Abstract of proposed research:
by Stein Inge Nesvag, MA student at the Dept. of Economic History at the University of Natal, Durban in South Africa. NESVAG@MTB.und.ac.za
--provided by OPENAIR-MARKET NET
The title of the project at this early stage is: Economic Change, Power and Gender in the Informal Sector in Durban: A Case Study on Russell Street "Muti"-Market, 1989-1996.
Russell Street in Durban is one of the region's main markets for "muti" (traditional medicine/herbs). The traders are predominantly African women (there are a few men). In response to local authorities' attempts to control and restrict street trading, the women formed SEWU (Self-Employed Women's Union).
My focus will be divided into three main sections:
1) A history of informal trading in Durban, the changing regulatory environment, and the hawkers' response to these changes.
2) The politics of informal trading from 1989-1995. The three main actors involved on the arena - the traders, their unions (SEWU is one of them), and local authorities, will be studied with regard to strategies, their conceptions and solutions to the problems and challenges facing the informal trade sector.
3) The dynamics of the "muti" trade.
I hope to show the interconnectedness between these different aspects of street trading in Durban in general, and in Russell Street in particular. The "economic change" that is taking place can roughly be summed up as being a process of "formalisation". Emphasis will be placed on the concepts of "power" and "gender".
My background is from Political Science and Social Anthropology (Univ. of Oslo, Norway), and my approach will be influenced accordingly (somewhere in between the fields of "political anthropology" and "economic history"). I started my preliminary fieldwork in May 1995, full time research started only in February 1996. I hope to start writing my thesis towards the end of 1996. Feedback from other students doing similar research will be most welcomed!
Mr.Stein Inge Nesvag (student), Dept. of Economic History, University of Natal, Durban (UND), Rep. of South Africa. <NESVAG@MTB.und.ac.za>
Fax: + 27 (0)31 260 1061, Tel: + 27 (0)31 260 2628; 138B Innes Road, Morningside, Durban 4001, R.S.A.
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