Producing Beer; Agricultural Livelihoods and Commodities in Serenje District of Zambia Simon Andrew Long Thesis submitted for PhD in Social Anthropology London School of Economic and Political Science 1995 1 UMI Number: U079876 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U079876 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 F 72 ABSTRACT Drawing on data collected in rural Serenje District, in the Central Province of Zambia, this thesis focuses on the production, consumption and valorisation of grain beer, a significant livelihood practice for people. The discussion is contextualised by detailed reference to both the changing national and global politico-economic scene and to local agricultural practices. I argue that an understanding of livelihood practices must take account of both 'micro' and 'macro' level factors, as these form part of the material and conceptual 'resource repertoire' of local people. Focusing on particular case examples, the discussion reveals, for rural Serenje, the multiplex ways in which value is ascribed to beer - a highly significant livelihood resource. The data highlights the socio-symbolic, ritual, and commoditised contexts in which beer is produced and consumed. The analysis of this resource highlights how the relationship between different social arenas of experience, and the socially constructed value of beer are integrated in subtle and complex ways. A central theme of the thesis focuses on issues of value and argues that value notions are multiple social constructions. Resources, then, have many different associations of value. These different kinds of value are, in certain contexts, contested by actors, and it is in contexts of social interaction, negotiation and accommodation that resources are ascribed with value. Furthermore the fixing of value in this way provides contexts in which social identities are asserted and modified. The empirical chapters of the thesis draw attention to the importance of beer and maize in terms of people's income strategies. These livelihood practices remain firmly embedded in social life, however, and therefore concern more than the singular pursuit of cash. Consolidating, establishing, and reaffirming social relations are also a fundamental part of people's 'economic' life and co-operation in securing material and social resources remains vital. Methodologically the thesis synthesises situational analysis and discourse practice paying particular attention to the concepts of practice and agency. 2 CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................ 7 LIST OF MAPS AND FIGURES............................................................................... 7 PREFACE......................................................................................................................8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.........................................................................................10 CHAPTER Is INTRODUCTION Demarcation of the fieldwork area ......................................................................11 Space, Place and Community ..............................................................................11 The Geography of Kamena..................................................................................16 The People...........................................................................................................17 The Research Problem.........................................................................................18 The 1991/1992 Drought.......................................................................................19 National Political and Economic Conditions ..................................................... 21 Methods Employed ............................................................................................. 22 Organisation of the Thesis .................................................................................. 26 CHAPTER 2: SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS, DISCOURSE, AND SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED VALUE Introduction ......................................................................................................... 29 The Case Study Method and Situational Analysis .............................................. 31 Critique............................................................................................................... 36 Discourse as Event, a Situational Method .......................................................... 38 Practice and Agency ................................ 46 Material Goods and The Social Construction of Value ...................................... 48 The Notion of Commodity .................................................................................. 54 3 CHAPTER 3: THE ZAMBIAN NATIONAL ECONOMY AND THE WIDER ARENAS: THE EXPERIENCES OF URBAN ZAMBIANS The Wider Arenas of Decision and Action ........................................................ 61 National and International Relations .................................................................. 64 A Single Export Commodity: Copper, the ’Boom' Period ................................... 66 The Bust' Period: the Collapse of a Single Export ............................................. 70 Struggles with the I.M.F. and the World Bank ................................................... 71 The Agricultural Sector ....................................................................................... 73 The Maize Crisis' of 1993................................................................................... 79 Interpreting Value: Income Diversification and Social Practice ........................ 82 The Increasing Importance of Beer Sales; Restricted Purchases and Illegal Brewing....................................................................................... 83 Summary ............................................................................................................. 89 CHAPTER 4: FOR THEIR COOKING POTS, THE MARKETS AND EXCHANGE: AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES IN KAMENA Introduction ........................................................................................................ 92 The Annual Cycle of Agricultural Production ................................................... 94 Millet and Gardens; Nshima and Relish ............................................................ 101 Citemene millet ................................................................................................. 101 Ibala millet......................................................................................................... 104 Hoed Gardens ..................................................................................................... 105 Maize, Capital and Credit .................................................................................. 106 Maize Cultivation .............................................................................................. 106 Capital for Maize Production ............................................................................ 108 The acquisition of fertiliser and involvement with credit .................................109 The Credit Institutions and Receiving Loans .................................................... I l l Knowledge for Maize Production ...................................................................... 112 Labour; Co-operation and Recruitment ............................................................. 114 The Labour Requirements of Millet Production ................................................ 119 Labour For Maize Production ............................................................................ 121 The Valorisation of Agricultural Commodities .................................................124 The Value of Money .......................................................................................... 126 Summary ............................................................................................................ 128 4 CHAPTER 5: THE VALORISATION OF BEER: RITUAL AND SOCIAL DOMAINS Recasting the Role of Beer: A Local Context of Dispute .................................... 131 Domains of Significance; the Ritual Context of Beer in Zambia ........................ 137 'Ubwalwa bwafiombe; beer for the spirits’.......................................................... 141 To wash in the beer - TJkusamba mubwalwa', and beer for the ancestors .................................................................................................. 143 TJbwalwa bwamuchinshi kupongoshi’ - a respect beer for in-laws .....................146 Continuity And Co-operation .............................................................................. 149 TJbwalwa Ukubombela Nchito': Beer For Work ................................................. 149 TJbwalwa Ubwakutemena Kwa Joel'; Beer for Cutting at Joel's ......................... 153 CHAPTER 6: THE BREWING AND SALE OF BEER A January beer party at Kayi Chibuye