"Use Me!" Enterprise development, nature conservation and patronage in northern KwaZulu-Natal
| dc.contributor.advisor | Van Wyk, Ilana | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.author | Duncan, Michelle | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.other | Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology. | en_ZA |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2020-09-11T08:17:22Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2021-01-31T19:35:05Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2020-09-11T08:17:22Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2021-01-31T19:35:05Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2020-12 | |
| dc.description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2020. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Simangaliso Wetland Park (iWP) was South Africa’s first World Heritage Site and in 2019 it became South Africa’s second largest protected area.The Park consolidated 16 nature reserves that were created during apartheid, largely through the forced removal of black South Africans. With the dawn of democracy, the new government instituted a landclaims process through which local people who were forcefully relocated could claim back such land. At the sametime, the government identified nature conservation and ecotourism as prime social and economic drivers in the severely underdeveloped and impoverished region within which iWP existed.This emphasis prohibited land claimants from moving back on to conservation land, but mandated iWP to sign co-management agreements with successful claimants that promised them access to social and economic benefits from ecotourism.This thesis focuses on one iWP initiative to do just that. In a context of severe socio-economic deprivation on its borders, iWP hired Raizcorp ,a “business incubator”, to run the Rural Enterprise Accelerator Programme (REAP). Raizcorp’s business development philosophy explained successful entrepreneurship in terms of individual characteristics such as self-motivation and attempted to instil these qualities in REAP participants. This focus on the individual de-politicised the causes of local structural poverty and ignored local limits to the building of independent businesses. Indeed, at the completion of the course, REAP distributed sub-grants, which quietly acknowledged the limited capacity participants had to self-start a business. Furthermore, despite their enthusiasm about the value of REAP’s bookkeeping lessons, few participants kept books for their businesses because the technology did not lend itself to the multiple, intersecting businesses and social responsibilities that participants used to create economic security in this precarious context. REAP’s envisaged independent business owners also started to make claims of dependency on iWP in which they framed themselves as clients to a patron. In this thesis, I explain why these claims were made and argue that they revealed a larger social logic in the area. On the one hand, REAP participants used the intimacy established during the Programme to make patronage claims and access iWP’s resources. On the other hand, I argued that iWP needed to legitimise their continued existence on claimed land in a context where other local “patrons” supported alternative land uses such as mining. While iWP hoped that by fulfilling its mandate to provide social and economic development projects would do this legitimising work’, their “clients” agitated for the authority to engage more fully and more conspicuously in the “politics of the belly”(Bayart2010). | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Simangaliso Wetland Park (iWP) was Suid Afrika se eerste Wêrelderfenis gebied en in 2019 het dit die land se tweede grootste natuurbewarings park geword. Die Park bestaan uit 16 natuurreservate wat gedurende apartheid geskep is toe swart Suid Afrikaners onderwerp was aan gedwonge uitsettings. Met demokrasie het die nuwe regering ‘n grondeis proses ingestel waardeur plaaslike mense grond waarvan hulle afgeset was kon terugeis. Op dieselfde tyd het die regering natuurbewaring en eko-toerisme geïdentifiseer as hoofdrywers van sosiale en ekonomiese groei in iWP se verarmde afsetgebied. Hiérdie klem het beteken dat grondeisers nie kon terugtrek na natuurbewaringsgebiede toe nie en dat iWP ‘n mandaat gehad het om mede-bestuursooreenkomste met suksesvolle grondeisers te beding wat hulle toegang tot sosiale en ekonomiese voordele belowe het. Hierdie proefskrif fokus op een iWP projek wat beoog het om dié doelwit te bereik. In ‘n konteks van sosio-ekonomiese nood op hulle grense het iWP ‘n ondernemings fasiliteringsbesigheid namend Raizcorp aangestel om hulle “Rural Enterprise Accelerator Programme(REAP)” te bestuur. Raizcorp se besigheidsontwikkelingsfilosofie het entrepreneurskap aan die hand van individuele eienskappe soos self-motivering verduidelik en het dié kwaliteite in REAP deelnemers probeer kweek. Hulle fokus op individuele groei het die oorsake van plaaslike armoede ge-depolitiseer en het beperkings op die groei van plaaslike besighede geïgnoreer. Inderdaad, met die voltooïing van die kursus moes REAP sub-toekennings maak wat aangedui het dat deelnemers beperkte kapasiteit gehad het om self besighede te begin. Verder he tdeelnemers aan die projek ten spyte van hulle entoesiasme oor die waarde van REAP se boekhou-lesse, selde die lesse toegepas. Dit was juis omdat die vaardigheid nie toegewend kon word in die veelvuldige, kruisbefondsingsbesighede en sosiale verantwoordelikhede wat deelnemers moes skep om ekonomiese sekuriteit in die area te bewerkstellig nie. REAP se gewensde onafhanklike besigheidseienaars het ook begin om klem te lê op hulle afhanklikheid van iWP af en het hulleself ontvorm in kliënte van ‘n bekermheer. In hierdie tesis verduidelik ek hoekom hulle sulke afhanklikheids eise gemaak het en argumenteer dat dit deel gevorm het van ‘n groter sosiale patroon in die area. Aan die eenkant, het REAP deelnemers hulle nabyheid aan die program gebruik om eise op iWP, die bekermheer, se hulpbronne te maak. Aan die anderkant, handhaaf ek dat iWP die legitimiteit, wat sulke eise bewerkstellig het, nodig gehad het omdat hulle bestaan bedreig was deur ander plaaslike beskermhere wat alternatiewe grondgebruike soos mynbou voorgestaan het. Terwyl iWP gehoop het dat hulle hul mandaat kon vervul deur sosiale en ekonomiese ontwikkelings projekte van stapel te stuur en sodoende legitimiteit te bewerkstellig, het hulle kliënte aangedring daarop dat die iWP meer heelhartig en opvallend moes deelneem aan die “politiek van die maag”(Bayart 2010). | af_ZA |
| dc.description.version | Masters | |
| dc.format.extent | xiii, 94 pages : illustrations | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/109094 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_ZA | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University | en_ZA |
| dc.rights.holder | Stellenbosch University | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | iSamgaliso Wetland Park (South Africa) | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | iWP (South Africa) | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | St Lucia Wetland Park (South Africa) | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Natal Parks Board | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Apartheid -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Nature conservation -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | REAP (Rural Enterprise Accelerator Programme) | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Raizcorp "Business incubator" | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Ecotourism -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) -- Politics and government | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Land reform -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Land settlement -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Sustainable development | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | "Politics of the Belly" | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | UCTD | |
| dc.title | "Use Me!" Enterprise development, nature conservation and patronage in northern KwaZulu-Natal | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |