The urban grassroots women’s movement and women’s food organizations

Abstract

In this paper the focus is on an analysis, in general, of the urban grassroots women’s movement, but using a port of entry that facilitates understanding how the movement functions. Our entry point will be those organizations we call “women’s food organizations” (Organizaciones de Mujeres para la Alimentación, OMA)2 – the Community Kitchens (Comedores Populares, CP) and the Glass of Milk Committees (Comités del Vaso de Leche, CVL). The OMAs facilitate a study of the movement beginning with its most important organizations. Both the CPs and the CVLs are the best known women’s organizations and are recognized at the national (and, in some cases, international) level, and have the largest membership. We discuss how each functions, internal dynamics, the relations maintained with external actors, objectives and means used to reach these. This will facilitate the subsequent analysis of the movement in general, its functioning, its current form of existence and its interaction with discourses on, and programs for, poverty reduction.

Citation

Draft Working Paper, 45 pp.

The urban grassroots women’s movement and women’s food organizations

Published 1 January 2010