Empowerment

Original Article
The Farmer Life School: experience from an innovative approach to HIV education
among farmers in South Africa
K Swaans, J E W Broerse, M Salomon, M Mudhara, M Mweli, J F G Bunders

Abstract

The Farmer Life School (FLS) is an innovative approach to integrating HIV education into life skills and technical training for farmers.
This study aims to gain insight into thestrengths and weaknesses of this relatively new approach, through the implementation of an
adapted version in South Africa. The results are presented of a pilot with three groups of community gardeners, predominantly women,
attending weekly sessions. Impact was assessed in terms of three key elements: participation, learning, and empowerment. Data were
collected through extensive session reports,follow-up interviews, and reflection exercises with facilitators and participating groups
and individuals. The results suggest that a group-based discovery learning approach such as the FLS has great potential to improve
food security and wellbeing, while allowing participants to explore issues around HIV/AIDS. However, the analysis also shows that
HIV/AIDS-related illness and death, and thefactors that drive the epidemic and its impact, undermine farmers’ ability to participate,
the safety and trust required for learning, and the empowerment process. Participatory approaches such as the FLS require a thorough
understanding of and adaptation to the context.
Keywords: Farmer Life School, HIV/AIDS, participation, learning, empowerment.

Résumé

L’école de vie de fermier (FLS)est une approche innovatrice à l’intégration de l’éducation du VIH dans les compétences de vie et la
formation technique de fermiers. Cette étude a pour but d’examiner les points forts et les faibles de cette approche relativement nouvelle
en exécutant une version adaptée en Afrique du Sud. Cette communication présente des résultats d’une étude pilote qui consistait
de trois groupes dejardiniers de la communauté, la plupart étant des femmes. Ces femmes ont assisté à de sessions hebdomadaires.
L’impact fut évalué grâce aux trois éléments: la participation, l’apprentissage et l’autonomisation. Les données ont été recueillies à travers
des longues sessions de rétroaction, des interviews et des exercices de réflexion avec des animateurs, des groupes en participation et des
individus.Les résultats suggèrent que l’approche de découverte et apprentissage de groupes comme le FLS a du potentiel d’améliorer
la sécurité alimentaire et le bien-être, et en même temps permet aux participants d’explorer les questions du VIH/SIDA. Cependant,
l’analyse montre que les maladies et les morts liés au VIH/SIDA et les facteurs qui poussent l’épidémie et son impact sapent la capacité
desfermiers à participer, la sécurité et la foi requises pour l’apprentissage ainsi que le processus d’autonomisation. Les approches à
participation comme le FLS exigent une compréhension et une adaptation approfondies au contexte.
Mots clés: École de vie de fermier, VIH/SIDA, participation, apprentissage, autonomisation.

Kees Swaans is a PhD candidate at the Athena Institute for Research onInnovation and Communication in Health and Life Sciences, VU University Amsterdam
(the Netherlands). He graduated in biology from Wageningen University in 1994 and in Management of Agricultural Knowledge Systems from the same university
in 2000. He joined the department in 2002. His PhD thesis will be on interactive and integrated approaches for innovation development at the interface of HIV/
AIDSand agriculture.
Jacqueline Broerse is head of the Department Science Communication and associate professor at the Athena Institute for Research on Innovation and
Communication in Health and Life Sciences, VU University Amsterdam (the Netherlands). She graduated in medical biology from the VU University Amsterdam
in 1988. She wrote her PhD thesis on participatory strategies for generating...