producing concentrated juice and the others who did try it out did so not in the way directed by the trainer but according to a 'traditional' and presumably illegal set of procedures. On the bread making course, all the participants included in the sample, both female and male, considered that the type of bread being taught was inappropriate for their area and only Raquel and two of the men had tried producing any (and only buns and chancay bread) for sale in the bakery. None of them was convinced of its potential for profits. Several said that the 'on the job' informal training that they received through the IT technical assistance was more useful than the formal training. With the credit available to them, the other women had chosen to pursue other lines of business.

Although the technology used for both fruit processing and specialist bread making was no doubt well developed and appropriate for use in certain locations in Peru, the training appeared to be not only poorly targeted but also poorly delivered. Some of the women said the trainer had gone too fast, in particular in teaching how to make bottled fruit - none of them had understood the procedures properly. And on the bread making course, the women had had little opportunity to put the skills into practice. The researcher did however record that a few women had applied some of the skills taught in the management component of the course, e.g. using profit and loss accounts, to their other activities so that this was a net gain of the training.

In terms of the impact of the technical aspect of the training on women's incomes, there was a small amount of evidence in the case of Celinda and Lili that their incomes had increased slightly when they sold concentrated juice, and of Raquel and Hilda when they made specialist bread or cakes. Eduviges in Group 2, who had attended a 15 day course in fruit processing in 1994 in Huancayo, had developed it into a small but successful business with good potential for growth. She was the only woman of the 20 in the sample to have developed a significant business using the technology taught (but not using the correct procedures). Ironically, the greatest income gains were made at least in the short time by Eulalia, who had not used the technology taught.

In terms of the impact of the training on their status, evidence of increased self-esteem was limited, although several women expressed satisfaction with what they were doing. Eulalia seemed particularly proud of what she had achieved. As for increased status in the community, four women were active in their local women's groups and one woman was secretary of her union; however, it was not clear whether there was a link between increased status in the community and increased income. As for increased status in the household, five husbands started helping with domestic duties within the research period (the husbands of Celinda, Lili, Eduviges and to a certain extent Zoila) but only Eulalia's husband seemed to have had a significant change of attitude towards his wife's work and had started working with her full-time (even when he was offered work he had refused it although this changed at the end of the research period when she had to leave her market stall). Lili's son was helping her increasingly and was enthusiastically looking for new customers for her. Those husbands who started doing domestic chores such as washing their own clothes or cooking appeared to be doing it because they were unemployed and they did it grudgingly. Once in work again, they would no doubt have stopped helping.

As for the link between training and credit, of those who applied the technologies taught, only Celinda was receiving credit at the time of the training; however, there was no evidence that she used this credit to set herself up in fruit processing. Zoila in Group 2 had taken a loan to buy an oven and seemed to be doing quite well with her cake making. Eulalia was the only person who attributed her success with her food stall entirely to her access to credit but there was no link with the training because she had not used the technology taught her. Ironically, too, Eduviges had been relatively successful without taking any loan; she was however thinking of doing so, so as to formalise her business with registration etc. There was therefore almost no direct link between training and credit from this case study, at least not in the short term.

6.5 Conclusions

This case study differed from the other three in that very few of those in the sample who received training made use of the skills subsequently (except possibly some marketing skills). There was also evidence that the training was not successful in passing on the technical skills being taught to all the participants. The interest of this case study therefore lies not so much in the impact of the training on the women's economic activities but rather in the important lessons it offers us regarding effective training for poor women:

1. Training in technical skills has a low return unless the skills are adaptable. El Niño had made fruit processing unprofitable and so the women did not take it up. This suggests that training in basic generic business skills is more cost-effective because they can be widely applied.

2. Training in technical skills for production which requires equipment, ingredients and licences will exclude the poorest because they do not have the required capital for the initial investment.

3. Selecting an appropriate target group is crucial. The bread making course was designed for advanced bakers; however, only four of the 16 participants were experienced bakers, and they were all men (the course was intended primarily for women). The female participants were students who knew nothing about bread making. The fruit processing course was attended mainly by women who could not afford the required start up investment.

4. Bread making is a traditional male line of business in Peru; several women who attended the course were part of a family bakery, where they were subordinate to the male head. For other women to break into the bakery business successfully would require considerable courage and much on-going support and training in confidence-building, gender awareness and assertiveness. This was almost totally lacking on these courses. Only the management component appeared to provide an element of this.

5. Needs assessment is crucial for effective training. Women's and men's needs and interests must be correctly identified and addressed. The trainers on these courses (some of whom were women) showed a poor understanding of gender issues (e.g. 'just go more slowly with women') and the training provided was neither well targeted nor well delivered.