Small-Scale Sustainable Vegetable-Tanned Leather in Rural South Africa: a Collective-Efficiency Approach
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SMALL-SCALE SUSTAINABLE VEGETABLE-TANNED LEATHER IN RURAL SOUTH AFRICA: A COLLECTIVE-EFFICIENCY APPROACH By KENEILWE MUNYAI Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree: Doctor of Technology: DESIGN In the Faculty of Informatics and Design At the Cape Peninsula University of Technology Supervisor: Prof. Mugendi K. M’Rithaa Co-supervisor: Prof. Sepota M. Moloko Co-supervisor: Dr Pineteh E. Angu Cape Town (November 2014) DECLARATION I, Keneilwe Munyai, declare that the contents of this thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Signed Date DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to all those who supported and believed in me and my abilities: My late grandmother for believing in me and giving tough love, and late Prof Pieter van Brackel for his wisdom, for being my inspiration, for the support and for being a good friend. II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people that I would like to acknowledge for the role they played in supporting me in working towards reaching this goal in my life. First, I would like to acknowledge my supervisors for their guidance throughout this research journey. Your guidance and support has helped me complete this research. Prof. Mugendi K. M’Rithaa, you have been a source of support, a mentor and a motivator. Without your guidance this study would have never been possible. Prof Sepota, M. Moloko, thank you for dedicating your time reading through my work and giving guidance. Dr Angu, E. Pineteh, thank you for the guidance and the support that you have given me from the beginning of this study to its completion. Secondly, I am grateful to Prof. Guiliana. Gemelli for the support during my stay in Italy; to Prof. Andrea Bassi for introducing me to the cooperatives in Italy, and supporting me to make my stay worthwhile. Prof. Maria, G. Muzzarrelli in the department of history of fashion for her support and guidance. I would also like to acknowledge my Cape Town family for their unwavering support, Danielle Raubenheimber and Nathaniel Raubenheimer. Without the two of you many things in my life would have never been possible. Gabrielle Rademeyer, you have been a wonderful sister, Greg Rademeyer, thank you for your support and lifting my spirits up when I was feeling down and frustrated. Lindy Lloyd thank you so much for supporting me through out my ups and downs. I also want to thank my friends for their support and dedicating their time to listen to me when I was frustrated and needed an outlet. Thank you to my colleagues for the support during the last stretch of writing my thesis. Thank you to Dr T. Tselepis for being a critical friend, and for all the support and understanding. Finaly, I would like to acknowledge the support of the South African taxpayers whose funding through the National Research Foundation (NRF) made it possible for me to further my studies. I would also like to acknowledge the support of the European taxpayers through the European South Africa Development (EUROSA) Initiative which made it possible for me to conduct research in Europe. III ABSTRACT Currently, the South African leather tanning industry is dominated by chromium tanning which has been identified as highly polluting. Vegetable tanning is considered less environmentally hazardous. Yet, there have been no plans to promote it in South Africa. Vegetable tanning process utilises vegetable matter for converting animal skins or hides into pliable material that is known as leather. South Africa has a variety of plants that produce tannins. However, the focus of this study is on the mimosa locally known as black wattle (Arcacia miernsii). Furthermore, the South African vegetable tanning sector has been left behind in terms of research and development despite the country being endowed with the Mimosa plant that is widely used in the vegetable tanning process. The country is also endowed with surplus labour which can be absorbed by the leather industry which is labour intensive. This study therefore, looks at the concept of small-scale sustainable leather tanning in rural areas through distributed production based on the concept of decentralisation. Decentralised production processes generally forms clusters of independent servers in close proximity to one another that are interconnected through a dedicated network to work as one. Through a strong culture of networks and collective-efficiency the small-scale vegetable tanners in Italy are able to adapt to changes through cooperating and collective problem solving. The collective- efficiency approach encourages small-scale productions systems that socially embedded and tap into the local resources, skills and local knowledge. Local knowledge is very critical for the development agenda, especially in the context of South Africa where other forms of knowledge have always been marginalised in terms of importance. Moreover, supportive policies to the development and sustainability of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have created an enabling environment in Italy. The vegetable tanning process requires skilled craftsmen and no formal training or education. The aspect of education is very important since there is a growing demand for vegetable-tanned leather goods due to consumers becoming aware of the impact certain production processes have on the environment and humans. Furthermore, the South African government introduced the National Development Plan (NDP), Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) and the National Growth Path (NGP) which are policy frameworks that are meant to drive the economic development in South Africa. However, the IV main focus of this study is the IPAP policy framework. This policy framework puts job creation at the centre, and have identified SMEs in South Africa as key to job creation. Leather tanning is a labour intensive process with the ability to create employment opportunities through its value chain. This research investigated best practices in Italy a country which has a long-standing tradition of small-scale vegetable tanning, and Botswana, which has an artisan vegetable tanning activities. The project was grounded in qualitative methodology, and a constructivist-interpretivist approach was used as the research design. The data was collected using structured and semi- structured interviews and observations. The research used people who are involved in leather tanning as well as government officials in both Italy and Botswana as participants. No participants were interviewed in South Africa due to the chromium-tanning sector being the mainly used process of leather tanning. The vegetable tanning methods in the two countries provided rich insights into the practice of vegetable tanning and its links to local knowledge and cultural practices. Activity theory was used as lens to analyse the process of vegetable tanning and the tools used, rules that govern the processes, the community as well as the objectives of the participants. This study provides insights into the manufacturing system that is required in order to achieve sustainable production, the role industry should play to contribute towards economic development, the role government and academia should play in support the development of SMEs in the local industries. V KEYWORDS Botswana Clusters Collective-Efficiency Cultural Historical Activity Theory Decentralised Production Design for Sustainability Development Indigenous Knowledge Systems Italy Knowledge-based Economic Development Leather Tanning Local Knowledge Rural Development Small-scale Production South Africa Sustainable Development Tacit Knowledge Vegetable Tanning VI ABBREVIATIONS ARPAT Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione Ambientale della Toscana COTANCE Confederation of National Association of Tanners and Dressers of the European Community CERT Comitato Etico Regionale Toscana DAC Department of Arts and Culture, South Africa DAFF Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries DCCS Duty Credit Certificate Scheme DEA Department of Environmental Affairs DEAT Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism DBSA Development Bank of Southern Africa DST Department of Science and Technology DTI Department of Trade and Industry South Africa EC European Commission ECDSD Eastern Cape Department of Social Development ECLI European Confederation of the Leather Industry Enterprise European Network Paper Chemical EENPACT and Textile sector EPA Environmental Protection Agency EU European Union ERICSE European Research Institute on Cooperatives and Social Enterprise FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations VII FAPDA Food and Agriculture Policy Decision Analysis FES Friedrich Ebert Stiftung GEP Gauteng Enterprise Propeller ICDA International Chromium Development Association ICT International Council of Tanners IDI Imani Development International Ltd IPAP Industrial Policy Action Plan ITC International Trade Centre KEI Knowledge Economy Index (World Bank) LLPI Leather and Leather Products Institute (LLPI) MESPRD Ministry of the Environment, Spatial Planning and Regional Development OECD Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development NCR National Credit Regulator NESTA National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts SA8000 Social Accountability International Standards NPC National Planning Commission SACU South African Customs Union SADC Southern African Development