Journal
WORLD DEVELOPMENT
Volume 36, Issue 3, Pages 505-526Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2007.03.003
Keywords
sub-Saharan Africa; South Africa; natural products; local trade; livelihoods; poverty; commercialization; micro-enterprises
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Can the local commercialization of natural products contribute to reduced poverty and vulnerability? Commentary on this issue is mixed, with some observers being quite optimistic, while others hold a counterview. This paper explores the poverty alleviation potential of four products traded in Bushbuckridge, South Africa-traditional brooms, reed mats, woodcraft, and marula beer. While key in enhancing the livelihood security of the poorest households, these products were unlikely to provide a route out of poverty for most, although there were exceptions. Incomes often surpassed local wage rates, and some producers obtained returns equivalent to the minimum wage. Non-financial benefits such as the opportunity to work from home were highly rated, and the trade was found to represent a range of livelihood strategies both within and across products. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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