Eating from One Pot (Paperback)

Sarah Mosoetsa

ISBN 10: 1868145336 / ISBN 13: 9781868145331

Published by Wits University Press, Johannesburg, 2011

About this Item

Paperback. As poverty and unemployment deepen in contemporary South Africa, the burning question becomes, how do the poor survive? Eating from One Pot provides a compelling answer. Based on intensive fieldwork, it shows how many African households are on the brink of collapse. That they keep going at all can largely be attributed to the struggles of older women against poverty. They are the fulcrum on which household survival turns. This book describes how households in two different areas in KwaZulu-Natal are sites of both stability and conflict. As one of the interviewees put it: 'We eat from one pot and should always help each other.' Yet the stability of family networks is becoming fragile because of the enormous burden placed on them by unemployment and unequal power relations. Through careful analysis, the experiences of survival are discussed in relation to the restructuring of the country's welfare and social policies, and the extension of social grants. Mosoetsa argues that these policies shape the livelihoods that people pursue in order to survive under desperate conditions, but fail to address the root causes of poverty and inequality. As poverty and unemployment deepen in contemporary South Africa, the burning question becomes, how do the poor survive? This title provides a compelling answer. Based on intensive fieldwork, it shows how many African households are on the brink of collapse. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781868145331

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Eating from One Pot (Paperback)
• Publisher: Wits University Press, Johannesburg
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1868145336
• ISBN 13: 9781868145331
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

As poverty and unemployment deepen in contemporary South Africa, the burning question becomes, how do the poor survive? Eating from One Pot provides a compelling answer. Based on intensive fieldwork, it shows how many African households are on the brink of collapse. That they keep going at all can largely be attributed to the struggles of older women against poverty. They are the fulcrum on which household survival turns. This book describes how households in two different areas in KwaZulu-Natal are sites of both stability and conflict. As one of the interviewees put it: ‘We eat from one pot and should always help each other.’ Yet the stability of family networks is becoming fragile because of the enormous burden placed on them by unemployment and unequal power relations. Through careful analysis, the experiences of survival are discussed in relation to the restructuring of the country's welfare and social policies, and the extension of social grants. Mosoetsa argues that these policies shape the livelihoods that people pursue in order to survive under desperate conditions, but fail to address the root causes of poverty and inequality.

About the Author

Sarah Mosoetsa is an Associate Professor of Sociology, at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and CEO of the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) in Johannesburg.