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THEME:
Cash income is not having the expected beneficial impact on either
men or women in the Remote Area Dweller (bushmen) settlements.
A
1996 IFAD social assessment in Botswana recognizes that the worst
and most chronic inter-generational poverty is in the Remote Area
Dweller (RAD) or "bushmen" settlements and the small temporary
cattle posts. Such settlements are inhabited primarily by a non-farming
population of very poor Basarwa and other ethnic minorities. Entry
of cash into these traditionally subsistence households does not
appear to have resulted in any quality-of-life benefits. In fact,
the reverse appears true. Both men and women are victims of the
resulting situation.
The
RAD settlers are traditionally subsistence oriented, highly dependent
on natural resources for survival. Their main means of obtaining
food is hunting and gathering. Men are the primary hunters, and
women the collectors of veld foods and products. There are no cultural
practices of agriculture. Viability of cropping is also an issue
in the areas where the Basarwa and other minorities live and where
roaming herds of cattle, belonging to outsiders, are a constant
threat. Some small livestock, such as goats or poultry, may be kept,
but they are insufficient to meet family food needs. Therefore,
as hunting opportunities are restricted, and veld foods are depleted
around the settlements, the "bushmen" become increasingly
dependent on government assistance and cash for their survival.
Sources of cash have indeed increased, but most are small and
erratic. The study noted the following sources of cash for the
RAD women and men:
- Government labour-based drought relief programmes (during years
that are declared "drought" years). Women work
more often than do men on these infrastructure activities.
- Employment outside the settlement. RAD settlement people sometimes
manage to obtain paid employment in nearby villages, at cattle posts
and, less often, in towns or cities. The formal employment opportunities
of the RAD settlement people are restricted by language constraints,
low education levels and social discrimination.
- Local wage labour in the few existing rural industries (such as
tanneries, carpentry, salt processing), the herding of livestock owned
by others or, occasionally, labour on land. Males usually perform
such work. It is quite common for occasional labour to be paid in beer,
sugar or oil rather than in cash.
- Occasional small income-generating activities of women. These
are often seasonal in nature, such as the collection and sale of thatching
grass, the sale of veld fruit in season, the creation and sale of wildlife
and veld product-based handicrafts and, the most lucrative, brewing
alcoholic beverages.
However, it is commonly acknowledged that this small inflow
of cash has done little to improve the household food security or well-being
of the RAD populations. Probably only a small fraction of the income
actually benefits the household. There are a number of reasons for
this:
- Cultural beliefs in witchcraft. These beliefs operate against
achievement and wealth, making people sometimes give up good income-earning
opportunities and also motivating them to spend money as soon as they
get it, out of fear.
- Lack of money management skills or saving opportunities. The
IFAD mission talked to young men working in local industry and found
that much of their salary was frittered away on status consumer goods
and did not benefit household food security. There were no opportunities
for saving, where money could have been "hidden" from witchcraft.
- There is very little food for sale locally. RAD settlement
people rarely travel to town markets, because of the remoteness of the
settlements and the lack of transport. There are cooperative stores
in the RAD communities, but the mission observed that these sold very
little of nutritional value; most of their shelves were bare.
- Alcoholism. This is a growing problem of concern to the Government
and donors. Some NGO staff who work in the RAD communities see it as
a direct result of people losing their traditional livelihoods, self-reliance,
culture and pride. It is visibly incapacitating, and a major obstacle
to poverty alleviation. While mainly affecting men, it is not unusual
among women, with resulting birth defects, inattention to children's
schooling, health problems and many other adverse effects. Even worse,
because of status implications, when people have the money they often
buy the bottled beer that is more expensive and has higher alcohol content,
purchasing it from the local "bottle shop" or traders instead
of from local women brewers.
Development programmes expect that cash income will improve
household food security and the well-being of men, women and children.
Unfortunately, this is not always true. While the bushmen of Botswana
are probably an extreme case of the reverse occurring their story highlights
the fact that benefits cannot be automatically assumed.
Adapted from:
Heli Perrett. 1996. Botswana: Community Development of Wildlife Management
Areas Project: Social Assessment. Rome: IFAD, December.
All other references are as noted in this study.
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