Partly subsistent household economies and modern consumerism in the Namibian Kavango: Assets, income, expenditure and socio-economic stratification

Abstract

The Okavango Basin encompasses a wide range of ecosystems and, corresponding to its extension across Angola, Botswana and Namibia, a multitude of communities with diverse socio-economic co: Households in the rural and urban Kavango region of Namibia experience the effects of rapid global economic change, mostly indicated by the emergence of new markets for consumer goods, the replacement of traditional barter with cash economies, and the parallel and subsequent incentives of myriad new consumer items. Overall this process of increasing consumerism transforms the aspirations and economic strategies of formerly subsistent famers. Presenting ethnographic, qualitative and quantitative data on household incomes, expenses and assets, we will illustrate this process for the central Kavango. We will especially discuss the implications of clearly visible economic stratification for communities and the natural resource base.Keywords: Commodification; consumerism; household inventories; modernity; Namibia; Okavango; social stratification; socio-economic baseline survey.Abbreviations: NHIES = National Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2009/10; TFO = The Future Okavango; SEBS = Socio-Economic Baseline Survey.As economias domésticas parciamente subsistentes e o consumismo moderno no Kavango namibiano: ativos, renda, despesas e estratificação sócio-econômica.Resumo: As famílias da região rural e urbana de Kavango na Namíbia experimentam os efeitos da rápida mudança econômica global, sobretudo indicada pelo surgimento de novos mercados para os bens de consumo, a substituição da tradicional troca de bens e serviços por economias de dinheiro e pelos incentivos paralelos e subseqüentes de inumeráveis novos itens de consumo. Em geral, este processo de crescente consumismo transforma as aspirações e estratégias econômicas de antigos agricultores de subsistencia. Apresentando dados etnográficos, qualitativos e quantitativos sobre os rendimentos, despesas e ativos familiares, vamos ilustrar esse processo para o Kavango central. Vamos especialmente discutir as implicações da estratificação econômica, claramente visível, para as comunidades e os recursos naturais.

Assessing urban growth and rural land use transformations in a cross-border situation in Northern Namibia and Southern Angola

“…To understand such realities field data have been collected from 2010 until 2014 in villages alongside the Namibian side of river as well as in Rundu and the adjacent town of Calai Pröpper et al, 2013). Data include quantitative censuses, surveys and interviews on individual and household level, as well as qualitative interviews, focus group discussions and observations.…”

“…At an early stage the socio-economic team employed a Socio-Economic Baseline Survey (SEBS) using in particular semi-structured interviews Pröpper et al, 2013). Demography, policy related livelihood and land and resource use strategies, as well as wealth indicators are aspects which the survey captures.…”

“…We will use remote sensing and geoinformation techniques to characterize land use and land cover dynamics during the observation period, while the interpretation will be based on an evaluation of existing literature and documentation on land use-related policies, as well as on recent surveys of livelihood strategies in the region Pröpper et al, 2013).…”

Culture, Nature, and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services in Northern Namibia

“…The livelihoods of the local population are relatively homogenous, which accounts for their rather similar uses and valuations of the landscape units. This is supported by the results of a socioeconomic baseline survey, collected in the larger area including Mahahe, within the larger Future Okavango project (Pröpper et al 2013). The survey, conducted with 292 randomly selected households within Mahahe and the neighboring villages of Mupapama, Mashare, and Tjeye, shows that the majority of households (87.3%) practice cropping activities for subsistence.…”

Emerging Markets for Nature and Challenges for the Ecosystem Service Approach

“…The conservation and sustainable utilization of biotic resources for ecological well‐being is one of the main goals of the Namibian Vision 2030 (Republic of Namibia, : 41). The strong expansion of the cash economy and the emergence of new markets catering for people's aspirations to participate in global consumerism are simultaneously influencing a growing pursuit of cash‐based ideas of well‐being (Mathews and Izquierdo, ; MEA, ; Mendelsohn and el Obeid, ; Pröpper et al., ).…”