Crafting a livelihood: local-level trade in mats and baskets in Pondoland, South Africa

Abstract

The contribution of natural resources to the livelihoods of the rural poor is widely acknowledged, yet not much is known about trade in these resources. This article investigates local-level trade in plant-based mats and baskets in Khanyayo Village, Pondoland, Eastern Cape, focusing on the social aspects of harvesting, resource tenure and trade in Cyperus textilis and products made from it. It explores the way the mat and basket trade contributes to the livelihoods of the rural poor and argues that crafting is mainly the domain of very poor or widowed women, who use it to supplement their diverse and multiple livelihood strategies. Although its cash contribution to the total household income is minimal, crafting is seen by local people as extremely important. However, mat and basket traders face a number of internal and external struggles, which must be understood by policy makers if crafting is to contribute to the fight against poverty in rural areas.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Thembela Kepe

Respectively, graduate student at the Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa, and Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, University of Toronto at Scarborough, Canada. The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the South Africa-Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in Development (SANPAD), and comments on an earlier draft by Sheona Shackleton.