This blog offers a compilation of blogs published over the past weeks, which have offered a reflection on how local people understand ‘success’ and its changes over time especially in the period since the 2000 land reform. We have worked in a diversity of A1 smallholder land reform and communal area sites across the country and carried out multiple ‘success ranking’ workshops involving several hundred people, both men and women, young and older. These events have proved both enjoyable and revealing, highlighting important dynamics and contrasts across people and places.
A diversity of criteria were identified, and the analysis of ‘transitions’ between different times offered interesting insights into how A1 smallholder land reform sites have changed. Our workshops with former farmworkers in Mvurwi highlighted the very real structural constraints faced. The comparison of A1 and communal areas has showed how land reform opened up opportunities for success through accumulation.
For those of you who missed these blogs, this is an opportunity to catch up. This series in turn provides important background for the blog series that starts next week, focused on the dynamics of accumulation.
This blog series explores ideas of ‘success’ in post-land reform Zimbabwe. The blog has been written by Ian Scoones and Tapiwa Chatikobo, with inputs from Felix Murimbarimba (who facilitated the workshops), Godfrey Mahofa, Jacob Mahenehene, Sydney Jones (Matobo), Moses Mutoko (Masvingo), Makiwa Manaka (Gutu), Vincent Sarayi/Peter Tsungu (Mvurwi) amongst many others in each of our sites. This blog first appeared on Zimbabweland