Dr Garutsa Tendayi C.
Country (Nationality)
South Africa
Grantee Title
Areas of research interest:Climate change, Gender, vulnerabilities, Indigenous knowledge, Rural development
Grantee Description
Home Institution University of Fort Hare, South Africa
Host Institution Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe
Summary of research
Zimbabwe a previously food producing country has been experiencing drastic changes in rainfall patterns, declining by 25 percent. Temperature has increased by 4 degrees Celsius crippling both the livestock and subsistence farming sectors contributing to the national economy (IPCC, 2014). On this note Climate change has produced differentiated and distinct vulnerabilities in rural communities (Carr, 2008; Swai et al., 2012; Sultana, 2013). However, Climate change responses have been overly focused on scientific and economic solutions rather than on significant human and gender dimensions (Skinner, 2011). Treating gender as the primary cause of vulnerability produces a narrow analysis making other social markers (age, types of households, income and ethnicity) analytically invisible (Carr et al., 2014). Against this background this study aims to explore variable vulnerabilities to climate change adaptation within and between genders amongst the Kalanga and Shona ethnic groups in Zimbabwe.