干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

This paper examines social aspects within and amongst households in two selected villages in the Thaba Nchu area in the Free State Province, South Africa. In a semi-arid environment and low potential for dry croplands, techniques of rainwater harvesting were introduced to enable individual households to improve the level of their food production. This intervention could be seen from a purely biophysical and economic perspective, but the sociocultural domain is just as important for the successful outcome of the intervention. The assumption is that water utilisation and food production are socially embedded in the sense that individuals with different levels of support, are bound together in a situation of risk and uncertainty to collectively find ways to deal with scarcity in resources. The potential for internal conflict and consequent failure or disruption of development projects are real threats to the outcome of any intervention. The paper characterises selected aspects of social capital, namely social support, social networks and cohesion, which are regarded as important factors to consider in the planning and executing of interventions in the field of small-scale food production. Copyright (C) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.