"Living Other-Wise": The Bushmen Farming Network as an Example of "Alter-Native" Counter Practices to Agriculture and Development

Indigenous communities and sustainable development: A review and research agenda

“…The theme “people” includes keywords, namely, agriculture (4), diversity (4), ecotourism (4), children (3), etc. Some research articles have sought to provide alternate approaches to development that aim to increase self‐reliance and local production (Eernstman & Wals, 2009; Islam, 2021; Spann, 2018). These papers challenge conventional development models that often prioritize external interventions and globalized economic systems.…”

Sovereignty, conservation and island ecological futures

“…Traditional food systems provide resilience within larger food production systems (Bourke & Harwood 2009), and growing traditional varietals can be potent and effective mechanisms for in situ biodiversity conservation (Glamann et al 2017). Issues surrounding food sovereignty thus highlight concerns about the abilities of indigenous and marginalized island communities to maintain local food systems and practices in the face of corporate domination of agricultural systems (Pimbert 2009; Spann 2018). Via Campesina, an international movement formed in 1993 by a number of small-scale farmers and peasants, released the Declaration of Nyéléni in 2007 in which they state: “[Food sovereignty] puts the aspirations and needs of those who produce, distribute and consume food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the demands of markets and corporations” (Patel 2009, p. 666).…”

“…The example of food sovereignty demonstrates that who holds this right to determine environmental futures is not merely a question of political right, but is also a question about the right and practical agency to determine the very subsistence practices that sustain island-based communities. Building on Kabutaulaka (2015) and others’ work in the Solomon Islands, Spann (2018) describes the emergence of ‘Alter-Native’ political practices in the recent formation of the Bushmen Farming Network (BFN), an organization formed as a counter to large-scale agricultural development schemes and dependence upon foreign-grown rice. The BFN are revitalizing customary practices of smallholder agriculture and reintroducing traditional varietals of yam and taro.…”

Sorcery and Negotiating Economic Agency: A Critical Observation from Solomon Islands

“…Like other places in Melanesia, some members of the Faibusia clan want to commodify land in order to sell or lease it to take advantage of its proximity to Auki whilst others want to keep the customary managed land for gardens and timber for the clan. Added to this are declining yields and increasing population density pressure in the area that have heightened the tensions around the long simmering land dispute (see Spann ). The alleged perpetrator of the sorcery attack that was said to have taken place was a part of the latter group who were against the commodification of land.…”

“…As such, people are in easy access to Honiara and Auki and the social and economic aspirations offered by these urban spaces. Some of the implications to such access and resulting social changes have been expressed by some elders in the location of Central Kwara'ae in terms of valuable cultural knowledge being lost at a rapid pace as well as an appreciation of who people are, culturally speaking, and where they came from (Spann :39) as they continue to turn towards a tua malafaka‘anga life ( meaning a life or living in imitation of the white man) (Welchman‐Gegeo :292, 300, 306). These reflections by some locals are also situated within wider concerns over loss of traditional values, practices and social relations from forces of modernization such as development and Christianity in Kwara'ae culture (Burt :269) although these traditional values, practices and social relations still play a role in varying degrees for many people.…”