To advance the feminist argument, this conceptual study is underpinned on and guided by the conceptual and theoretical parameters of ecofeminism; social capital; and social acceptability.

Community development is based on the idea that all people are important and should have a voice in community decision-making, have the potential to contribute and share resources, and have a responsibility for community action and outcomes. However, as attested by Meaza (2009), collective decision-making in communities has been historically threatened by structural barriers, unequal socio-economic opportunities, and social disparities. In the context that individuals are expected to not work in isolation (De Liddo and Concilio, 2017), the social capital values should be seen as an intangible asset that could allow people to share deep knowledge and develop winning strategies based on shared trust, norms, and mutual respect (Fabová and Janáková, 2015). Inclusive participation of community members allows them to make informed decisions which will show collective intelligence, creativity, and innovation (Schuler, 2010). The involvement of community members in decision-making allows the formulation of need-specific projects to address issues of communities. Therefore, women in their ecofeminism poster as mothers (Öztürk, 2020) are to take greater responsibility to the decision making in the management and distribution of the natural resources such as land for the day-to-day life and well-being of people (Avantika, 2017) in their respective communities. Considering that education has been associated with increase ability of women to influence decision-making at households’ level which positively increase their participation in development (Habibov et al., 2017), women should be empowered to make informed decisions which will show collective intelligence, creativity, and innovation (Schuler, 2010) on communal land development.

A sense of ownership in community development is described as a concept through which to assess whose voice is heard, who has influence over decisions, and who is affected by the process and outcome (Lachapelle, 2008). With the prevalence of Indigenous culture based on patriarchal family structure and discriminative societal norms (UN Human Rights, 2013; Njoh and Ananga, 2016), women’s voice and influences are systematically eliminated in the processes of communal land development. One of the underpinning values and beliefs of community development is that ownership of the process and commitment for action is created when all people interact and trust each other to forge a strategic community development plan (Phillips and Pittman, 2014). Against this background, the issue of strong social capital, which bonds the community members together, becomes the prerequisites for community development, particularly in relation to land development initiatives where the voice of women is hardly heard. Considering that sense of ownership is related to who is affected by the process of making decisions (Lachapelle, 2008), women, from their mother nature responsibilities of producing lives, give food and protection to the living beings (Öztürk, 2020) are directly affected by the decision making on land development. As such, women should be socially accepted to actively contribute and participate to community development efforts (Lachapelle, 2008) to stimulate their sense of ownership (Phillips and Pittman, 2014) over the communal development processes and benefits thereof. Importantly, the sense of ownership in communal projects is meant to promote sustainable outcomes and empower local communities to develop programmes and projects that specifically addresses the needs of the people (Tumusiime and Cohen, 2017; Figure 1).

According to Phillips and Pittman (2014), one prominent approach within sustainability planning is to emphasize and prioritize interconnections between community development issues such as land use, transportation, housing, economic development, environmental protection, and social equity as they are all related to each other. To achieve inclusivity and spatial justice, the traditional and problematic planning approach of treating these issues in isolation (Phillips and Pittman, 2014) should be redressed. Drawing from the ecofeminism philosophy which looks closely at the relationship that women have with nature as it attempts to outlying new cultural horizons while addressing the environment (Puleo, 2017), women’s active participation in communal land development should be seen as one of the key drivers towards the realization of sustainability in communities. Women’s participation can lead to the sustainability of development initiatives through community motivation. Given their closeness to and caring of nature, women have the potential to initiate and propose sustainable community development projects. For example, restoring a stream or riverfront that create an attractive new amenity for a community, as well as help to support nearby businesses, creating new civic gathering spaces, and bringing people together for stewardship activities and celebratory events (Phillips and Pittman, 2014). For women, working with these communal resources is a way to build community pride, identity, and a sense of self-reliance.

As asserted by Weber and Carter (2003) in Lachapelle (2008, p. 56), “trust can be understood by examining relationships between individuals since trust is built and based upon repeated interactions and fulfillment of expectations leading in turn to an ability to act in confidence, with reliance and faith on the individual’s integrity or character.” Social capital therefore becomes the connection that links individuals to bond with and trust in each other (Rowe, 2016) while enabling leadership and self-reliant performances when working on community development initiatives. In a study conducted by Schaumberg and Flynn (2017), which aimed at evaluating the relationships between self-reliance and leadership, it was revealed that self-reliant female leaders were evaluated as better leaders than self-reliant male leaders. The authors further maintains that the female advantage in the relationship between self-reliance and leadership evaluations emerges because self-reliant female leaders are seen as more communal than self-reliant male leaders are. Therefore, in accordance with the ecofeminism philosophy, women should play a leading role in the management and distribution of communal land resources and responsibilities (Avantika, 2017).

This research used the ecofeminism approach as a theoretical framework to describe the relationship that women have with the natural environment. According to Husein et al. (2021) ecofeminism as a theoretical underpinning shows the marginalization of women in different development programmes. Different women of ethnic minorities are marginalized in different parts of the world and have limited access to resources such as the land (Husein et al., 2021). There are various inequalities and injustices that women have experienced which affect their participation and empowerment. According to Oktarina and Yulianti (2022) the combination of cultural, political, economic, and social factors has impacted the lives of women and their participation in their own development. Furthermore, the authors stated that women’s empowerment and participation in development is important to improve the quality of life for women in rural areas (Oktarina and Yulianti, 2022). The paper has argued that women should participate in communal land development for inclusivity. Ecofeminism also covers different factors such as patriarchal structures of power and capitalism in the degradation of the environment and the oppression of women. According to Ghasemi et al. (2021) for sustainability in the environment and protection of natural resources, there should be an increase involvement of women in economic and political roles in all spheres of society.

The implication for practice is aligns with empirical evidence regarding the participation of women in communal land development in developing countries. When looking at Kenya as a developing country that is situated in Africa, the realization is that there are several international and national policies that address gender equality and empowerment. However, the participation of women in communal land is limited (Mwambi et al., 2021). Collected evidence from people working in a communal land that produces, and processes dairy products revealed that women are underrepresented in that participating sector (Katothya, 2017). Men are usually the head of operations in several sectors and women only benefit by being married to their male counterparts (Mwambi et al., 2021). When looking at women’s participation in communal land in Rwanda, it has been noted that it is one of the countries that is progressive in advocating for women’s rights in regard to land rights and acquisition for gender equality (Djurfeldt, 2020). However, the policies in Rwanda protect and give land to women that are within marital structures. The policies do not support the participation of widows or single women in land ownership (Djurfeldt, 2020).

The implication for practice can be applied in the Mpumalanga Province, considering that in this province, the agriculture sector contributes significantly to the country’s economy. The province prioritizes the empowerment of the youth and women to be involved in land-based projects (Mpumalanga Provincial Government, 2011). The provincial department has a program such as the Masibuyele Emasimini program which aims to facilitate the participation of people in land usage and production (Mpumalanga Provincial Government, 2011). As much as the provincial government promotes the participation of women in communal land development, Ngomane and Sebola (2022) argued that in the Mpumalanga province, there is still limited participation of women in land development. Furthermore, Maduane (2022) revealed that 70% of commercial farmers are males while 30% are females in Mpumalanga. This show a huge gap between men and women who are working within the agriculture sector. There are different factors that has been attributed to the lack of women’s participation in communal land development within the Mpumalanga province. Maduane (2022) mentioned operational challenges, financial challenges, patriarchal challenges and, males’ inheritance of land as some of the factors that negatively affect the participation of women in communal land development. There should be adequate involvement of women within the province to achieve Inclusive Participation in Communal Land Development.

Social capital can lead to the achievement of positive outcomes in communities. According to Phillips and Pittman (2014) the availability of social capital in communities leads to the formation of different relationships that provide ideas and social networks. The existence of social capital between men and women in communities can lead to an exchange of new ideas and information for developments in communal land. Access to land has been seen as an individual and collective human right in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasant and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) (Pacheco Rodriguez and Rosales Lozada, 2020). Furthermore, women’s rights to land should be recognized in several declarations to ensure their protection and equal access to land. Men and women should have equal access to communal land for their development and empowerment.

It is recommended that the social acceptability of women in land issues should be promoted. Too often, women’s equal right to land is not recognized in different countries and different legislatives fail to explicitly grant women equal tenure rights and allocation of communal land (Claeys and Martignoni, 2021; Claeys et al., 2022). Furthermore, the patriarchal societal culture and norms in rural communities to surpass the participation of women in communal land development (Edström, 2014). Therefore, women need to be socially accepted by communities so that they can have access to and ownership to communal land. Different legislatives in different countries should explicitly state the conditions in which women can have access and ownership towards land. Policies should consider the relationship that women are perceived to have with the natural environment in accordance with the Ecofeminism framework.