Ameliorating poverty in South Africa through natural resource commercialisation : how can NGO's make a difference?
- Authors: Shackleton, Sheona E
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6615 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016222
- Description: [From Introduction] Some of the poorest rural people in South Africa are turning to the natural resource base for income generation. Using traditional skills they are converting a variety of wild resources into commodities that are sold in the market place. Wood and woven craft, medicines, fresh and processed wild foods, alcoholic beverages, building materials, fuelwood, dried mopane worms, cultural artefacts and brooms are just some examples of the array of natural resource products increasingly seen for sale in local and external markets. Many of the participants in this trade have minimal education, few assets to draw on, and little access to alternative sources of income or jobs. A significant proportion are women, with more than half heading their own households. Many come from households devastated by HIV/AIDS. The cash earned from selling natural resource products, however modest, is of critical importance to the households involved, preventing them from slipping deeper into poverty. “Since I have been making brooms my children no longer go to bed crying of hunger” observed one broom producer. NGOs, particularly those involved in rural development, can play an important role in assisting producers overcome some of the obstacles they face and in enhancing the opportunities to grow this informal sector. , This policy brief is based on the original brief made available for a workshop in August 2006. It draws on, amongst other sources, the results of several case studies of natural resource commercialisation undertaken across South Africa. The project was funded by the South Africa-Netherlands Programme on Alternatives in Development (SANPAD), BP South Africa and the National Research Foundation (NRF). The Center for International Forestry Research, with support from SIDA, provided the funding to share these findings with key stakeholders including government policy and decision makers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Shackleton, Sheona E
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6615 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016222
- Description: [From Introduction] Some of the poorest rural people in South Africa are turning to the natural resource base for income generation. Using traditional skills they are converting a variety of wild resources into commodities that are sold in the market place. Wood and woven craft, medicines, fresh and processed wild foods, alcoholic beverages, building materials, fuelwood, dried mopane worms, cultural artefacts and brooms are just some examples of the array of natural resource products increasingly seen for sale in local and external markets. Many of the participants in this trade have minimal education, few assets to draw on, and little access to alternative sources of income or jobs. A significant proportion are women, with more than half heading their own households. Many come from households devastated by HIV/AIDS. The cash earned from selling natural resource products, however modest, is of critical importance to the households involved, preventing them from slipping deeper into poverty. “Since I have been making brooms my children no longer go to bed crying of hunger” observed one broom producer. NGOs, particularly those involved in rural development, can play an important role in assisting producers overcome some of the obstacles they face and in enhancing the opportunities to grow this informal sector. , This policy brief is based on the original brief made available for a workshop in August 2006. It draws on, amongst other sources, the results of several case studies of natural resource commercialisation undertaken across South Africa. The project was funded by the South Africa-Netherlands Programme on Alternatives in Development (SANPAD), BP South Africa and the National Research Foundation (NRF). The Center for International Forestry Research, with support from SIDA, provided the funding to share these findings with key stakeholders including government policy and decision makers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Making the Invisible Visible: Ameliorating Poverty through Natural Resource Commercialisation
- Authors: Shackleton, Sheona E
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: vital:6618 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016226
- Description: [From Introduction] The majority of households in South Africa, especially those in the rural communal areas, live in abject poverty. Some 70% of rural households can be classified as poor, while 18-24% fall into the chronically poor category. Unlike many other developing nations, South Africa's rural communal areas are characterised by relatively poor availability of agricultural land, with only about 40% of rural households involved in field cropping. This results in high levels of integration and dependence on the cash economy. Unemployment levels are amongst the highest in the world at about 30%. Unemployment amongst women tends to be greater than amongst men resulting in a poverty rate amongst rural female-headed households of over 60%; double that of male-headed households. The scourge of HIV/AIDS is devastating already poor households' ability to cope. More than half of HIV/AIDS affected households have insufficient food (UNDP 2003). Impacts of the pandemic include not only the loss of income, but also increased expenditure particularly on medical care and funerals. The need to care for ill household members or orphaned children also limits the choices of occupation that other household members can pursue, and may restrict labour availability for food production. Household assets are often sold for cash eroding the few safety nets people have. HIV/AIDS is expected to contribute to a chronic impoverishment of 26-33% more households than would be the case in its absence (Aliber 2003). , Endnote: This policy brief is based on the original brief made available for a workshop in August 2006. It is derived, amongst other sources, from the findings of nine case studies of local natural resource commercialisation undertaken as part of a project funded by the South Africa-Netherlands Programme on Alternatives in Development (SANPAD), BP South Africa and the National Research Foundation (NRF). Case studies on woodcraft, furniture production, weaving, broom production and the sale of wild foods and traditional marula beer were completed by Zwoitwa Makhado (UWC), Sibongile Mavimbela (Rhodes), Taryn Pereira (Rhodes), Sheona Shackleton (Rhodes) and Jabulile Sithole (WSU). CIFOR with support from SIDA, provided the funding to share these findings with key stakeholders. The opinions expressed in these policy briefs are those of the author and research team and should not necessarily be attributed to funders and partner institutions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Shackleton, Sheona E
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: vital:6618 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016226
- Description: [From Introduction] The majority of households in South Africa, especially those in the rural communal areas, live in abject poverty. Some 70% of rural households can be classified as poor, while 18-24% fall into the chronically poor category. Unlike many other developing nations, South Africa's rural communal areas are characterised by relatively poor availability of agricultural land, with only about 40% of rural households involved in field cropping. This results in high levels of integration and dependence on the cash economy. Unemployment levels are amongst the highest in the world at about 30%. Unemployment amongst women tends to be greater than amongst men resulting in a poverty rate amongst rural female-headed households of over 60%; double that of male-headed households. The scourge of HIV/AIDS is devastating already poor households' ability to cope. More than half of HIV/AIDS affected households have insufficient food (UNDP 2003). Impacts of the pandemic include not only the loss of income, but also increased expenditure particularly on medical care and funerals. The need to care for ill household members or orphaned children also limits the choices of occupation that other household members can pursue, and may restrict labour availability for food production. Household assets are often sold for cash eroding the few safety nets people have. HIV/AIDS is expected to contribute to a chronic impoverishment of 26-33% more households than would be the case in its absence (Aliber 2003). , Endnote: This policy brief is based on the original brief made available for a workshop in August 2006. It is derived, amongst other sources, from the findings of nine case studies of local natural resource commercialisation undertaken as part of a project funded by the South Africa-Netherlands Programme on Alternatives in Development (SANPAD), BP South Africa and the National Research Foundation (NRF). Case studies on woodcraft, furniture production, weaving, broom production and the sale of wild foods and traditional marula beer were completed by Zwoitwa Makhado (UWC), Sibongile Mavimbela (Rhodes), Taryn Pereira (Rhodes), Sheona Shackleton (Rhodes) and Jabulile Sithole (WSU). CIFOR with support from SIDA, provided the funding to share these findings with key stakeholders. The opinions expressed in these policy briefs are those of the author and research team and should not necessarily be attributed to funders and partner institutions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Ameliorating poverty in South Africa through natural resource commercialisation
- Authors: Shackleton, Sheona E
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6651 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007062
- Description: This short policy brief advocates for more attention to be paid to the potential of natural resource commercialisation as a means to livelihood security and poverty alleviation in rural South Africa. It is one of a set of four policy briefs based on the findings of several case studies across the country.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Shackleton, Sheona E
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6651 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007062
- Description: This short policy brief advocates for more attention to be paid to the potential of natural resource commercialisation as a means to livelihood security and poverty alleviation in rural South Africa. It is one of a set of four policy briefs based on the findings of several case studies across the country.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Household wealth status and natural resource use in the Kat River valley, South Africa
- Shackleton, Charlie M, Shackleton, Sheona E
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Shackleton, Sheona E
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181301 , vital:43717 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.04.011"
- Description: Much work has demonstrated the significant role and value of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in the livelihoods of rural people in southern Africa and elsewhere. The findings provide a mean or composite picture, averaged across the sample households within each community. Yet, within any given community, there is significant socio-economic differentiation. It is important to acknowledge such differentiation when considering policy and management interventions to support rural livelihoods and promote sustainable resource use. This paper reports on a study in South Africa, the objective of which was to explore wealth-related differences and similarities in the use and value of NTFPs. Data on NTFP consumption, purchase, and sale were collected from households in three rural villages. Households were divided into three wealth classes and patterns of NTFPs use between the classes examined. There was no difference in the proportions of households in each wealth class using NTFPs, nor the total number of NTFPs used per household. Yet, there was some supporting evidence that poorer households derive greater benefits from NTFPs than do wealthy or intermediate households. One clear difference was that, with increasing wealth, households purchased significantly more NTFPs, and a greater proportion of wealthy households did so. Conversely, a greater proportion of poor households were involved in the sale of one or more NTFPs, and they sold a greater number per household, compared to wealthy and intermediate households. Detailed examination of use and value of four NTFPs (fuelwood, wild fruits, edible herbs, and grass hand brushes) revealed that in all instances, the poorest households used more of the resource per capita than the other wealth classes. This was not the case for comparisons based on the total household as the unit of analysis. Gross annual direct-use value did not differ between the wealth classes for any of the four NTFPs examined, at the household level. But on a per capita basis, a significantly higher gross annual direct-use value was evident within poorer households for fuelwood and edible herbs. The significance of these differences is discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Shackleton, Sheona E
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181301 , vital:43717 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.04.011"
- Description: Much work has demonstrated the significant role and value of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in the livelihoods of rural people in southern Africa and elsewhere. The findings provide a mean or composite picture, averaged across the sample households within each community. Yet, within any given community, there is significant socio-economic differentiation. It is important to acknowledge such differentiation when considering policy and management interventions to support rural livelihoods and promote sustainable resource use. This paper reports on a study in South Africa, the objective of which was to explore wealth-related differences and similarities in the use and value of NTFPs. Data on NTFP consumption, purchase, and sale were collected from households in three rural villages. Households were divided into three wealth classes and patterns of NTFPs use between the classes examined. There was no difference in the proportions of households in each wealth class using NTFPs, nor the total number of NTFPs used per household. Yet, there was some supporting evidence that poorer households derive greater benefits from NTFPs than do wealthy or intermediate households. One clear difference was that, with increasing wealth, households purchased significantly more NTFPs, and a greater proportion of wealthy households did so. Conversely, a greater proportion of poor households were involved in the sale of one or more NTFPs, and they sold a greater number per household, compared to wealthy and intermediate households. Detailed examination of use and value of four NTFPs (fuelwood, wild fruits, edible herbs, and grass hand brushes) revealed that in all instances, the poorest households used more of the resource per capita than the other wealth classes. This was not the case for comparisons based on the total household as the unit of analysis. Gross annual direct-use value did not differ between the wealth classes for any of the four NTFPs examined, at the household level. But on a per capita basis, a significantly higher gross annual direct-use value was evident within poorer households for fuelwood and edible herbs. The significance of these differences is discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
The significance of the local trade in natural resource products for livelihoods and poverty alleviation in South Africa
- Authors: Shackleton, Sheona E
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Poverty -- South Africa Rural poor -- South Africa Natural resources -- South Africa Selling -- Handicraft South Africa -- Commerce
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4776 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011731
- Description: What role can the commercialisation of natural resource products play in the efforts to reduce poverty and vulnerability and how can this be enhanced? With poverty alleviation at the top of the global development agenda, this is a question posed by many scholars, practitioners, donor agencies and government departments operating at the environment-development interface. However, recent commentary on this issue is mixed and ambiguous, with some observers being quite optimistic regarding the potential of these products, while others hold a counter view. This thesis explores the livelihood contributions and poverty alleviation potential of four products traded locally in the Bushbuckridge municipality, South Africa; namely traditional brooms, reed mats, woodcraft and a beer made from the fruits of Sclerocarya birrea. A common approach, employing both quantitative and qualitative methods, was used to investigate the harvesting, processing and marketing arrangements, sustainability and livelihood contributions of each product. The results illustrate that any inference regarding the potential of the trade to alleviate poverty depends on how poverty is defined and interpreted, and on whether the role of these products is assessed from a holistic livelihood perspective that includes notions of vulnerability, alternatives and choice, diversification and the needs of rural producers themselves. Overall, the products studied were key in enhancing the livelihood security of the poorest members of society, forming an important safety net and assisting in raising household incomes to levels equivalent to the wider population, but generally were unlikely, on their own, to provide a route out of poverty. However, there were notable exceptions, with marked variation evident both within and across products. Incomes often surpassed local wage rates, and a minority of producers were obtaining returns equivalent to or greater than the official minimum wage. Other benefits, such as the opportunity to work from home or to diversify the livelihood portfolio, were also crucial, with the trade representing different livelihood strategies for different households. When viewed within the context of rising unemployment and HIV/AIDS these findings assume greater significance. While the trades were complex and growth limited, livelihood benefits could be improved on a sustainable basis if the sector was given the attention and support it deserves.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Shackleton, Sheona E
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Poverty -- South Africa Rural poor -- South Africa Natural resources -- South Africa Selling -- Handicraft South Africa -- Commerce
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4776 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011731
- Description: What role can the commercialisation of natural resource products play in the efforts to reduce poverty and vulnerability and how can this be enhanced? With poverty alleviation at the top of the global development agenda, this is a question posed by many scholars, practitioners, donor agencies and government departments operating at the environment-development interface. However, recent commentary on this issue is mixed and ambiguous, with some observers being quite optimistic regarding the potential of these products, while others hold a counter view. This thesis explores the livelihood contributions and poverty alleviation potential of four products traded locally in the Bushbuckridge municipality, South Africa; namely traditional brooms, reed mats, woodcraft and a beer made from the fruits of Sclerocarya birrea. A common approach, employing both quantitative and qualitative methods, was used to investigate the harvesting, processing and marketing arrangements, sustainability and livelihood contributions of each product. The results illustrate that any inference regarding the potential of the trade to alleviate poverty depends on how poverty is defined and interpreted, and on whether the role of these products is assessed from a holistic livelihood perspective that includes notions of vulnerability, alternatives and choice, diversification and the needs of rural producers themselves. Overall, the products studied were key in enhancing the livelihood security of the poorest members of society, forming an important safety net and assisting in raising household incomes to levels equivalent to the wider population, but generally were unlikely, on their own, to provide a route out of poverty. However, there were notable exceptions, with marked variation evident both within and across products. Incomes often surpassed local wage rates, and a minority of producers were obtaining returns equivalent to or greater than the official minimum wage. Other benefits, such as the opportunity to work from home or to diversify the livelihood portfolio, were also crucial, with the trade representing different livelihood strategies for different households. When viewed within the context of rising unemployment and HIV/AIDS these findings assume greater significance. While the trades were complex and growth limited, livelihood benefits could be improved on a sustainable basis if the sector was given the attention and support it deserves.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Trade in reed-based craft products in rural villages in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Pereira, Taryn, Shackleton, Charlie M, Shackleton, Sheona E
- Authors: Pereira, Taryn , Shackleton, Charlie M , Shackleton, Sheona E
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181290 , vital:43716 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03768350600927235"
- Description: Selling traditional craft products made from fibrous plants is an important source of income for economically vulnerable rural women. In the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, Cyperus textilis and Juncus kraussii have been used for centuries to make products of functional and cultural importance, such as sleeping mats and baskets. In the former Transkei village clusters of Mpozolo and Ntubeni, female crafters harvest the raw material and make and sell the products in their communities and in nearby towns. Interviews with 40 of them revealed what the trade contributes to their livelihoods and what enhances or limits their success. The findings show that crafting contributes vital income to vulnerable households, on average 26 ± 4 per cent of annual household cash income, over 40 per cent for the poorest households and 5–15 per cent for wealthier households. Lack of access to non-traditional markets was identified as the main constraint on the trade.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Pereira, Taryn , Shackleton, Charlie M , Shackleton, Sheona E
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181290 , vital:43716 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03768350600927235"
- Description: Selling traditional craft products made from fibrous plants is an important source of income for economically vulnerable rural women. In the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, Cyperus textilis and Juncus kraussii have been used for centuries to make products of functional and cultural importance, such as sleeping mats and baskets. In the former Transkei village clusters of Mpozolo and Ntubeni, female crafters harvest the raw material and make and sell the products in their communities and in nearby towns. Interviews with 40 of them revealed what the trade contributes to their livelihoods and what enhances or limits their success. The findings show that crafting contributes vital income to vulnerable households, on average 26 ± 4 per cent of annual household cash income, over 40 per cent for the poorest households and 5–15 per cent for wealthier households. Lack of access to non-traditional markets was identified as the main constraint on the trade.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
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