Trade in reed-based craft products in rural villages in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

Figures & data

Figure 1: The study areas and nearby towns

Table 1: Differences between the two study sites

	Mpozolo village cluster	Ntubeni village cluster
Coordinates	32° 10′ S; 28°46′ E	32° 12′ S; 28°58′ E
Distance from Willowvale	20 km	45 km
Distance from Idutywa	45 km	70 km
Distance from Dwesa Nature Reserve main gate	25 km	1–5 km
NGO intervention	REHAB involved in training and marketing since July 2003	None

Table 2: Characteristics of products and processes of production

Type of product	Percentage of interviewees making product	Approximate time taken to produce (hours)	Numbers sold per year (mean  ±  SE) by crafters making these specific products	Price of product in rands (mean  ±  SE)	Gross returns per hour in rands (mean  ±  SE)
Large sleeping mats	80	9	19 ± 2	48 ± 9	5.3 ± 1
Small sleeping mats	63	3	21 ± 3	19 ± 4	6.3 ± 1.4
Large food mats	70	3	16 ± 2	14 ± 2	4.7 ± 0.6
Small food mats	35	1.5	14 ± 2	11 ± 2	7.3 ± 1.4
Large baskets	43	6	19 ± 1	22 ± 1	3.7 ± 1
Small baskets	40	3	15 ± 2	13 ± 1	4.3 ± 0.4
Large beer strainers	15	3	19 ± 2	15 ± 1	5 ± 0.3
Small beer strainers	10	1.5	12 ± 1	12 ± 1	8 ± 0.7

Table 3: Socio-economic characteristics of crafters and reasons cited for entering the trade

Attribute	Measurement	Combined n = 40	Mpozolo n = 18	Ntubeni n = 22
Age	Mean ± SE	55.9 ± 1.8	56.69 ± 2.4	55.39 ± 2.3
Years of education	Mean ± SE	5.89 ± 0.5	6.89 ± 0.7	4.99 ± 0.8
No. of people in household	Mean ± SE	5.49 ± 0.4	5.69 ± 0.7	5.19 ± 0.5
No. of children in household (under 16)	Mean ± SE	2.39 ± 0.3	2.49 ± 0.5	2.29 ± 0.3
Households headed by female crafters	%	70	83	59
Households receiving at least one pension	%	45	50	41
Households receiving at least one child support grant	%	28	39	18
No. of household livelihood sources other than the craft trade	1 (%)	13	22	5
	2 (%)	33	28	36
	3 (%)	28	28	27
	4 (%)	25	22	27
	5 (%)	3	0	5
Most important sources of household income identified by respondents	Pension (%)	40	44	36
	Crafting (%)	25	33	18
	Child support (%)	10	17	5
	Household member's salary (%)	15	6	23
	Other (%)	10	0	18
Reasons for entering the trade	Struggling, household needed money (%)	55	50	59
	Husband left or died (%)	20	34	9
	Extra income (to supplement existing livelihoods) (%)	25	16	32

Table 4: Incomes and costs, hours of labour, returns per hour and contribution to household incomes

	Combined n = 40	Mpozolo n = 18	Ntubeni n = 22	Mann–Whitney U -test results for comparison of the Mpozolo and Ntubeni samples
Net monthly income from craft: normal months (R)	759 ± 11	1209 ± 19	439 ± 8	MW-U = 103.5
	0–245	0–245	0–137	P = 0.01
Net monthly income from craft: busy months (R)	3639 ± 38	3659 ± 44	3619 ± 59	MW-U = 173.5
	50–937	95–775	50–937	P = 0.505
Net annual income from craft (R)	12469 ± 144	16499 ± 241	9169 ± 141	MW-U = 113.0
	7–3757	217–3757	7–2301	P = 0.02
Total annual costs of crafting (not labour) (R)	2009 ± 27	1549 ± 31	2379 ± 40	MW-U = 148.0
	13–823	33–423	13–823	P = 0.17
Costs as a proportion of net annual income from craft (%)	199 ± 3	119 ± 3	269 ± 5	MW-U = 91.0
	1–94	1–36	4–94	P = 0.003
Total annual hours spent harvesting, manufacturing, travelling and trading (hours)	3249 ± 35	4059 ± 57	2579 ± 40	MW-U = 118.0
	24–998	28–998	24–864	P = 0.03
Returns per hour (R)	49 ± 0	49 ± 0	49 ± 1	MW-U = 135.0
	0.13	1.5–10	0.3–13	P = 0.09
Total annual household cash income (R)	918399 ± 1 712	82989 ± 1 250	99079 ± 2 967	MW-U = 176.0
	615–68 887	1287–19 405	615–68 887	P = 0.598
Contribution of net craft income to total annual household income (%)	2699 ± 4	349 ± 8	199 ± 5	MW-U = 125.0
	0.01–100	5–100	0.01–100	P = 0.079
Notes: Means ± standard errors are given, as well as ranges. The Mpozolo and Ntubeni samples were compared, and the Mann–Whitney U-test values are given, as well as P values. Significance at the P < 0.05 level is highlighted in bold type.

Figure 2a: Contribution of crafting for different household income classes in quartiles (in rands).

Figure 2b: Net income from craft for different household income classes in quartiles.

Table 5: Perceptions of changing trends

	Percentage of crafters
	Combined n = 40	Mpozolo n = 18	Ntubeni n = 22	χ^2 test results for comparison of the Mpozolo and Ntubeni samples
Overall trade in the last 5–10 years∗
Increased	63	29	94	χ^2 =13.8 df = 2 P = 0.001
Decreased	27	50	6
Same	10	21	0
Number of years in the trade
< 10	27	33	23	χ^2 =3.2 df = 5 P = 0.674
10–20	7	5	9
21–30	23	17	27
31–40	10	17	4
41–50	23	22	23
> 50	10	6	14
Trends in individual crafter's income
Increased	45	44	46	χ^2 =0.57 df = 2 P = 0.752
Decreased	25	22	27
Same	30	34	27
Prefer to do something else to generate income?
Yes	72	65	88	χ^2 =1.02 df = 1 P = 0.312
No	28	35	12
Notes: The Mpozolo and Ntubeni samples were compared, and the χ^2 test values are given, as well as the degrees of freedom (df) and P values. Significance at the P < 0.05 level is highlighted in bold type.

Figure 3: Perceptions of changes in resource availability in Mpozolo and Ntubeni

Figure 4: Net monthly cash income from crafting in Mpozolo and Ntubeni in ‘normal’ months.