Abstract

CHIAPPE-HERNANDEZ, Marta. A collective path of rural women towards development: the Association of Rural Women of Uruguay (ARWU). agric. soc. desarro [online]. 2006, vol.3, n.1, pp.57-75. ISSN 1870-5472.

In this paper the experience developed by the Association of Rural Women of Uruguay (ARWU) from its foundation in 1994 up to 2004 is examined. The analysis intends to serve a dual purpose: as a base for reflection of the Association and as a starting point for other organizations to design models of social intervention and associative tools. Information was obtained from interviews with leaders and with the technical team of the Association; from the revision of institutional documents; syntheses of workshops and meetings; personal observations and opinions gathered in meetings and personal interviews maintained throughout 2004. The analysis of the ARWU trajectory allowed to identify four thematic axes in the evolution of the organization: 1) from the initial grouping to the individual and collective empowerment; 2) from the construction of women's autonomy to a more global gender perspective; 3) from a role within the family to a position in the public arena; 4) from local knowledge and traditional production to a collective project of integral quality and professionalization. In addition, three areas in which the ARWU will have to focus in the next future were identified: 1) institutional; 2) commercial and productive; and (3) social.

Keywords : Association; empowerment; gender; rural women's organizations; local knowledge.