Research Team
Research Team
Introduction
The research team comprised of three United Kingdom (UK)-based academics and seven South Africans who assisted with facilitation and translation. Brief biographies of the individuals involved and their specific contributions to the project are provided below.
Professor Cheryl McEwan (left in picture) is the Principal Investigator on the project with responsibility for administration, strategic oversight and leading on publication activities. Cheryl’s academic interest in South African dates back to the late 1990s and she spent a prolonged period in the country in 2001/2 as part of an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded project. More recently she has worked with David Bek (centre in picture) on projects investigating ethical trade in the South African wine industry. Dr Alex Hughes (right in picture), is the Co-Investigator on the project with responsibilities including strategic oversight and academic dissemination. Alex has a longstanding interest in ethical trade, having completed several projects investigating retailer strategies and she has also undertaken fieldwork in Kenya looking at the cut-flower industry. Dr David Bek is the project’s Research Associate. His responsibilities have centred on organising the data collection in both the UK and South Africa. Most recently he facilitated the dissemination programme for South African stakeholders.
During the project we were very fortunate to benefit from the services of a number of South Africans who assisted with the conduct of the fieldwork. Their main contribution was to translate during interviews with Afrikaans and Xhosa speaking people. However, effective support goes well beyond mere translation – it involves bridging cultural differences, smoothing over nuances of meaning, ensuring that respondents feel comfortable and providing guidance to the academic researchers. We offer our heartfelt thanks to those who provided us with assistance and we are immensely grateful for their support.
Brief biographies of the South African-based research team are provided below:
Zaitun Rosenberg was the lead assistant for the Northern Cape based work, where she acted as the local research facilitator and provided translation assistance during interviews. Zaitun assisted with the delivery of the feedback sessions to the farmers in March 2012 and also helped with some interviews with pickers and packers in the flower project. Zaitun was employed by the Stellenbosch consultancy, Sandra Kruger & Associates until January 2012. She is now an independent consultant.
Rhoda Malgas (right in picture) provided translation assistance during a number of worker interviews and also provided expert insights in relation to biodiversity issues. She also participated in the Sustainable Harvesting Assessment day in March 2011. Rhoda is currently based at the University of Stellenbosch and is involved in several projects pertaining to sustainable natural resource use with specific focus on the conservation and ecology of biodiversity in the rooibos production area.
Dr Shari Daya assisted with the conduct of a number of interviews with fynbos pickers and also participated in the Sustainable Harvesting Assessment day in March 2011. Shari is currently based in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences at the University of Cape Town, having undertaken her PhD at Durham University, where her supervisors were Professor Ash Amin and Professor Cheryl McEwan. Shari’s current research interests lie in cultural geography and cultural studies.
Jonitha Swarts and Theresa Alexander were undertaking internships at CapeNature during 2010. As part of their experience they helped David Bek conduct interviews with fynbos pickers on one of the supplier farms.
Nobesuthu Tshongweni assisted with a number of interviews with flower pickers and packshed workers during November 2011. Nobesuthu had previously undertaken an internship at the Association for Fairness in Trade (AFIT) based in Observatory, Cape Town.
Colin Tucker joined the project for a couple of days in October 2010 providing assistance during interviews as well as contributing insights in relation to landscape management issues. He is currently studying for an MSc at Stellenbosch University where he is working on a project developing sustainability indicators for the Kogelberg and Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserves in the Western Cape, South Africa.