The Trade in and Household Use of Emphasis Type="

Authors: Nwabisa Mjoli Charlie M Shackleton

Publish Date: 2015/09/16

Volume: 69, Issue: 3, Pages: 218-229

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Abstract

The Trade in and Household Use of Phoenix reclinata Palm Frond Hand Brushes on the Wild Coast South Africa This paper reports on an investigation of the harvesting trade and use of hand brushes made from fronds of the wild palm Phoenix reclinata We considered both the abundance of the resource as well as the demand Within the harvesting areas there were approximately 141 palm plants per hectare of which almost twothirds showed no signs of frond harvesting During harvesting most fronds 82 were left on the plant 16 were removed to make brushes and 2 were cut and discarded Although the number of harvesters had increased during the last decade most felt that the number of palm plants had remained stable or even increased over the same period There was strong consensus that cut fronds were replaced within two months after which a particular stem could be harvested again Harvesting and trade were practiced largely by middleaged to elderly women who had limited formal education skills and employment prospects Most had entered the trade because of cash income poverty The main markets for selling the palm brushes were in nearby urban areas The income earned from the trade was modest but still rated highly by the traders for most of whom it was the second mostimportant source of cash income For many users the palm brushes was found to be the only type of brush suitable for cleaning mud and cowdung flooring and most importantly for many their use forms part of a long household use history and cultureA huge thankyou to the brush traders of Willowvale for their patience and willingness to interact with us to Wayne Westcott for field assistance and to Sheona Shackleton and Angelina Martins for their comments on an earlier draft of this work The field work and stipend for NM were provided by the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation of South Africa Any opinion finding conclusion or recommendation expressed in this material is that of the authors and the NRF does not accept any liability in this regard

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