Social Dynamics of the Value of Wild Edible Leaves (Imifino) in a South African Rural Area

Abstract

The contribution of wild edible leaves to the livelihoods of rural poor is widely acknowledged. Yet the notion of value of these natural resources is poorly understood. Using a case from Mkambati area, South Africa, this article suggests that in order to better understand resource value, both realized (in terms of material benefits and contributions to livelihoods) and notional (in terms of appreciation of resources and their potential uses), a broader livelihood context, which encompasses understanding of social and ecological dynamics, is crucial. Two axes of social difference, gender and wealth, emerged as playing a key role in determining value, through mediating, firstly, access to and control over ecological zones where these plants grow; and secondly use and labor required for collection. The article concludes that in order to enhance the contribution of wild edible leaves to poverty alleviation, policies should recognize the fact that resource value is primarily socially constructed.

KEYWORDS:

• wild edible leaves
• resource value
• social difference
• South Africa

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am grateful to the Ford Foundation and International Development Research Centre (Canada) for financial support. I also thank Ben Cousins and Ian Scoones for comments on earlier drafts of this article. I take responsibility for all the views expressed in this article.

Notes

¹Other commonly used isitshebo include various vegetables, processed fish or meat and so forth.

²Livestock enclosures.

³Males have traditionally been buried in the kraal. This still happens in Pondoland.

⁴Legitimized stealing.

⁵US$1 was more or less equivalent to R7 in 2006.

⁶However, Cunningham (2001) has argued that secure resource tenure can result in increased, therefore unsustainable harvesting of natural resources.