Research Reports

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/924

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    Food for thought : increasing nutritional diversity by adapting to droughts in Timor-Leste's permaculture/agroecology garden schools : a research project presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of International Development, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2018) Marra, Peter
    The main aim of the research was to explore community resilience, and specifically whether and how garden schools that use permaculture/agroecology principles may be usefully contributing to adaptation to climate change and nutritional diversity in Timor-Leste. The research also aimed to investigate the challenge of implementing garden schools in Timor-Leste. Specifically, targets of the Sustainable Development Goals relating to water conservation, resilience and food security were utilized to measure the progress of garden schools. The above is embedded in a conceptual agroecology framework that assesses the resilience of food growing systems in relation to climate change as the schools utilize permaculture/agroecology principles, with permaculture being a form of agroecology. Timor-Leste is now faced with extreme climate patterns as a result of climate change that can lead to more prolonged droughts. This study used a qualitative methodolology, which included interviews of teachers with school gardens, to help understand how teachers and their students are adapting to these droughts. The study also examines nutritional diversity in schools and the benefits and challenges of implementing school gardens. Furthermore, the study explores the transfer of nutritional and gardening knowledge from schools to the community to increase community resilience. The research revealed that garden schools internationally improve students’ scientific understanding and agricultural knowledge and their taste for locally grown fruit and vegetables. The school gardens in Timor-Leste have multiple benefits with regard to improving educational outcomes and community resilience as a school garden transforms a schoolyard into a green laboratory for students to learn about nutrition, mathematics and linguistics.
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    Integrating community-oriented policing and traditional justice systems as police reform and development in post-conflict countries : a research project presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of International Development, School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (The Author, 2014) McLeod, Catriona
    Police reform in post-conflict countries has seen the increasing implementation of the community-oriented policing model as a means to introduce democratic policing as a component of the peace building process. However, in many post-conflict countries the situation of legal pluralism exists, where multiple justice systems operate in the same space. Many communities often rely on customary or traditional forms of justice as the formal state justice system does not extend to their location or have any real influence or authority. This research project used document analysis to investigate the contribution community-oriented policing can make to those communities that rely on traditional justice systems. This report introduced two community-oriented policing mechanisms, tara bandu ceremonies in Timor-Leste and the Community Officer Project in Solomon Islands, as case studies. These two mechanisms were analysed and compared with a specific focus on their respective levels of community participation and how they responded to raising awareness of the principles of human rights. The case study analysis found that the tara bandu ceremonies had high levels of community participation and support due to them being an endogenous social structure and the extensive involvement the communities had in developing their respective tara bandu ceremonies. This was in contrast to the Community Officer Project which is an introduced structure and one in which the community appeared to have no real input into the design and implementation process. These findings led to the conclusion that in integrating community-oriented policing and traditional justice systems, consideration should be given to utilising pre-existing traditional structures that have the support of the community.
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    International approaches to literacy for gender empowerment : a review of the literature and analysis in relation to Timor-Leste : a research project presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of International Development, Development Studies, Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (The Author, 2012) Martins, Sandra Gusmao
    After 400 years of colonial rule and illegal occupation Timor-Leste gained independence (World Bank, 2004). However, in the wake of this, as they sought to rebuild the country, the newly founded government was faced with numerous development challenges, such as wide spread illiteracy and a non-existent education system. Given this non-existent education system and the extent of illiteracy noted more in the rural areas and in relation to women, part of the solution to addressing the issue was to implement informal literacy programmes. It was argued that increasing women?s literacy was an important strategy for increasing women?s social, political and economic participation and achieving empowerment (Olufunke, 2011). However there are also debates contesting that participation in literacy programmes automatically leads to the empowerment of women, rather the programmes on offered need to be understood in the context of the place where they are being delivered (Stromquist, 2002). With this in mind this research project seeks to critically explore firstly, international approaches to adult literacy with a specific focus on gender and empowerment, and secondly, the relevance of these international approaches to adult literacy as an empowering tool in relation to women in Timor-Leste. This desk-based exploration unpacks four international approaches to adult literacy, which come under the umbrella of critical literacy approaches, these are: „New Literacy Studies? (NLS), „Real Literacies Approach? (RLA), the „REFLECT? Method, and the „Community Literacy Approach? (CLA). These four approaches are critically discussed in relation to women?s empowerment focusing specifically on debates by Rowlands (1995, 1997) and Kabeer (1999), who draw on Freire?s (1970) concept of empowerment, conscientization. Having interrogated these four approaches I then reflected upon them in terms of the Timor-Leste situation, focusing specifically on issues of effectiveness and appropriateness. I conclude that rural women can experience empowerment through participation in adult literacy programmes. In considering the REFLECT Method, the common empowerment dimensions experienced are the personal sphere or dimension (Rowlands, 1995, 1997), the achievement dimension (Kabeer, 1999), with evidence of „conscientization? or critical consciousness (Freire, 1970). The REFLECT Method is thus considered to be the most appropriate and effective approach to adult literacy and gender in Timor-Leste. However, this approach can also be combined with other approaches (in particular the RLA), which is implemented nationwide in Timor-Leste. However it is important to note that literacy itself does not guarantee empowerment, there is a need to think beyond literacy and how (within) this process women can access their fundamental rights, as well as possibilities of power (Archer, 2002).