This article is the outcome of an empirical study of technical training of women and men\nthrough Farmer Field Schools in rural Nepal during the last decade. When the Farmer Field\nSchools started in Nepal as part of the FAO Integrated Pest Management project in 1997, this\nwas also the year that the Maoists declared the People�s Revolution. The article describes the\nincreased participation of women in FFS and its positive effect on food security of their\nfamilies. After initial failure of FFS to include gender in its policy and activities, the article\ndiscusses the gradual acceptance of gender issues in the training. Empowerment is seen as a\ndevelopmental process rather than as a product somebody or a group can gain access to or\nown. Different forms and objectives of empowerment of both women and men are discussed,\nand the unintended outcomes of FFS intervention in the context of rapid social-economic and\npolitical change during the Maoist revolution in Nepal.
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