- Title
- A study of rural self-help groups in the context of government-assisted community development: the case of Peddie, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
- Creator
- Pakade-Yokwana, Nozuko zandiswa Gloria
- Subject
- Community development http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85029215
- Subject
- Rural development http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85115899
- Date
- 2011
- Type
- Doctoral theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10353/19616
- Identifier
- vital:43152
- Description
- This study was conducted against the backdrop of growing scholarly interest in the epistemic divide between formal, institutionalised knowledge, which guide government interventions in rural community development, and local knowledge, upon which rural communities construct their social existence. The study sought to understand why, despite their resilience and cultural embeddedness in South Africa's rural communities, indigenous self-help groups (SHGs) - as a particular form of indigenous rationality - remained on the periphery of contemporary community development interventions. The study was conducted in the communities of Dabhana, Feni and Mgwanlana in Peddie (Ngqushwa Local Municipality), Eastern Cape. Three SHG variants were eselected: a funeral group (Masingcwabane), an HIV and AIDS support groups, and a financial mutual (mgalelo) – all in the context of government-assisted community development. Empirical data was collected using a mini-survey, focus group discussion, in-depth interviews and key informant interviews. The findings revealed that SHGs were a collective model of indigenous knowledge and social interaction, driven by the belief that through 'sharing', 'reciprocity' and 'collectivism', what would ordinarily be a heavy burden for individuals became 'lighter'. Furthermore, while the institutional framework for community development mandated collaboration between government and SHGs, this framework created a stiff, bureaucratic canvass that alienated SHGs and stifled their operations. The study also found that partnership between the government and SHGs was characterised by fear and distrust on the part of government, and reluctance on the part of SHGs. Government's distrust was premised on the "informality" and "traditionality" of SHGs, and the fear that any investment in SHGs would go to waste. On the other hand, SHGs' reluctance to make themselves amenable to partnership with government seemed like a reaction to a "faulty, culturally insensitive" institutional framework which "delegitimised" grassroots development impulses. The study concluded that there existed in the rural community development arena an epistemic, ideational and practical chasm between government-driven development praxis and age-old indigenous initiatives, and that while the weaknesses of each knowledge domain were accentuated through this divide, development would continue to elude the grassroots communities unless the two knowledge domains interacted with, and leveraged, each other.
- Description
- Thesis (PhD) (Sociology) -- University of Fort Hare, 2018
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (321 leaves)
- Format
- Publisher
- University of Fort Hare
- Publisher
- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
- Language
- English
- Rights
- University of Fort Hare
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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UFH Department of Sociology and Anthropology
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | 2018.Sept 05.Pakade-Yokwana.FINAL THESIS.For Binding and Graduation- 05 SEPT 2018 PHD.pdf | 10 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |