Course overview
Welcome to creating gender-sensitive, climate-responsive, sustainable livelihoods to build self-reliant, resilient local economies
Gender inequality makes it more difficult to fight climate change. When women have the same opportunities as men, communities are better able to adapt to the impacts of climate change and build a more sustainable future.
This course is designed for people who work with communities at the grassroots level. It:
- provides a comprehensive overview of gender-sensitive livelihoods and how to develop them;
- encourages people to share their own ideas about and experiences of gender-sensitive livelihoods;
- explores ways of designing livelihoods that are gender-sensitive and protect the natural environment to help communities become more resilient to climate change; and
- encourages people to come up with new ideas about how to protect the environment, reduce the effects of climate change and create jobs that will last into the future.
Creating gender-sensitive, climate-responsive, sustainable livelihoods to build self-reliant, resilient local economies —Is this course for you?
This course is intended for people who want to learn how to help women and girls in their communities — for example, grassroots-level volunteers, community leaders, community health workers and others who work with women and girls at the community level.
It is also for people who want to become change agents in a process that supports equal opportunities for women and men through innovative, sustainable, location-specific conservation interventions.
This course is for you if:
- you are looking to:
- promote gender equality and the importance of building equal opportunities when aligning climate change mitigation efforts with sustainable human activities,
- develop indicators of gender-sensitive livelihoods within a resilient economy,
- identify local resources to promote such livelihoods,
- advocate for innovative models to promote women’s leadership, and
- identify skills and abilities needed to respond to emerging issues; and
- you have a basic understanding of the impacts of climate change, a geographical perspective on climate threats and knowledge of local natural resources.
You must have sensitivity towards and an appreciation of gender equality in order to pursue this course.
Course outcomes
Outcomes
On completion of Creating Gender-Sensitive, Climate-Responsive, Sustainable Livelihoods to Build Self-Reliant, Resilient Local Economies, you will be able to:
- explain the necessity of gender-sensitive and sustainable livelihoods.
- explore climate change mitigation, adaptation and conservation-oriented livelihoods in sustainable agriculture and food production.
- understand and explain the importance of gender equality in developing a resilient local economy: how to achieve it by reorienting existing livelihoods and designing new livelihoods that are aligned with and/or based on the need to act on and respond to climate change issues.
- adapt, discuss, advocate and support gender participation for sustainable growth of a community.
- ensure women’s economic participation and contribution through climate-responsive livelihoods (recycling, small-scale food processing, food production and other innovative businesses).
- identify parameters to consider when developing gender-sensitive, climate-responsive, sustainable livelihoods, and define the scope and/or design of such livelihoods.
Timeframe
Time
You will need approximately 7.5 hours to complete this course.
This course contains five units. Each unit will need approximately 1.5 hours of learning time.
An additional four hours of self-study time may be required.
Study skills
As an adult learner you will take a different approach to learning than you did when you were a schoolchild. You will choose what you want to study, you will have a professional or personal motivation for learning and you will most likely be fitting your study activities around other professional or domestic responsibilities.
Essentially you will be taking control of your learning environment. You will therefore need to think about how issues such as time management, goal setting and stress management will affect your performance. You may need to review skills such as essay planning, coping with exams and using the Web as a learning resource.
Your most significant considerations will be time and space — that is, the time you dedicate to your learning and the environment in which you engage in that learning.
We recommend that you take time now — that is, before you begin your self-study — to familiarise yourself with these issues. There are a number of excellent resources on the Web that can help you. For example:
This website has a list of resources about study skills, including taking notes, strategies for reading textbooks, using reference sources and dealing with test anxiety.
This website has useful links to resources on time management; efficient reading; questioning, listening and observing skills; “hands-on” learning; memory building; staying motivated; and developing a learning plan.
These two websites can get you started on your learning journey. At the time of writing, the links to them were active. To find more options, go to www.google.com and type in phrases such as “self-study basics,” “self-study tips” or “self-study skills.”
Need help?
At the learning centre, you will receive the same support as you would from a classroom teacher, or you might find a more experienced tutor to support you during a contact session.
Assessments
There are three formative assessments (based on self-directed learning activities) and two summative assessments in multiple choice question (MCQ) format.
The MCQ assessments will take about 15–25 minutes to complete and are self-assessments. The answers to the multiple choice questions are in the Answer Key, at the end of the course.
The formative assessments must be completed within given a time. They are designed to help the learner take action in their own community. The teacher will offer support and explanations to help the learner understand their own context so that they can take the appropriate action.
The summative assessments take place after Unit 1 and Unit 3. The formative assessments take place after Unit 2, Unit 4 and Unit 5.
