- Title
- Community development and sustainable livelihoods: the Jeffrey’s Bay wind farm cattle farming co-operative, South Africa
- Creator
- Mnwana, Zandile
- Subject
- Community development -- South Africa
- Subject
- Agriculture, Cooperative -- South Africa
- Date Issued
- 2021-12
- Date
- 2021-12
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/54925
- Identifier
- vital:48481
- Description
- In the South African context, co-operatives are mostly established to ease the impact of unemployment and poverty, particularly in rural communities. The Kruisfontein Cattle Farming Co-operative is no different, as it was formed by a group of farmers who were looking into converting their herd from that of a poor genetic quality, low-value breed to a superior quality breed. These farmers were all facing similar challenges prior to forming the co-operative and they hoped that through working together they would be able to overcome some of the challenges they faced and thus become a successful co-operative that can compete with established farmers. The Jeffery’s Bay Wind Farm carried a mandate from the Department of Energy, through the REIPPP, to ensure that a portion of its profits is redirected to assist communities that are within a 50km radius of the JBWF. The Kruisfontein Cattle Farming Co-operative became part of the programme and the JBWF’s project manager became the person responsible for the smooth running of the programme. However, research conducted in this field has revealed that in most cases project managers in the renewable energy sector encounter challenges when implementing community development initiatives and they may lack an in-depth understanding of what community or social development entails, as it might not necessarily be an area of expertise for them. Therefore, this study aimed to explore how the Kruisfontein Cattle Farming Co-operative has influenced the livelihoods of the beneficiaries. The theories that were adopted and deemed applicable to this study included the traditional modernisation theory, dependency theory and sustainable development. The study employed a qualitative approach and a case study research design. The study made use of primary data collected through semi-structured interviews and documents, and an interview schedule was employed to carry out the interviews. In terms of sampling, the researcher made use of convenience sampling, which is a form of non-probability sampling. All the members of the Kruisfontein Cattle Farming Co-operative, which was the entire population of the study, were interviewed, thus making the sample type a census. The study explored how the Kruisfontein Cattle Farming Co-operative has influenced the livelihoods of the beneficiaries and revealed that since the involvement of the JBWF, the co-operative has recorded several achievements such as fencing around the grazing land and cattle kraal as well as calves of a superior breed that will enable the beneficiaries to receive good prices when selling their cattle. However, the co-operative is faced with challenges associated with weak livelihood assets, as the asset pentagon illustrated that the beneficiaries have moderate access to physical, human and social capital, while their natural capital is low, and their financial capital is significantly low. An overreliance on nature-based activities as a livelihood strategy is also a challenge facing the co-operative. Lastly, notwithstanding the abovementioned challenges, it can be concluded that the Kruisfontein Cattle Farming Co-operative has had a positive influence on the livelihoods of the beneficiaries, as they indicated that they experienced reduced vulnerability through the fenced grazing land and anticipated an improvement in their financial capital status through the increased income they would receive from selling cattle of a superior breed.
- Description
- Thesis (MADS) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, 2021
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- Format
- 1 online resource (xvi, 186 pages)
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- rights holder
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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NMU School for Economics, Development and Tourism
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Mnwana, Z.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |