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Methodology

Methodology

This research has built on several smaller pilot research grants undertaken by the Principal Investigator and Research Associate into ethical trade in the Western and Northern Cape regions. These have provided access to the case study areas, assisted in the identification of a range of key informants and gatekeepers, and fostered research methodologies appropriate in the context of South Africa.

The main stages of the research are listed below along with accounts of the main research methods:

i) Secondary data collection (United Kingdom (UK) / South Africa): To establish the broader South African context for debates about fair / ethical trade and biodiversity. The main tasks were developing the context of the research and deepening institutional and collaborative contacts in South Africa.

ii) ‘Mapping’ the network of actors involved in each case study area: Actors were identified in the production networks / value chains of dried fruits and cut flowers from the site of production to marketing and distribution channels, including the regulatory role of organisations like the Fairtrade International Labelling Organisation (FLO). This part of the research involved the use of existing secondary materials and interviews with key informants in UK-based organisations.

iii) Pilot survey: Each case study required a short preliminary visit to discuss the project with key individuals at the field site. The initial visit facilitated the development of relationships with key stakeholders to forge a close dialogue. In addition, it was possible to identify and recruit appropriate field assistance for the purposes of facilitation and translation. A sample of smallholder farmers at Eksteenskuil, and landowners and pickers at Flower Valley, were identified through the key informants to pilot the semi-structured interviews.

iv) Core fieldwork in South Africa: This involved spending prolonged periods of time in each case study area, as well as in the Cape Town hinterland, where a number of key ethical trade focused organisations are based.

  • Semi-structured interviews were conducted in Eksteenskuil with a sample of smallholder households cross-cutting social, economic and geographical categories. In addition, interviews were conducted with informants offering alternative perspectives on the Eksteenskuil community, including landless residents, workers, commercial farmers and external stakeholders, including government officials, research bodies and processing companies
  • Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with a range of informants in the sustainable harvesting supply chain, including suppliers, packshed managers and employees, pickers, government agencies, retailers and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO). Informants offering perspectives from the wider mainstream wild and cultivated flower harvesting industries were also interviewed
  • The interviews were supplemented by participant observation in various forms, including observing meetings, seminars and conferences, keeping a field diary and observing everyday trader / smallholder work and domestic life. In addition, we organised a one-off research day in collaboration with the Flower Valley Conservation Trust (FVCT), which assessed the practical application of sustainable harvesting methodologies in the veld. Visual methodologies also played a supportive role, with photographic and video data capturing various forms of evidence. For example, we used video to evaluate expert analysis of picking techniques and also to capture short accounts of the realities of daily farming life. The interactive nature of the dissemination events in March 2012, at which preliminary findings were presented, generated further research data

v) Core fieldwork on the UK: Interviews have been conducted with a range of informants in the UK, including commercial stakeholders in each supply chain and NGOs who undertake lobbying and advocacy around ethical / sustainability issues.

vi) Dissemination: Dissemination to stakeholders is taking a number of forms:

  • A visit was made to South Africa in March 2012 in order to feedback directly to various stakeholder groups. Further details can be found on the relevant section of this website
  • Presentations have been made to Traidcraft at their Learning Weeks
  • A stakeholder project report will be circulated by September 2012 and made available via this website
  • In addition, dissemination via academic channels has been on-going throughout the project