From communal grazing to ‘economic’ units: Changing access to land in a Namaqualand reserve

Abstract

Because of their predominantly technical and economic orientation, many development agencies tend to overlook the social implications of the development projects that they initiate. People's perceptions and wishes are often not taken adequately into account, and existing social patterns are severely compromised, if not destroyed, by such undertakings. This article assesses the impact of a development project in the Richtersveld rural Coloured area of Namaqualand and argues that the impact of such schemes, as well as people's reactions to them, must ultimately be seen within the context of their broader regional and South African political and economic setting.

Notes

Lecturer, Department of Social Anthropology, University of Cape Town.