- Title
- The contribution of the trade in medicinal plants to urban livelihoods: a case study of the informal markets in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Eastern Cape
- Creator
- Ah Goo, Delia Felecia Stephanie
- Subject
- Medicinal plants -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Subject
- Informal sector (Economics) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Subject
- Traditional medicine -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Markets
- Date Issued
- 2012
- Date
- 2012
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MSc
- Identifier
- vital:10654
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011601
- Identifier
- Medicinal plants -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Identifier
- Informal sector (Economics) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Identifier
- Traditional medicine -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Markets
- Description
- The commercialisation of natural resources such as medicinal plants is a strategy that is increasingly being employed by poor people in developing countries such as South Africa, as a means of generating an income. Increasing economic hardship and a lack of employment opportunities in the formal sector of the economy has led to many urban dwellers seeking alternative means of meeting their everyday livelihood needs. Although the contribution of natural resources to subsistence economies is widely recognised, there are few studies that have examined the significance of the trade in medicinal plants to the livelihoods of poor and marginalised people. Thirty informal street traders were interviewed to investigate the role of the medicinal plant trade in sustaining the livelihoods of the traders who operate in the informal sector of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, South Africa. The findings of the research indicate that the sale and collection of medicinal plants is an activity which is exploited by people with limited resources, few skills, little or no education and often without any other source of household income. Middle-aged women from impoverished, single income households dominated the trade. Although income from the trade is modest, it contributed substantially to the total household cash income of the traders. Other benefits of the trade included independence and having a sense of purpose in life, as the traders felt that they were not only helping their families but also the wider community. However, without the income from the trade, many of the traders and their families would be destitute and thus the medicinal plant trade is vital to the wellbeing of these people.
- Format
- xii, 154 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Science
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
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