Sheona E. Shackleton and Charlie M. Shackleton 215building, roofing and general repairs. In all cases, the producers themselves
are the primary income earners in the household and, in general, furniture
makers have a greater diversity of income sources than carvers. Total cash
incomes for producer households in 2000 were estimated as R4,416, R23,084,
and R14,328 per annum for carvers, carver-furniture makers and furniture
makers, respectively (Table 4).Year and Carvers Carvers–furniture Furniture makers
‘form’ of income makers1993 – Average net R1,710 – R7,140
annual income*
from sales
of wood products
2000 – Average net R3,603 R15,648 R7,065 (small
annual income sample,
from sales so a possible
of wood products underestimate)
2000 – Average net R4,416 R23,084 R14,328
annual total cash (biased by
income (all sources) one producer,who was
participating in a range
of entrepreneurial
activities)Table 4. Average net annual incomes earned by carvers and furniture makers
in Bushbuckridge, 1993 and 2000*Net income is calculated as gross income minus costs (i.e., materials, travel, equip-
ment, employees wages etc. but excluding own labour). US$1 = R3.10 in 1993; US$1 =
R7.00 in 2000.Production, sales and, consequently, income tends tend to be erratic,
influenced by factors such as tourist season, amount, size and species of wood
(no wood at all was a frequent problem encountered in the follow-up survey),
working order of machinery, cash flow situation, success with selling stocks,
and number and size of orders. Many of the woodworkers experience several
months of the year without income (Shackleton, S.E. 1993). For these reasons,
and because none of the producers keep books or records, income proved an
extremely difficult variable to determine accurately in a once-off survey.
In 1993, in a ‘good’ month, net income^7 from sales ranged from R100 to R600
for carvers and from R500 to R2,750 for furniture makers (Shackleton, S.E.
1993). Average net annual incomes from woodcraft and furniture sales in 1993
were approximately R1,710 for carvers and R7,140 for furniture makers (Table
4). In 2000, the corresponding figures were R3,603 for carvers, R15,648 for
carver-furniture makers and R7,065 for furniture makers (Table 4). Overall,
these data are comparable to those for carvers from other rural communal
areas (Steenkamp et al. undated). The longitudinal data indicate that although
absolute values are mostly higher, incomes have not matched inflation and some
households are possibly worse off than they were a decade ago.12SAwoodcarving.p65 215 22/12/2004, 11:05