IMAGINING

THE FUTURE
The GALS
methodology
for livelihoods
improvement and
gender justice
The Gender
Action Learning
System (GALS) is
a community-led The Journey: Equipping Communities
methodology that
uses visual diagrams
for Better Futures
to empower women
and men imagine the OXFAM supports partners and

60,000 +
futures they want by communities in Uganda to use
taking action against GALS to empower households
societal norms and communities, among
that drive gender other stakeholders, address
power imbalances that hinder
WOMEN and MEN
inequality.
development. have used the
The GALS tools enable household
members negotiate their needs
GALS METHODOLOGY
and interests and find innovative, in UGANDA.
gender-equitable solutions.

Picture: Ezale Swaib with his wife, Yumbe district

60% OF
GALS USERS ARE
WOMEN
Cover picture: Joyce Ogaru, Nebbi district, explaining her vision journey
 “In the future if
VISIONING: I achieve all my

USING GALS for our futures

visions I will put
on eyeglass and
STEP 1 laugh.” -Joyce Ogaru,
Nebbi district
DRAW YOUR

a p DREAM FUTURE

“Households are like trees- they

y m
need to be properly balanced if
n e
they are to bear rich fruit. If the
r Peer to peer sharing is

ou
roots are not equally strong on encouraged to increase usage
both sides, then the tree will fall
n j of the GALS methodology in
o
over in the first storm. If the fruits
on one side are heavier than on
i s i turn scaling up community
benefits as more people adopt
v
the other then the tree will fall

e
over and there will be no harvest it.
STEP 3
Th
next year” Rocky Road to Diamond
Dreams -GALS manual CHART THE
JOURNEY GALS was developed with IFAD grant support to
Oxfam. It was first piloted by Oxfam in western
Uganda in the Rwenzori region of Kasese,
1. Draw your dream. STEP 4 and in northern Uganda-West Nile, Acholi and
“Women and men dreams
REFLECTION Karamoja. Oxfam is working with 5 partner
are equal”. Everybody’s organisations to strengthen its use with plans
STEP 2 dream is important.
to roll it out to other parts of the country.
4. Individual and group Participatory Ecological Land Use
drinking
women START •
reflection indicators of Management (PELUM, Uganda)
poverty

WHERE progress and success

• Eastern and Southern Africa Small Scale
harvests

YOU ARE 3. Identify obstacles to your dream and Farmers’ Forum Uganda (ESAFF, Uganda)
roles generate ideas to remove them by and milestones • Volunteer Efforts for Development
children
injustice
achieved Concerns (VEDCO)
money
focusing on existing opportunities • Community organisation for Rural
Enterprise Activity Management (CREAM)
2. Gender balance tree tool is used • Community Empowerment For Rural
Development (CEFORD)
for individual and group analysis of
labour
gender roles and responsibilities in 5 / GALS METHODOLOGY
farming decisions
households and communities
 DESTINY MAKERS:
BUILDING DREAMS
together
Through the GALS methodology, individually
and collectively, people are emerging as
winners and creators of a new destiny.
They are in charge of their lives, are power

Picture: Dancers in Arua during a learning session

sharers, human rights “valuers” and
resource maximisers . Individuals, families
and communities are benefitting. No one is
left behind.

6 / GALS METHODOLOGY 7 / GALS METHODOLOGY

 a family matter
PROGRESS IN A POLYGAMOUS FAMILY

“
Chandiru Kalsum, Aleti Kubura and Oleru Leila
Working together:
We always had fighting; we could not The family focused on the Gender
even respect our husband but once the Challenge Tree to rework tasks in the
husband was with me alone, or with the home.
other co-wife, we would make it look “We share cooking timetables and eat
like we were happy so the other wives together. Things like soap, the other one
didn’t feel good. Food was also a problem at can give me when I don’t have. Together
home, children would not go to school and we can see how we can send children to
whatever belongings I had in the household school, we can all contribute money”, says
were for my own children, and I did not know Aleti.
how to manage the things I had. I was given
goats through NAADS, but when outsiders “When we go for cultivation we move
would ask for assistance, I would just donate together, we dig together with our husband
anyhow and yet I could not share together with and what comes out of what we sell, we
“We grow cassava, beans, send children to school, even one is in
my co-wives. I was helping outsiders and the
soya beans, sunflower, but secondary school.
we do this together and gossiping was terrible”, says Chandiru.
make money. We reserve Choosing change Through GALS we were taught how you can
some and take some to the As a member of the Poroporo cooperative, make money, rear chickens. Even now we
main store in Poroporo. We one of the three wives of Alaru Habibu, Aleti, have achieved cattle through GALS, around
have eucalyptus, and other learned about the GALS methodology and fifty.
trees, a quarter of an acre. encouraged her co-wives and her husband, We have also accepted family planning.”
In our family backyard we Alaru to start using it.
plan to plant more trees.” UGX20,000
Saved weekly by
Picture: Aleti Kubura, Yumbe
Alaru Habibu’s
district, explains the family’s
vision map family
8 / GALS METHODOLOGY 9 / GALS METHODOLOGY
 WOMAN AND MACHINE

Picture: Dancers in Arua during a learning session

ADDING VALUE
Mary Atayo

“I am a GALS champion
telling others about GALS
in my community” THE GALS ‘PROFESSOR’
Picture: Mary Atayo, Nebbi Manzubo Maimuna
district shows off her portable
grinding mill which has “I am called Manzubo Maimuna. I am a champion
increased the family income “This is our vision for in training GALS in various places and for that I am
through value addition. Poroporo Multipurpose known as ‘Professor’. We could not write or read. We
Cooperative Marketing went through that functional literacy but they only
Society. If this had come taught us ABC, we still could not read. In GALS, all
a long time ago, we could that is in your mind is translated into drawings like
have been more advanced this. This is what we call vision in GALS, but in our
than now. We still believe a local language it is ‘orobi’, it is a dream. Someone
time will come when we will will think these are just drawings but when they
achieve our vision.” reach the stage where these drawings are, they will
be very far and demand nothing from anybody.”
10 / GALS METHODOLOGY 11 / GALS METHODOLOGY Picture: In yellow t-shirt, Manzubo Maimuna, Yumbe
district
 WEALTH creation
Richard Otule

A VISION FOR LIGHT

BRINGING SOLAR HOME
Mary Avuru

“The first thing I did after the

Vision Road Journey and wealth
“With the Vision Road Journey, creation training, I identified
I’ve learnt how to keep money well an opportunity with Send a Cow
which has helped me pay school project and got a heifer. Now
fees for the children. I also got a my wife and I have a dairy and a
vision to light up my home with bricks making project.”
solar. I used to take my phone for
charging in the center, but now I
charge from home.”
Picture: Mary Avuru, Arua district, a
single mother of eight children and the Picture: Richard Otule, Arua district,
cashier of her local women’s savings and his first heifer from Send a Cow, an
group,
12 / GALS Injimile.
METHODOLOGY 13 / GALS METHODOLOGY Oxfam partner
 everybody is a
LEADER
Expanding the Gender Justice
Movement
Picture: Richard Ajuga explains the Leadership empwoerment map

GALS enables participants realize

everybody is a leader and can
contribute to progress. Left, Ajuga
Ahmad shows how the Leadership
Empowerment Map guides their
cooperative to spread GALS
methodology among peers, family and
community.
Sharing GALS with
The map guides participants on who to communities through
“Women can also continue talking reach, how and where to reach them drama and music in Yumbe
about GALS wherever they fetch through a peer sharing approach. district
water. Even they go to the market
Members of the cooperatives reach
and talk about GALS methodology.
learning centres, savings groups,
They use it to resolve conflicts.
government, schools, churches, opinion
When they sit together in the
leaders, people at water wells, and
evening, they can share GALS
farmers groups.
methodology.”-Ahmad Ajuga,
14 / GALS METHODOLOGY Yumbe district 15 / GALS METHODOLOGY
 The Gender Balance Tree is a tool that
allows participants both individually

“OUR LIFE HAS CHANGED and collectively to analyse gender roles

and responsibilities in their households

I EVEN WROTE A POEM”

and communities. Participants reflect
“Every time our group and identify related power and rewards
savings meeting ended, I as well as the forces that influence this
Joseph and Victoria Wadribo status.
always walked away from
the GALS session but my
wife stayed. At the end of
the year when the group
shared its savings I drank
all my savings but my wife
bought two goats and pair
of trousers for me.
I realized Victoria loved me
and that the GALS drawings
were helping. I joined GALS.
We both came up with vision
road journeys and another
one for our home. Now we
began sharing duties like
weeding and harvesting and
planning better. Our life has
changed and I even wrote a
poem about it.”
Picture: Joseph and Victoria Wadribo
are members of Panyar Savings Group,
Arua district
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 START WITH A VISION

GOBIRI LIKI JAZZ BAND “My vision road journey was drawn 4

1
years ago. Madam Paula of CEFORD ACKNOWLEDGE WHERE YOU ARE
PROMOTING GALS
helped me draw up my vision. Though “I used to be a beggar, my wife
I am blind, when someone takes my left because I became blind. I was

2
Ezale Swaib hand and shows me where things dragged around by my children
are, I will always mark it and it will begging. When I heard that GALS
remain in my brain.” was being introduced, I went there
hoping to beg, but I ended up
listening to what GALS methodology
was talking about.”
Picture: Ezale Swaibu, Yumbe distrct, second from right with his band

3
“
ACT
“I started to take up courage and
use my walking stick to move. Enjoy the Dream
I cultivated cassava,and also I lead the Gobiri Liki Jazz Band which performs
started keeping rabbits and goats. at social events. I compose songs that teach
Through NAADS I was able to get about the GALS methodology and how to use it
two bulls. I now have 12 cattle in for peace to end Gender Based Violence. Now I
my vision. I also wanted to put a feel very organized because my children are able
permanent house. With the cattle, to move, they go to school. If there is anything

“
I was able to come up with this to do in the family, they join me and we work
building which is permanent now.” together.

Ezale Swaib, third from left

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 When they learnt the GALS methodology,
Geoffrey Olony and Mary Angom, Yumbe district
decided to use family planning in order to
ensure that they had the number of children
they wanted to have and could provide for.
A LOVE CHOICE What has changed
ACHIEVING OUR “We bought 6 acres of land where we plant rice,
maize, cassava and simsim. We have sold some
VISION and sent our children to school in Pakwach.
Geoffrey Olony and Mary We also keep ducks and have 6 goats. Our
Angom communication is open. We started off with one
hut but now we have four- one for us, one for
the kids, one for storing produce and the other
for visitors. We built an improved pit latrine. We
have family budgeting and are able to buy iron
Picture: Geoffrey Olony and Mary Angom, Nebbi district

sheets and we have laid down 15,000 bricks “In the group, we now have
which I mix together with my wife. We now do gender inclusion. We have
work collectively. I now help out on washing women representatives of
clothes, weeding and harvesting. We’ve always the different committees
used stream water for home but now we have of the cooperative society.
tap water and my wife no longer has to walk We hope to have a woman
long distances to fetch water or wash clothes chairperson this December”.
from the stream. We no longer use paraffin - Geoffrey Olony
to light the house we have solar and both of
us also have phones to communicate”, says
Geoffrey.

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WHAT IS
NAFA’S VISION?

Before the group dream, comes

the individual dream. Joyce
Ogaru, a member of NAFA is clear
about her vision:
Nyio Ayavo Farmers Association (NAFA) operates in two parishes in
Nebbi District. The association’s symbols are cassava and maize. “What I dreamt of was this: after
“In NAFA’s group vision we have drawn an aeroplane to tour other three years, I need to educate my
parts of the world, buy lorries, a tractor for farming and a TV at our child so that he also graduates…
education centres. In future all our children must graduate. We get a cow … get a vehicle for my
goods… build a house with iron
shall also buy iron sheets and start brick making businesses”.
sheets…enlarge the size of my
Picture: Rusticus Atayo, Nebbi district, a member of NAFA demonstrating the field. After educating my child
group vision he should be able to work in a
22 / GALS METHODOLOGY 23 / GALS METHODOLOGY
factory.”
 INTEGRATING GALS
Monika Bako at her fish
stand. She is a member INTO Village savings and loans groups
of Panyar Savings
THE CREAM EXPERIENCE
Group, Arua district,
which was assisted by
CREAM. Her symbol on “CREAM is a Civil Society Organisation focused on improving livelihood and gender
the Vision Journey map relations in the community, and is a partner of OXFAM implementing the GALS
is money. methodology. CREAM initially promoted saving boxes to enable village savings
groups keep their money till the end of the year. However, savings would be
misused.
When CREAM integrated the GALS methodology in the savings groups, the Gender
Balance Tree tool placed the spotlight on gender equality. With the Vision Journey
map, CREAM has witnessed change as families are planning jointly and tracking
their progress. Many households for example, draw their vision and hang it in the
living room. When visitors ask about the drawing, peer sharing occurs and more
people gain interest in using GALS. The members in our farmer groups grew from
30 to 150 members in 3 years. The groups are saving with a goal rather than just
waiting to share the money at the end of the year. The methodology was the trigger
for this.”
- Patricia Avako, Project Officer, Community organisation for Rural Enterprise
Activity Management (CREAM)

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 Mary Adule, Arua district,
is the Chairperson of the
50%
More than
Baniba Savings Group
which has a membership of the 120
of 120. The group rents members are
out catering furniture and women
uniforms, bulks simsim, and
saves money together.
11 couples bought
COLLECTIVE SUCCESS bodabodas
(motorcycle taxis)
ACHIEVING THEIR VISION
Mary Adule 13 couples paid 21 couples 33 men help their
school fees together wives in childcare
have family
meetings and
90 couples
now share a
120
The entire group of bed
bought essential cooking
utensils from savings.
By the second year 21 had
bought iron sheets and a
member had completed a
26 / GALS METHODOLOGY 27 / GALS METHODOLOGY permanent house
 YOU KNOW IT WORKS WHEN THE
TEACHER IS USING IT

“
“For the last eight or nine years, our organization was running
faster than the ball. We were leading the communities and
“GALS can be adopted in it was a push and pull process. But after the introduction
different contexts. For as of this methodology, I saw the community leading this
EXPERIENCE long as there is a vision
the journey can be drawn.
development. Communities were able now to move by
themselves. CEFORD is now looked at as an opportunity, not
FROM THE FIELD CEFORD uses GALS to do
our strategic planning
as a donor.
In my own life my family was falling apart because of tension
Jean Christabel Asipkwe, process “
with the large extended family I am responsible for. When
Jean Christabel Asipkwe
Executive Director, I saw the methodology I started to generate my own vision.
CEFORD The drawings soon interested my wife. She also wanted
to generate one. Although my wife did not have a formal
CEFORD is one of OXFAM’S education, I realized she was a better planner than me. She
community partners came out with the issues of land, we needed to acquire land
implementing the GALS for the children for their future. I had never thought of that
methodology But when we started using GALS, things changed.
Today the extended family are financially independent and
are focused on their future:The children are planting trees
which they will sell to builders. I no longer buy food at home
because the family grow the food they need. Even some of
the older children want to move to nearer schools to dig more
at home and use less transport money. This methodology has
become part and parcel of me.”
-John Bosco Okaya, Project Officer

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 Joseph Wadribo was
inspired to write a
poem after the GALS
approach changed his life
dramatically.

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 WEMAN-GALS METHODOLOGY
Women’s Empowerment Mainstreaming And Networking (WEMAN) is a
community-led global process focusing on gender mainstreaming in
economic development interventions such as: microfinance; value
chain development; business development services; agricultural
extension and other livelihood support.
Good practices and models of using
GALS for pro-poor targeting and gender WEMAN is helping communities achieve this through the integration of
the Gender Action Learning System (GALS) in financial services,farmer
sensitive interventions are used in a
training and group strengthening, business development services and
number of IFAD-supported programmes market linkages.
implemented by national governments.
Based on the lessons from IFAD The GALS community led empowerment model enables women and
grant projects by Oxfam, a number of men, households and entire communities, engage in equitable
countries have integrated the approach development and support a sustainable movement for gender justice.
in programme design, and started
implementing GALS in Sierra Leone, IFAD funding support to the implementation of the GALS methodology
Nigeria, Uganda and Rwanda. in communities stems from the growing global consensus that
household methodologies enable more effective reach among poor
households and improve intra-household gender relations by focusing
on people: who they want to be and what they want to do.

GALS was initially developed with Linda Mayoux under Oxfam’s WEMAN
programme.

This publication highlights the tremendous success the GALS

methodology has had over the years following its first pilot by Oxfam
in western Uganda in the Rwenzori region of Kasese, and subsequent
roll out to other regions in northern Uganda-West Nile, Acholi and
Karamoja.

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Three generations
equipped to use GALS

Picture: From right ,Teddy

Aciro, Aciro’s daughter, and
Aciro’s mother, Arua district

34 / GALS METHODOLOGY
For more information, please contact

OXFAM
Plot No. 3459, Tank Hill Road, Muyenga
P.O.Box 6220, Kampala, Uganda
Tel: +256 414 390 500
Fax: +256 414 510 242
Email:[email protected]
www.oxfam.org/uganda