Of Gardens, Hopes, and Spirits: Unravelling (Extra)Ordinary Community Economic Arrangements as Sites of Transformation in Cape Town, South Africa
Published online on August 10, 2016
Abstract
Debates around diverse economies have flourished in geography in recent years, challenging the consistent and limiting hegemonic framing of the economy as singularly capitalist and global, through making visible the vast array of economic practices that are taking place alongside and beyond capitalist ones at multiple sites and scales. Bringing together debates around community economies, (relational) approaches to scales and place, and Actor Network Theory, in this article we focus on the narrative of Mama Bokolo, a healer/gardener/diverse economic actor in Cape Town. Grounded on her lived experience, we suggest that allegedly local, marginalised actors like Mama are actively contributing to enact liberatory diverse economic arrangements beyond‐the‐local, by articulating networks across places and scales and fostering relations with a range of diverse, human, natural and supernatural actors. In doing so, we elucidate why precisely these more‐than‐local and more‐than‐human elements can be instrumental to enable transformative economic spaces of hope.
Kwiminyaka edlulileyo, kukhe kwakho iingxoxo‐mpikiswano ngemiba ephathiselene ngezibhalo ezithetha ngoqoqosho olubanzi. Ezi ngxoxo zithande ukuphikisa ubungxowa‐nkulu nokucinga ngoqoqosho ngendlela exhasa ubungxowa‐nkulu belizwe jikelele. Ezi ngxoxo zibonisa ezinye iindlela zoqoqosho ezenzeka ecaleni nangaphandle kobungxowa‐nkulu kwiindawo ngeendawo. Kweli nqaku sibonisana ngeengxoxo ezimalunga noqoqosho eluntwini. Sibonisa nonxulumano phakathi kwabantu noqoqosho, namanqanaba oqoqosho kwiindawo ngeendawo. I‐Actor Network Theory isincedisa ukuqonda ibali likaMama uBokolo oligqirha, ongunogada, odlala indima kuqoqosho olubanzi nongumntu odala inguqu ehlala eKapa. Ekujongeni indlela aphila ngayo, sixoxa okokuba bonke abantu abanezimbo zokuphila ngokwahlukileyo njengoMama Bokolo banendima abayidlalayo ekudaleni iindlela zoqoqosho ezahlukileyo nangona besebenza ezingingqini zabo. Aba badlali basibonisa uqhagamshelwano kwindawo ezahlukileyo nakumanqanaba ahlukileyo. Bakwabonisa unxulumano phakathi kwabantu, indalo esiyibonayo kwakunye neminye imimoya efana nezinyanya. UMama uBokolo uye asibonise okokuba uqhamshelwano wakhe nabantu bomhlaba nabaphantsi ubalulekile ekudaleni ithemba nenguqu kwindawo zoqoqosho.