We don't have to go to bed 
on phuthu1 alone: a case of 
transformation in Colenso 
ELEANOR WINT AND THEMBI NGCOBO 
ABSTRACT 
Transformation in the South African discourse refers to a 
process of transition from exclusion to inclusion in all spheres 
of daily life. This paper identifies inclusion as bringing wideranging 
changes in the lives of women farmers traditionally 
relegated to small-scale gardening at subsistence level. Although 
concerned with the historical issue of separate development 
particularly in gender and access terms, the paper focuses on 
an ongoing development project initiated with a small rural 
community in Colenso and monitored by the Farmer Support 
Group and the Centre for Adult and Community Education at 
the University of Natal, Durban. It discusses the Participatory 
Learning method applied and attempts to understand two 
critical factors. These are, firstly, how notions of equity, social 
justice and non-discrimination are understood and manifested 
through government policy and community experience. 
Secondly, the importance of the woman and her rural household 
in the practical interpretation of sustainable livelihoods and 
cultural practices which will lead to socio-economic 
transformation. 
The underlying assumption of all those involved in the project 
is that the participatory learning method is the method best 
able to facilitate and measure the process of transition without 
dramatically alienating and distorting cultural traditions. 
Introduction: Understanding land reform Tprivilege 
HE PAST TELL 
d an 
S o
d
f 
th 
the
e deprived 
systematic
, a 
organizatio 
practice
n 
formalize 
of a societ
d
y 
throug 
into the
h 
1 Maize meal porrige 
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 15 NO. 2 JULY 2000 93
legislative acts (such as land acts, influx control and separate 
development) which ruthlessly separated black Africans from 
immigrant whites.2 Today the new South African government is set 
on social and economic development through a process of 
transformation. Transformation in South African discourse speaks to 
African nationalism. It speaks to a transition from the exclusionary 
paradigms enforced under apartheid and the Two Nation society to a 
society of inclusion based on notions of equity, social justice and nondiscrimination. 
To be sector-specific, the case for the government's 
land reform policy is four-fold: "To redress the injustices of apartheid, 
to foster national reconciliation and stability, to underpin economic 
growth and to improve household welfare and alleviate poverty". 
(White Paper on South African Land Policy 1997:1). 
It is anticipated that the transformation to conditions of stability 
and certainty should lead to sustainable development at both national 
and household levels. The implementation of the land reform 
programmes is a mammoth task which is affected both by the historical 
and political factors mentioned above bearing in mind that the 
behaviour of any client population, are directly determined by the 
cultural interpretations of their roles as they relate to gender and 
socio-economic position. Thus, for example, although policy-makers 
might give priority to the poor (who are predominantly women), a 
decision around land title registration must balance notions of gender 
equity in registration of land assets with the existing cultural 
deference towards the (usually) male head of household. 
Similarly, there is the physical reality of quality of land. "It is well 
known that until 1994, occupation of land in South Africa was highly 
skewed in the ration of 86 to 14, white to black... it is estimated that 
only 12.4 percent [of both black and white lands] is of average to high 
potential" (de Villiers 1996:3). 
- See May (1998) for explanation of these Acts which under 
apartheid were designed to restrict the growth and voluntary 
movement of Africans and lead to severe impoverishment. 
94 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 15 No. 2 JULY 2000
munal tenure; 
Wint et al. I WE DON'T HAVE TO GO TO BED ON PHUTU 
Tenure and the poor Tneed 
HE LAN
s o 
D REFOR 
f the
M 
poores 
programm 
t Sout 
e targets 
h Africans 
, in th
. T
e first 
o mee 
instance 
t thes
,
e 
th 
needs 
e land
, 
questions around alternative and diverse forms of tenure are 
addressed in the White Paper on South African Land Policy. These 
tenure reforms acknowledge the existence of three alternative 
practices: 
• Communities currently holding land under some form of com- 
• Communities without the authority to convert all or part of their 
communal systems to other forms of tenure; 
FIGURE 1: POVERTY ACROSS 
SETTLEMENT TYPES 
(WORLD BANK 1994:11) 
• Rural 
• Urban/Town 
• Metropole 
• Communal tenure historically determined by practices, which 
may deny constitutional or human rights (particularly those 
relating to equality, due process and participation). 
The resolution of these issues needs to be delicately yet determinedly 
addressed as it is widely agreed that "some 40-50 percent of people 
in South Africa can be categorized as being poor, whatever the 
measure which is employed" (May ] 998:2). Examining poverty across 
3 "Metropole" refers to those persons living in the urban environs 
of the major cities. The term is used especially in developing 
countries to reflect the growing sprawl being experienced in these 
cities. 
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 15 NO. 2 JULY 2000 95
settlement types points to gross inequalities (Figure 1) with rural 
households being most severely affected. 
As Figure 1 shows, the huge poverty share being experienced by the 
rural areas is significant. These measures of poverty (May et al. 1995) 
would include having to rely on unprotected sources of water, wood 
and other energy sources and lack of sanitation facilities. Particularly 
for rural households in South Africa, any progressive change that 
hopes to be sustainable needs to first of all create the political and 
personal will across ethnic and socio-economic groupings. Change 
will then affect daily ways of maintaining social and economic 
livelihoods and therefore be sustained across generations. 
Thus, the countrywide land development policy must cater for a 
wide variety of needs and circumstances, for villages and rural, urban 
or peri-urban townships and settlements. For example, the most 
common type of land rights "used in the former homelands is trust 
tenure, whereby title rests with the state, while property rights are 
controlled by the local (homeland) government. Within this 
framework, the tribal authorities have the right to allocate, transfer 
or withdraw the land rights of their subjects" (de Villiers 1996: 7). As 
it is estimated that roughly 26% of the Republic of South Africa is 
state land, the resident is caught between trust tenure and homeland 
government, neither of which have been particularly sympathetic to 
requests of native Africans. 
De Villiers (1996: 14) supports the view that "land reform should 
be viewed as part of a comprehensive programme of economic 
restructuring and should ... be undertaken in tandem with rural 
development, the provision of infrastructures and services". This 
emphasis is a realistic one as over the years^ the country has faced 
problems associated with communal tenure and environmental 
degradation. These problems have been further compounded by the 
fact that those relegated to eking out an existence in rural homelands 
are usually female or ageing. Many of them see their partners as 
absent landlords away from home, working as long-distance migrant 
workers or commuting from urban centres within the region. Their 
choice of activity at the community level is therefore influenced by 
96 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 15 No. 2 JULY 2000
Wint et al. I WE DON'T HAVE TO GO TO BED ON PHUTU 
the historical weaknesses of communal and co-operative ventures, 
the procedures favoured in community decision-making (for example 
in according grazing rights) and power relationships in the 
community. For these women, the implementation of both national 
and local infrastructural changes, which bring immediate relief to 
entire rural communities rather than single individuals, is clearly the 
first critical step in tackling the problem of rural poverty. 
The focus of the paper TH
transformatio 
E PAPER WIL 
n i
L
n 
Reflec 
a smal 
t o 
l rura 
n th
l communit 
e process o
y
f 
i 
socia 
n Colenso 
l and
. 
economi 
To speak
c 
about transformation is to emphasize a process of transition towards 
a society, which affirms equity, social justice and non-discrimination. 
For this particular community, these ideals are represented through 
their efforts to implement the post 1994 land reform policy. The paper 
therefore reports on an early stage in the process of transition, and 
reflects on the findings of an on-going evaluation and monitoring as 
carried out by the Farmer Support Group (FSG) and the Centre for 
Adult and Community Education at the University of Natal, Durban. 
It will begin by putting the experience in historical and geographical 
context, move on to discuss the method of measurement and then 
reflect on the findings, particularly as they assist us with understanding 
two critical factors: 
• How notions of equity, social justice and non-discrimination are 
understood and manifested through government policy and 
community experience 
• The importance of the woman and her rural household in the 
struggle to find practical and culturally acceptable interpretations 
of sustainable livelihoods, which will lead to socio-economic 
transformation. 
The paper supports the use of the participatory learning method as 
the methodology, which is best able to facilitate and measure the 
process of transition without dramatically alienating and distorting 
cultural traditions. 
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 15 NO. 2 JULY 2000 97
The Gannahoek community Tfro 
HE GANNAHOE 
m the tow
K
n 
farmin 
of Colens 
g communit 
o in the
y 
midlan 
is locate 
d regio 
d som
n
e 
o 
15
f Kw 
kilometre 
a Zulu
s
- 
Natal. It is a community of some 20 families within the Kwa Shameni 
tribal authority under Inkosi Mthembu. The farm was originally owned 
by the McFie family from 1894-1990 and was then sold to a company, 
the Performance Farming Enterprises (PFE) in 1990. This company 
rejected the community's claim to the farm and planned to establish 
a game reserve. Between 1990 and 1998 there was a critical period 
of representation on behalf of the farmers by the Association for Rural 
Advancement (AFRA). The result was that Mr. McFie bought back 
the land from PFE on behalf of the farmers and negotiated an easy 
repayment plan in partnership with the government's land 
redistribution programme. The cost was approximately US $42 000, 
the money being raised by the community by selling their 74 head of 
cattle. 
The Gannahoek community is a community of history, tradition 
and belonging that holds fast to its Zulu culture. Evidence of traditional 
ways of practicing such events as dressing, eating, mourning those 
that have passed, abound. For women to establish their own individual 
vegetable plots was a realization of traditional gender roles. In 
addition, it showed a strong sense of initiative, re-enforced by their 
feelings of pride of ownership.. 
Each woman's plot is approximately six metres square and most 
of them work more than one plot. They tend to concentrate on 
growing vegetables. As in many traditional polygamous communities, 
the men are always regarded as the head of household. This means 
that he moves between huts and communities depending on where 
his wives live, creating and maintaining these households as best his 
income can. Women who care for the huts and yards, which 
accommodate herself and her children, share their full day's work 
with their children. This responsibility includes domestic chores as 
well as tending small livestock and vegetable gardens. Large 
communal plots of maize or potatoes and rearing cows and pigs are 
the domain of the males who share this responsibility with other men. 
98 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 15 No. 2 JULY 2000
Wint et al. I WE DON'T HAVE TO GO TO BED ON PHUTU 
The method of measurement BAWDEN 
some ke 
, (1997:12 
y aspect 
) i 
s o 
n examinin 
f "social learning" 
g communit 
. H 
y learning 
e suggest 
, identifie 
s that a
s 
community is said to have learnt from its experiences when it "has 
achieved a sense of its own coherence and integrity" and "is clear 
about its purpose and the influence of this on the boundary of its 
concerns and indeed its structure". 
These two criteria help us to understand the usefulness of a 
methodology, which by design, builds on the power and resources 
which the people themselves hold in the community. This community 
of Colenso is high on social learning understanding exactly what it is 
trying to accomplish. Further, it demonstrates the characteristics, 
which Finn (1994) sees as critical for the effective application of the 
participatory method that is, people, power and praxis. In fact the 
choice of the use of the participatory methodology in the study builds 
on years of work in the region (A Handbook for Practitioners, 1993), 
Lipton, de Klerk and Lipton (1996)), in which all agree on the 
usefulness of the method both as a data-gathering tool and as an 
empowerment strategy. The Farmer Support Group's involvement 
in Gannahoek no doubt derives from the Group's continued efforts 
to close the gap between extension services for white commercial 
farmers and black small farmers. Further, as they put it, the Farmer 
Support Group strives to play a liberating role in the people's learning 
processes by promoting the development of a critical understanding 
of social problems, their structural causes and possibilities for 
overcoming them. 
In selecting the Participatory Rural Appraisal methodology (PRA), 
the concern was to achieve joint analysis and action. Details of how it 
was used follow: 
1. We began with introductory community meetings during which 
we carried out area mapping and mind mapping sessions. In 
these sessions the groups established roles, relationships and 
potential achievements 
2. The second step was to carry out a participatory needs assessment 
which was accompanied by vision building and communal 
planning 
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT M AFRICA UTX 15 NO. 2 JULY 2000 99
3. Step three was the consolidation of plans and mapping out of 
responsibilities 
4. In later sessions there was training in specific techniques (including 
animal husbandry and disease control, organic insect control, 
vegetable production) 
5. The community group finally engaged in institutional building; 
that is, the establishing of committees and training of personnel 
on committee skills, planning and basic bookkeeping. 
From the first stage of initial discussions men and women in the 
sessions were encouraged to identify any potential value they hoped 
to gain from engaging in a developmental project. As it is not 
customary for men and women to be together in the same forum, 
women had to be encouraged to participate and list possible activities 
that they felt would bring about development. "Vision building" used 
techniques that facilitated participation by all involved and led to a 
relaxing of tensions. The projection for the future, identified during 
the evaluation feedback sessions, focused on the setting up of the 
gardens to be managed by the women. The importance of this decision 
to the women hinged on their seeing the garden as a secure source 
of food that would contribute to both variety and nutritional levels of 
their households. 
Participatory Programme Management (PPM), another PRA 
technique that allows participants to chart their own management 
strategies, was also used. Here the aim was to allow the women to 
chart the project direction. This was crucial in determining the 
sustainability of the project as the women needed to own the decisions 
being made. In other words, decisions as to ensuring that there were 
crops in the garden all year round, how to see to the watering and 
how to control insects and pests, maintenance of the fence and seeing 
to the purchasing of seeds and other inputs, were all decision which 
had to be made by the women themselves rather than being imposed 
by the FSG and the University. This technique used in PPM is a 
strategy which helps to secure sustainability of the activity in a manner, 
decided upon by the participants themselves and thus reducing, over 
time, the need for FSG presence. 
100 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 15 No. 2 JULY 2000
Wint etal. I WE DONT HAVE TO GO TO BED ON PHUTU 
Measurement of transformation: the use of sustainable 
livelihood 
IN
livelihoo 
EXAMININ 
d i 
G
s 
th 
particularl 
e life of th 
y relevan 
e rural poo 
t as i 
r th 
t create 
e concep 
s the
t o 
opportunit 
f a sustainabl 
y fo
e
r 
estimates of need based on international criteria of sufficiency. In 
addition, it allows for inclusion of country-based decisions as to the 
widely different ways that householders generate an income. The 
Programme for Meeting the Needs of the Poor in Kwa Zulu-Natal 
offers three elements that are relevant to an understanding of how 
local people understand the notion of "livelihood". These are: 
• Asset transfer, (meaning the acquisition of household-based 
assets) 
• The promotion of a sustainable livelihood in the non-farm sector 
• Support for small-scale farming 
Specifically, using this concept one is able to understand how different 
people generate incomes. Usually we tend to think only of cash-based 
economies and employment in the formal labour sector. Using the 
concept of sustainable livelihood, the study recognizes the socioeconomic 
situation with which rural people are faced. The Kwa Zulu- 
Natal province is estimated to have the third highest incidence of 
poverty in South Africa, with approximately 60 percent of all 
individuals receiving an income below the poverty line (74 percent 
of the rural population fall below the poverty line). Furthermore, 
across the country, rural African households are found to have 
alarmingly limited access to assets and highly constrained options 
for the use of those assets and, in most cases, they generate poor 
returns for those activities in which they are engaged (Cabinet Paper 
1996). 
The use of sustainable livelihood (lippet et al. 1996) therefore 
gave us the opportunity to examine the multiplicity of ways that the 
rural household generates income and employment as mainstream 
definitions of employment and labour have been found wanting. As 
has been found, work for the African peoples has multiple meanings, 
meanings that change with time and benefits. The United Nations 
Development Programme report (Lawrence 1996) proposes an 
inclusive concept of sustainable livelihood that can be applied to "any 
JOURHAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 15 NO. 2 JULY 2000 101
form of making a living". In this way work which is sustained over a 
period of time and brings a benefit to the worker/community without 
marked environmental degradation is therefore regarded as a 
sustainable livelihood. This definition includes the domestic sphere 
that belongs to the woman. 
As we are concerned with understanding the transformation of 
rural folk from a situation of exclusion to inclusion in the modem 
society, sustainable livelihood allows us to include a wide range of 
earning opportunities which have always been available to these 
women but have not been recognized or promoted. It includes the 
traditional practices which take up a great deal of the woman's working 
hours, but perhaps go unrecognized. It gives the extension officer 
and community developer the chance to design innovative ways of 
lessening the workload and perhaps modernizing without cultural 
dislocation. This emphasis on provision for future generations is also 
in harmony with the social and economic projections for the Republic 
of South Africa. 
Findings 
OThi 
N PURCHASIN 
s Trust consiste 
G THE land
d 
th 
o
e
f fiv 
Gannahoe 
e men an 
k Lan 
d on 
d Trus 
e woman 
t was established 
. The Trust
. 
represented the community in all external forums and is the main 
decision-making body deciding on apportioning land between families 
and other land-related development issues. The Trust has acquired 
assistance to provide additional water sources for the community and 
the soliciting of external development funding. To date twenty-five 
women are involved in the community garden, only one of whom 
works part-time outside of the immediate community. 
There are twenty families (approximately 280 persons) living in 
Gannahoek. They live in huts within a 5 km radius. The median number 
of persons per hut is eight persons. The huts are traditionally built of 
wattle and daub with thatch roofing. There is no electricity. The 
community shares one centrally placed water-tap but they prefer to 
use water from a nearby dam. The problem is that the animals also 
use this water source. There is a properly stone-surfaced road, which 
102 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 15 No. 2 JULY 2000
Wint et al. I WE DON'T HAVE TO GO TO BED ON PHUTU 
serves to link the community to Colenso (approximately 15 km. 
away). Houses are connected by means of footpaths. 
The families of Gannahoek are traditional polygamous rural entities 
with women making domestic decisions for themselves and their 
children as the father is usually away plying his trade. Major decisions, 
however, are not taken until he returns. Only two women have gone 
beyond a primary level education and children are all encouraged to 
attend the nearby, run-down primary school. There is a secondary 
school in Colenso which the children can attend only when the family 
has R5 for daily transport. 
The community is effectively cut off from Colenso as there is only 
one car which leaves between seven and eight in the morning, 
returning between five and six in the evening. None of the households 
has a stead3' source of income and no one has cash on hand. The 
estimated domestic expenditure of between R150 -200 per week is 
in reality based on those times when the father or eldest son actually 
earns. The health of the community is suspect as not only is their 
water contaminated but water for daily bathing is also limited. There 
is a mobile clinic, which visits once per month. The constant coughing 
of the women farmers is noticeable. 
History of the garden Twhe 
HE WOME 
n the
N 
Trust 
OF Gannahoe 
, (throug
k
h 
wer 
the Associatio 
e given assistanc 
n for Rura 
e by
l Advancemen 
FSG. In 1996
t 
(AFRA)), identified the need for skilled intervention in extension 
farming methods. While working with FSG the women established 
the Zamani Community Garden with its own executive body and a 
highly participatory system of community decision-making. Having 
raised the money for purchasing of seedlings, their first planting was 
in 1997. Since then they have planted three more times. In each 
instance, the harvest has been good but they have noticed a decline 
due to porcupines, ants, locusts and significantly less rainfall. Their 
produce (cabbages, onions, brinjal [aubergine], toma.toes and 
potatoes) is, however, still enough to feed their own households almost 
all year round. It is not yet enough to share outside of the immediate 
households. 
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 15 NO. 2 JULY 2000 103
Each woman has her own square. The purchase of seedlings and 
planting equipment is done as a group. Commercial fertilizers and 
sprays are not used. The women do not all plant at the same time so, 
although there are major reaping periods, the squares develop at 
slightly different rates. Figure 2 below indicates how the women see 
their use of essential elements across the years. 
13 
2 
FIGURE 2: THE USE OF ELEMENTS 
1996 TO THE PRESENT 
(Numbers represent relative use. Stones were used and counted) 
FERTILIZER WATER SOIL YEAR 
2 
(GOAT DROPPINGS) 
4
12 
4
3 
1996 
1997 
1998 
1999 
5
12 
1
3 5 
It is evident that soil fertility has deteriorated as women use less goat 
droppings and kraal manure to fertilize. Rainfall has also been poor 
with the levels in 1998 being near disastrously low. Since 1999 the 
water level in the adjacent dam has already fallen to historically low 
levels as there has been poor rainfall. 
To date the Zamani Community Garden has lodged R1820 in their 
newly established savings account. A monthly contribution of RIO is 
made for buying seedlings, compost and pest control measures. 
Continuing their capacity-building, two women also attended a 
workshop in Durban on understanding the new not-for-profit 
legislation, which directly affects the status of the Garden association. 
Decision-making and the role of the Trust Twil 
HE
l 
TRUS 
be put 
T HA 
. Sinc 
S th
e 199 
e authorit 
8 the
y 
wome 
to decid 
n ha 
e wher 
d bee
e
n 
ne 
negotiatin 
w water source 
g for a
s 
new dam to be placed near the gardens. The Trust would have 
preferred it to be near the herds. The issue has been only decided 
104 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 15 No. 2 JULY 2000
Wint et al. I WE DONT HAVE TO GO TO BED ON PHUTU 
after six months of negotiation, during which period the women 
confessed to feeling the strain of carrying water long distances. They 
also articulated the wish to expand the gardens into viable commercial 
entities. During discussions it became evident that the placement of 
the new dam depended on the Trust realizing the potential growth 
of the gardens. 
This negotiation followed the pattern of decision-making where the 
major decisions were made by the men. The only decisions made by 
the women were around domestic matters. These included, what are 
we going to cook, when to get water and wood, who will gather the 
soil to plaster the house, when to wash and do the garden, the best 
time to cement the outside of the hut, collecting goats and buying 
food from Colenso. All these decisions were made without consultation 
with her husband. 
As was pointed out, some of these decisions can be quite 
challenging, for example if one has no food to cook, or is experiencing 
diminishing strength due to natural ageing. Often women therefore 
find themselves turning to their children for help (mainly the girls). 
All other decisions would therefore be left to the father. 
Sustainability of the garden IT
even 
WAS
t i 
GENERALL 
n the live 
Y fel 
s o
t
f 
tha 
thes 
t th 
e familie 
e garde
s sinc 
n has
e 
bee 
forma 
n th
l acquisitio 
e most significan 
n of the
t 
land. The formation of the Trust served to give them the authority 
with which to address their problems associated with lack of income. 
During evaluative PRA exercises, women constantly reiterated their 
wish to continue with the gardens in a more structured fashion, using 
their newly acquired competencies in agriculture towards a more 
commercial venture. It was also hoped that the university would be 
able to help them to identify new sources of assistance which might 
address such concerns as a clinic, better equipped schools, improved 
cooking facilities and perhaps add weight to their request to the Trust 
for a new adjacent dam. 
For the women, the advent of the garden had seen : 
• Women now having vegetables to cook along with maize meal 
(jphuthu) and to make children's sandwiches for school 
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 15 NO. 2 JULY 2000 105
• A vegetable supply for the family during at least ten months of 
the year 
• More variety of meals (cabbage can be alternated or mixed with 
spinach, potatoes, meat, chicken or bean-and-samp mix) 
• Less money being spent on food 
Discussion 
How DO THE women of Gannahoek operationalize transformation? 01
justice 
VERCOMING 
and 
EUTE 
non-discrimination 
domination: notions of equity, social 
The data supports Posel's (1997) discussion on "who gets what in 
which households?" where she argues that "there is a gendered 
division of work that assigns women primary responsibility for the 
unpaid labour of household production and the care of household 
members (1996: 54)". Studies have generally supported the view 
that this unpaid work is particularly labour intensive, taking up a large 
percentage of the day with little or no time left for leisure. In reference 
to work done by Goldschmidt-Clermont and Pagnossin-Aligisakis 
(1995) and others, Posel (1997) points out that women spend just 
under an average of six hours every week collecting wood and over 
an hour and a half every day collecting water. If we include over two 
hours each day in the garden as well as preparation of food for storage 
and eating as well as washing and preparation of clothes, it would 
seem that the discriminatory view that the woman and her household 
are an insignificant contributor to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 
needs to be reviewed. On the other hand, it becomes evident that 
the family in this instance is extremely vulnerable in terms of its ability 
to maintain a relatively stable position, relying as it does on the 
strength of women. The rural household is also at risk to the extent 
that it is able to produce assets and/or income to carry them through 
vulnerable periods of job retrenchments, dry weather or changing 
male favours. 
The findings bring out a concern that the women express which is a 
need for a nearby clinic. If the government is to satisfy concerns 
around equity, then provision of more accessible clinics must become 
an urgent issue. These women live with the fear of either themselves 
106 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 15 No. 2 JULY 2000
Wint et al. I WE DONT HAVE TO GO TO BED ON PHUTU 
or their children becoming ill and their not being able to access a 
clinic due to distance or lack of funds. It is the same with schooling 
beyond primary school level. It would seem that policy statements 
on integrated rural development need to move into implementation 
which realizes a place for bodies such as the Trust at the municipal 
level rather than relying only on tribal authorities. Non-discriminatory 
decentralization, as envisioned in the developmental local government 
documentation, calls for use of local non-governmental Organizations 
(NGOs), community based organizations (CBOs) and local 
associations which already have the organizational capacity to 
administer funds on behalf of their immediate communities. In this 
case, land reform policy on redistribution and resettlement need to 
be accompanied by huge inputs in extension services and community 
development. As the study shows quite clearly, without the assistance 
of PSG and AFRA, Gannahoek would have remained unable to 
operationalize such statements as "The objective of the Settlement 
Planning Grant is to assist poor communities to plan for their 
settlement needs in terms of the acquisition, use and development 
of the land ....(1996:55). 
CREATING 
importance 
NEW 
of the 
avenues 
woman 
for respected 
and her 
discourse: 
rural household 
the 
The data was unable to generate reliable information on certain 
household characteristics, namely age of children. This information 
will come with time as we continue the process of transformation 
and have more opportunities to interact with more household 
members. It is, however, an important issue as regional studies support 
the view that not only is there a gendered difference in nutritional 
intake in African households but the size of transfers between 
individuals in the households is skewed towards the males (Posel 
1997; Boucher et al 1996; Sharp & Spiegel 1990). The preliminary 
data collected from Golenso suggests that understanding rural life 
concerns from the point of view of the female respondents calls for a 
sensitive appraisal of particular findings. Here we point to the fact 
that: 
• There does not seem to be any forthcoming discussion amongst 
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 15 NO. 2 JULY 2000 107
researchers on the need to change certain poverty indicators 
which external researchers might deem important. For example, 
is building a modern pit latrine as important as modernizing 
the cooking facilities inside her hut? 
• It is the researcher's position that maintaining a polygamous 
relationship is culturally correct and certainly does not mean 
that there will always be inharmonious relationships between 
female partners 
• The reality of the women farmers having complete control over 
their vegetable gardens brings a number of positives, not least of 
which is the potential increase in hard cash which can increase 
asset building and encourage an alternative livelihood 
It would seem that in the same way that small farmers have been cut 
off from the technological developments of the last 30-40 years , so 
has their input into the national discourse on their future. Participation 
means more than representational input and those who experience 
the tediousness of rural living need to be brought into the decisionmaking 
process. It is realized however, that one of the factors 
negatively impacting on their inclusion is their low level of education 
as the use of participatory discourse adds to the cost of transcription 
due to the need for translation and innovative feedback measures. 
Respected discourse should be practiced at home and in public. 
For policy implementation, "popularly-based" national development 
strategies need to be just that, as "decentralized decision-making 
can be a misleading solution for poverty-alleviation if local power 
structures are controlled by elites who are highly influential at a 
national level" (Barraclough 1997:123). A traditional community like 
Gannahoek is but one more community showing its willingness to 
become a part of the process11 of policy building for the future. 
c'HANGING THE quality of life as part of rural mobilization: 
sustainable livelihood in a transitional community 
4 See Meer (1997) for discussion of other communities. 
108 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 15 No. 2 JULY 2000
Wint ef al. I WE DON'T HAVE TO GO TO BED ON PHUTU 
Every community is built from households. These are the bonding 
agents in peoples' lives. These primary units are the main source of 
income for its members. In many instances its members practice 
subsistence farming which has untold potential for feeding the 
population (Ottaway 1996). In identifying redistribution, restitution 
and tenure as the planks of the Land Reform Policy, the household is 
made the logical unit of subsidy where both the beneficiaries and the 
agents must derive benefits from the community. In the programmatic 
drive towards equity and security in ownership of land 
(called Izwe Lethu, Ilizwe Lethu, Shango Lashu, Our Land), the 
acquisition of new skills, new organizational and management styles, 
the creation of new networks and resource provision, will develop 
only if an atmosphere of partnership develops, ensuring that both 
the government and community members benefit. 
In selecting the village for this study, the researchers were 
conscious of two issues. The second issue of appropriate methodology 
has already been discussed in the paper. The first issue derives from 
the draft Policy for Women's Empowerment (1994: 7), which speaks 
of access to land as being "crucial for women's exercise of their rights 
in respect of agriculture, management and usage of natural 
resources". The government has now recommended that land reform 
assistance should be targeted at growers, particularly women, who 
have relatively small holdings and who would benefit most from an 
expansion in their production base. The women of Gannahoek have 
established communal gardens that provide them with considerable 
household and food security. Their daily existence revolves around 
these gardens as they see the enormous potential for this type of 
subsistence farming. As one guardedly reflects on the possibilities 
for achieving a sustainable livelihood, we need to bear in mind that 
"A conflation of community and nation with 'family' automatically blurs 
women's role in the world with the roles women are accorded in the 
family- a 'natural' unit in which women have 'natural' responsibilities 
(Lewis 1999: 41)". It is this never-to-be changed cultural definition 
of role, which is comfortably adjusted when both the man and the 
woman deem it necessary. Changing their quality of life is obviously 
a wish for all of these women. How the lives are changed does not 
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 15 NO. 2 JULY 2000 109
include urban criteria for modernization of their surroundings. In 
fact the alternative has to come from the women themselves and 
not from outside. 
Conclusion BY
opportunit 
USING TH 
y to
E 
share, 
PRA metho 
' enhanc
d
e 
th 
an
e
d 
communit 
analyze its
y 
ow 
wa
n
s 
knowledg 
given th
e
e 
of life and conditions in order to plan, and act to change that quality 
of life. PRA is not simply a research tool but can also be used in 
planning, implementing plans drawn up, monitoring and evaluating 
goals achieved. It should be seen as a methodology which transforms 
development from being an imposition to one which derives from 
the rich experience of outsiders and community members. It required 
the FSG staff to accept the mystery of the lives of the people of 
Gannahoek while raising in a participatory manner the people's 
awareness and capacities, equipping them with new skills for analysis 
and problem solving. The PRA method was also used in the evaluation 
and monitoring stage. The participatory nature of this intervention 
through the use of PRA has facilitated the community's understanding 
and willingness to participate, as weE as their ability to manage their 
own development programmes. 
The ongoing study and intervention sees the rural community 
organization, together with the farming community of Gannahoek, 
challenging elite conceptions of equity, social justice and nondiscrimination. 
These people are asking deferentially for recognition 
of the wealth of knowledge, patience and determination that they 
are able to bring to both discussions of policy and methodologies of 
implementation. Integration of the female farmer into a vital land 
reform programme is not only important but also inevitable as the 
rural woman and her household remain a structural anchor for cultural 
traditions and newly emerging social identities. The community and 
its households hold the key to understanding ways for encouraging 
sustainable living. Creation of community-based structures need to 
be encouraged and recognized as sustainable and capable of managing 
community-based development. 
Data drawn from the study as well as work done by Ottaway (1996) 
and Lipton et al. (1996), lend strength to the argument for the 
110 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 15 No. 2 JULY 2000
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