Community gardening as a Poverty Alleviation Strategy in Rural Areas

180 Pages·2012·2.64 MB·English

Community gardening as a Poverty
Alleviation Strategy in Rural Areas:
Ngcolosi Community, Emahlabathini area
By
Mbekezeli Comfort Mkhize (201509054)
2011
University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban
Campus
Declaration
Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of M. Soc Sc, in the Graduate
Programme in Community Development, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South
Africa.
I declare that this dissertation is my own unaided work. All citations, references and
borrowed ideas have been duly acknowledged. It is being submitted for the degree of M. Soc.
Sc in the Faculty of Humanities, Development and Social Sciences, Durban, South Africa.
None of the present work has been submitted previously for any degree or examination in any
other University.
Mbekezeli Mkhize
Student Name
11 August 2011
Date
Professor Pearl Sithole
Name ofSupervisor
Signature
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Table of Contents
Declaration ................................................................................................................................i
Dedication ................................................................................................................................vi
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................vii
List of Acronyms ...................................................................................................................viii
List of Tables .............................................................................................................................x
List of Graphs ...........................................................................................................................xi
List of Pictures ........................................................................................................................xii
Abstract ..................................................................................................................................xiii
Chapter One: Background and Introduction 1
1.1A description of Ngcolosi, Emahlabathini Area .................................................................7
1.1.1 Leadership Structure .......................................................................................................11
1.1.2 Economy of Mahlabathini ..............................................................................................12
1.1.3. Culture ...........................................................................................................................13
1.2Key Objectives of this Study .............................................................................................14
1.3Key Research Questions .....................................................................................................14
1.4 Significance of the Study ..................................................................................................15
1.5 Limitations of the Study ....................................................................................................16
1.6 Defining gardening ............................................................................................................17
1.7 How is poverty conceptualised ..........................................................................................19
1.7.1 Absolute poverty ............................................................................................................20
1.7.2 Relative poverty .............................................................................................................20
1.8 Rural conceptualisations of poverty ..................................................................................23
1.9 Short description of chapters .............................................................................................25
Chapter Two: The South African Poverty Profile 27
ii
2.1 The Historical Overview: The Apartheid Context ............................................................28
2.2 The Road to Democracy in South Africa ..........................................................................30
2.3 The Post-Apartheid Context: The ‘New’ South Africa .....................................................32
2.4 Reactions of COSATU and SACP to GEAR ....................................................................36
2.5 Poverty in South Africa .....................................................................................................39
2.6 Poverty in the context of Ngcolosi, Mahlabathini..............................................................44
2.7 Critics of poverty measurements/indicators.......................................................................45
2.8 KwaZulu-Natal Development Planning ............................................................................47
Chapter Three: Literature Review 51
3.1 Theoretical Framework: Sustainable Livelihoods .............................................................53
3.2 Policy Context: Food Security ..........................................................................................56
3.3 How does food become insecure? .....................................................................................60
3.4 Contextualising food insecurity in South Africa ...............................................................60
3.5 Home gardens versus Community Gardens ......................................................................62
3.6 Community gardens in KwaZulu-Natal ............................................................................75
3.7 Critiquing community gardening ......................................................................................76
3.8 Alternative Poverty Alleviation Strategies ........................................................................77
3.8.1 Child Support Grant .......................................................................................................77
3.8.2 Foster Care Grant ...........................................................................................................78
3.8.3 Zibambele Expanded Public Works Programme ...........................................................78
Chapter Four: Research Methodology and Methods 80
4.1 The Qualitative Paradigm ..................................................................................................81
4.1.1 Case Study ......................................................................................................................81
4.1.2 Semi-structured Focus Group Interviews .......................................................................82
4.1.3 Individual Interviews ......................................................................................................84
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4.1.3 Recording .......................................................................................................................85
4.1.4 Transcribing ...................................................................................................................85
4.2 Quantitative Paradigm .......................................................................................................85
4.2.1 Sampling .........................................................................................................................85
4.2.2 Study Population ............................................................................................................86
4.2.3 Non-probability Sampling ..............................................................................................86
4.2.4 Participatory Observation ...............................................................................................87
4.3. Data analysis ....................................................................................................................89
4.2.1 Content Analysis ............................................................................................................90
4.3.2 Triangulation ..................................................................................................................93
Chapter Five: Social Benefits of Community Gardens 95
5.1 Overview ...........................................................................................................................95
5.2 Historical backgrounds of community gardens interviewed .............................................96
5.3 Data collection activities ..................................................................................................99
5.4 Diagrammatic presentation of information .....................................................................100
5.5 Differences between home and community gardens in detail .........................................113
5.6 Reasons why people enter into community gardens .......................................................114
5.7 A Summary of Social Benefits ........................................................................................117
5.8 Reasons why people do not enter into community gardens ............................................125
5.9 Constraints facing community gardens ...........................................................................127
Chapter Six: Economic Benefits and Institutional Support of Community Gardens 131
6.1 Overview .........................................................................................................................131
6.2 A Summary of Economic Benefits ..................................................................................133
6.3 Lack of Institutional Support to gardening ......................................................................135
6.4 Rate of poverty in the Community ..................................................................................136
6.5 Rate of unemployment in the Community ......................................................................139
iv
Chapter Seven: Conclusions and Recommendations 142
7.1 Introduction .....................................................................................................................142
7.2 Implications for theory ....................................................................................................150
7.3 Recommendations ...........................................................................................................152
Bibliography ........................................................................................................................153
Appendix A ..........................................................................................................................160
An Informed Consent Form ..................................................................................................160
Appendix B ..........................................................................................................................161
Survey: Questionnaires .........................................................................................................161
Semi-structured Focus Group Interview Guide ....................................................................164
Appendix C ..........................................................................................................................165
v
Dedication
This dissertation is unequivocally dedicated to God, my entire family, and those who love me
with all their hearts.
vi
Acknowledgements
This dissertation would not have been a success if the following people have not contributed
immensely. These were:
My supervisor, Professor Pearl Sithole who sacrificed most of her time in making this
dream a reality. Although she has a busy schedule, she managed to allocate time and
space to my project. Your contribution particularly in terms giving direction, advice
and constructive criticisms has been warmly welcomed.
My family, who contributed substantially during the beginning and the finalisation of
this project. In particular, their moral support was particularly inspiring. I would like
to urge them to continue with their support so that my academic endeavours would be
a success.
Ngcolosi, Mahlabathini community, which has been very receptive since I started
doing research projects in the community. I always regard this community as a unity
and a blessing to work with. I particularly thank them for the time they gave me.
Community garden groups, who sacrificed their time by honouring the appointments
that were made. I was particularly impressed with the smile and laughter that they
shared with me although the interviews and survey were sometimes long and time-
consuming.
vii
List of Acronyms
ANC African National Congress
AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
BEE Black Economic Empowerment
CBOs Community-Based Organisations
COPE Congress of the People
COSATU Confederation of South African Trade Unions
CSG Child Support Grant
DAE Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs
DRC Democratic Republic of Congo
FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations
FCG Foster Care Grant
GEAR Growth, Employment and Redistribution
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GNU Government of National Unity
HDI Human Development Index
HIV Human Immune Virus
IFP Inkatha Freedom Party
IMF International Monetary Fund
KZN KwaZulu-Natal
MALA Ministry of Agriculture and Land Affairs
MDGs Millennium Development Goals
NGOs Non Governmental Organisations
NP National Party
NPOs Non Profit Organisations
PAC Pan Africanist Congress
PGDS Provincial Growth and Development Strategies
PSEDS Provincial Spatial Economic Development Strategy
viii
RDP Reconstruction and Development Programme
SACP South African Communist Party
SADC Southern African Development Community
SMME Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise
SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
UK United Kingdom
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
WRI World Resource Institute
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