{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.02004008016032064, 'fraction_numerical': 0.011523046092184368, 'mean_word_length': 5.01355421686747, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 1, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Can E- Commerce Enable Marketing in an African Rural Women's Community Based Development Organisation?

Background and Rationale In 1992 Sister Lydia Pardeller of the Franciscan order of nuns was charged with locating the "poorest of the poor" community in South Africa to facilitate improvement in the lives of women and children. Her search led her to the village of Apel in Sekhukhuneland, Northern Province South Africa. The area is characterised by extreme poverty with the highest unemployment rate in the country (estimated at around 70%). The migrant labour force (a remnant from the apartheid era) remits paltry wages back to their families in the village. The task of improving the quality of life falls mainly on the shoulders of the women who remain resident in Apel. Eight years after the RWA launch in1992 the women of Apel have significantly improved their lives. Tangible success indicators and determinants showing evidence of sustainable economic development are documented (Rhodes, 2000). In 1998 the RWA was the recipient of a Universal Service Agency (USA) Telecentre (an initiative resulting from the 1996 South African Telecommunications Bill) which provided computers, telephones, fax, photocopying and the Internet. Telecentres are believed to be the vehicles through which micro and small enterprises can seek out and evaluate timely market information as well as assist micro entrepreneurs to source better and less costly inputs (NTCA, 2000). The existing RWA infrastructure is adequate as a base to provide some E- commerce activities. However in the absence of broad based (beyond technocentric parameters) research which integrates local conditions, knowledge and skills any E-commerce solution may prove to be impotent. The Market Environment Research in the rural district of Semonkong, Lesotho (Phororo & Prasad, 1996) where 61% of farmers are female and 70% of produce is farmed in home gardens identified marketing weakness as the major constraint to expanding economic activity. Similarly the women of Apel are struggling to increase economic activity in the face of an undeveloped market place, no transport and bad roads. There is no physical market in the Sekhukhune region and as the RWA has no transport facilities all produce and goods are sold locally (within a couple of kilometres). Education, Information Technology and E-commerce Rural women in Africa are generally not highly educated and there is an obvious gap in their understanding of business models and information technology and its potential benefits to the community. This is clearly demonstrated in their inability to utilise the telecentre effectively. It has been reported (Richardson, 2000) that women with access to ICT services increase their ability to generate income and are enabled to help empower other rural women. Also, it has been recommended (AFRE-FEM, 1998) that there is a crucial need for programmes that target women for improved ICT access and training and the use of Internet applications. The women are relatively new to business concepts and have little experience of how to identify and develop markets. They have no information on average produce and goods prices and do not know the value of their crops and goods or what crops and goods are in demand. Information on who wants to buy what and who has what to sell is scarce. Generally the produce and goods are sold at low prices and the economic activity in the area does not result in significant poverty eradication. Gender Issues The RWA focuses on female economic empowerment as women in South Africa have been triply oppressed (black, female and poor) and are still generally on the bottom of the inequity pile in the country. Mchombu (2000) found that women have fewer opportunities to exchange information than men do and that often their information needs are tied to their cultural roles as homemakers and mothers. She found that women obtain most of their information through informal channels. …