80 The informal trade of Cassipourea flanaganii as a cosmetic in South AfricaSOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RAW MATERIAL
PRODUCTION AREA
Four distinct questionnaires were administered to the stakeholder groups
involved in the trade of medicinal plants (herbal gatherers/hawkers, amayeza
storeowners, traditional healers and customers). Within King William’s Town
46 questionnaires were administered, 8 of these to traditional healers, 14 to
street traders, 7 to amayeza storeowners, and 20 to consumers. Figures given
for street traders and amayeza storeowners represent a 100% sample. However,
only a small proportion of traditional healers were interviewed, and it is
unknown how many are currently operating in the town. The authors established
that C. flanaganii is more frequently sold by street traders than traditional
healers and amayeza storeowners as it is a cosmetic rather than a medicine
(Cocks and Dold 2000). In-depth interviews were conducted with raw material
producers (RMPs) from two study sites to address issues regarding the harvesting
and marketing of C. flanaganii.
A structured interview survey was conducted with household members
(33.3%) from the raw material production area of Pirie Mission and Cwengcwe
villages. The survey aimed to determine household wealth, reliance on arable
land and home garden production, investment in livestock production and
reliance on cash obtained through fixed and informal employment, pensions
and remittances.
The RMPs reside in the villages of Pirie Mission and Cwengcwe adjacent to
Pirie State Forest (Figure 1). Both villages are relatively small, with populations
of between 460 and 600 people. The majority of the population is relatively
stable as over 86% and 97% of the individuals of Pirie Mission and Cwengcwe,
respectively, were born in and still reside in the villages. The two settlements
are characterised by environmental degradation, very low or nonexistent levels
of economic activity, a heavy dependence on urban earnings and welfare
payments, high unemployment and poor infrastructure. The majority of
households lack access to running water and the villages were electrified only
in 1999. Access to poorly serviced schools and clinics is available in both villages.
The two villages are typical of communities in the surrounding district
being classified as peri-urban settlements. Peri-urban settlements came about
under the former apartheid government and its policies, which have left a
distinct pattern in terms of location of the country’s rural population and on
the existing economies in these areas (Viljoen 1994). These policies, for
example, have led to high density population figures in rural areas with little
infrastructure. This has resulted in the land becoming overcropped, overgrazed
and subject to soil erosion. The peri-urban communities in these areas are
largely dependent on money from formal employment, the informal sector,
government pensions and remittances rather than having a subsistence based
economy (Palmer 1996).
Differences between the two communities reflect poorer conditions within
Cwengcwe. For example, 46% of the houses in Pirie Mission make use of modern
building materials, including bricks for the structure and zinc sheets for the
roof, whereas in Cwengcwe only 25% were built solely of manufactured materials.
The remaining households were built from natural indigenous materials. The
Cwengcwe community is considerably more reliant on an agriculture-based05cassipourea.p65 80 22/12/2004, 11:04