TANZANIA The African country of Tanzania is taking reality TV shows to a whole new level. Of reality that is.
On "Female Food Heroes," women farmers compete in a 21-day challenge for $9,400 and new farming equipment. The challenge? Lay bricks, weed, garden, fix their houses and sell their produce at the local market, and try to find their machete to chop down trees. In short, they're female farmers doing farm work.
On the air since 2011, the show - produced by the humanitarian organization Oxfam America - is more than just a mundane reality show however, as highlighted in a recent article from the Atlantic. The real goal of the show is to show the potential in female farmers in a country where, according to the United States Agency for International Development, women own 20 percent of the land despite making up half the agricultural workforce.
Faced with such stark statistics, women farmers need all the help they can get, writes Jillian Kumagai for the Atlantic. "Without access to land, many women cant secure loans that rely on property as collateral, rendering them unable to buy resources like seeds, fertilizer, and tools that their male counterparts can purchase."
Only three percent of rural Tanzanians have access to electricity with which to power a TV according the World Bank, but the show producers say that they believe that their show can be a positive influence in the country. The show can change perceptions of women farmers in the country, and build confidence in the women themselves.
Read more at the Atlantic.
On "Female Food Heroes," women farmers compete in a 21-day challenge for $9,400 and new farming equipment. The challenge? Lay bricks, weed, garden, fix their houses and sell their produce at the local market, and try to find their machete to chop down trees. In short, they're female farmers doing farm work.
On the air since 2011, the show - produced by the humanitarian organization Oxfam America - is more than just a mundane reality show however, as highlighted in a recent article from the Atlantic. The real goal of the show is to show the potential in female farmers in a country where, according to the United States Agency for International Development, women own 20 percent of the land despite making up half the agricultural workforce.
Faced with such stark statistics, women farmers need all the help they can get, writes Jillian Kumagai for the Atlantic. "Without access to land, many women cant secure loans that rely on property as collateral, rendering them unable to buy resources like seeds, fertilizer, and tools that their male counterparts can purchase."
Only three percent of rural Tanzanians have access to electricity with which to power a TV according the World Bank, but the show producers say that they believe that their show can be a positive influence in the country. The show can change perceptions of women farmers in the country, and build confidence in the women themselves.
Read more at the Atlantic.