Participation of rural women in the integrated development program, Trang Province, Thailand

The results showed that the respondents were generally old, married, came from big families and were characterized as having low educational attainment. A large majority of them were Buddhists and have stayed long in the village. More than one-half of the respondents belong to the lower-income bracket. A little more than ninety-five percent of them claimed to be members of two organizations in the village. They were mostly family heads who owned the lands they tilled. The respondents seldom participated in training programs. Of the change agents, the community development worker was the most consulted. The television was always used as a medium of communication among the respondents. The radio was often used, while both newspapers and posters were occasionally used. In the decision-making process leading to adoption of agricultural innovations, husband and wife were equally involved. The same was true in farming tasks. They were occasionally involved in rural development activities. They seldom attended meetings in the Village Council and occasionally participated in community activities. None of the socio-economic and demographic factors was related to participation in economic development. However, a significant relationship was obtained between rural women's nature and degree of participation in social development, and membership in organization and tenurial status. The respondents' level of participation in training programs, their contacts with change agents and communication exposures were related to their nature and degree of social participation. This was also true for total (economic and social combined) participation in the IRDP. The primary problem of the respondents in the IRDP was their limited mobility within the province. Government support in providing transportation and in undertaking road repairs was suggested as a possible solution.