Abstract
This work examines the contribution that an ethnographic methodology can make to gender-sensitive agroforestry research. Using a Gambian case study, diverse subsistence, commercial and socio-cultural roles of forest products are investigated and the gender-based similarities and differences in their uses are highlighted. An ethnographic approach is combined with political economy perspectives to illustrate how the significance of such products, particularly for women, has markedly increased during the past two decades, especially for commercial purposes, in response to changing environmental, economic and social circumstances. Environmental management practices are used by rural individuals to regulate forest resources. Although there is potential for formal management policy to build upon these indigenous practices, a detailed understanding of local human-environmental relationships is essential for any planning mechanism to succeed. Thus an enthnographic approach can make a positive contribution towards gender-sensitive agroforestry research and practice.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amara SS (1993) Secular changes in rainfall and runoff over the Gambia River basin. Reading Geographical Papers No. 112. University of Reading, Reading
Arce A and Long N (1992) The dynamics of knowledge: the interface between bureaucrats and peasants. In: Long N and Long A (eds) Battlefields of Knowledge: The Interlocking of Theory and Practice in Social Research and Development, pp 211–246. Routledge, London
Ardayfio E (1986) The Rural Energy Crisis in Ghana: Its Implications for Women's Work and Household Survival. Geneva: ILO World Employment Programme Research Working Paper 39
Arnold JEM (1992) Commuity Forestry: Ten Years in Review. FAO, Rome
Asamoah RKF (1985) Uses of fallow trees and farm practices in Ho forest districts (Ghana). Unpublished PhD thesis, Institute of Renewable Natural Resources, University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Becker B (1986) Wild plants for human nutrition in the Sahelian zone. Journal of Arid Environments 11: 61–64
Blaikie P (1985) The Political-Economy of Soil Erosion in Developing Countries. Longman, Essex
Callaway H (1992) Ethnography and experience: gender implications in fieldwork and texts. In: Okely J and Callaway H (eds) Anthropology and Autobiography, pp 29–49. Routledge, London
Cline-Cole R (1987) The socio-ecology of firewood and charcoal on the Freetown peninsular. Africa 57: 457–497
Damodoran A (1987) Structural dimensions of fodder crisis: a village study in Karnataka. Economic and Political Weekly 22: A16-A22
Dankelman I and Davidson J (1988) Women and Environment in the Third World: Alliance for the Future. Earthscan, London
Davies AG and Richards P (1991) Rainforest in Mende Life. A report to ESCOR ODA
Dawe MT (1922) List of Plants Collected in The Gambia. Bathurst Government Printer, Bathurst, The Gambia
Department of Wildlife Conservation (1979) Fifty Trees of Abuko Nature Reserve Conservation Fact Sheet No 9. Government Printer, Banjul, The Gambia
Europa Publications (1992) Africa South of the Sahara. Europa, London
Falconer J (1990) The Major Significance of ‘Minor’ Forest Products: The Local Use and Value of Forests in the West African Humid Forst Zone. Food and Agriculture Organisation, Rome
Fisseha Y (1987) Basic features of rural small-scale forest-based processing enterprises in developing countries. In: FAO Small-Scale Forest-Based Processing Enterprise, pp 31–60. FAO, Rome
Food and Agriculture Organization (1984) Government Consultation on the Role of Women in Food Production and Food Security. 10–30 July 1984. Harare Zimbabwe. FAO, Rome
Food and Agriculature Organization (1985) Tree Growing by Rural People. FAO, Rome
Food and Agriculture Organization (1986) Restoring the Balance: Women and Forest Resources. FAO, Rome
Gamble DP (1949) Contributions to a Socio-Economic Survey of The Gambia. Colonial Office, London
Hobart M (ed) (1993) An Anthropological Critique of Development. Routledge, London
Hoskins M (1983) Rural Women, Forest Outputs and Forestry Projects. FAO, Rome
Hunter B (ed) (1995) The Statesman'sYYear Book, 1994–95. Macmillan, London
Lagemann J (1977) Traditional African Farming Systems in Eastern Nigeria. Weltforum Verlag, Munich, West Germany
Lamers JPA, Michels K and Vandenbeldt RJ (1994) Trees and windbreaks in the Sahel: establishment, growth, nutrive and calorific values. Agroforestry Systems 26: 171–184
Larsson U (1990) Trees as Cash Crops: Commercial Value of Trees and Forests in Babati District. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala
Leach M (1991) Engendered environments: understanding natural resource management in the West African forest zone. Institute of Development Studies Bulletin 22: 17–24
Linares O (1971) Shell middens of Lower Casamance and problems of Diola protohistory. West African Journal of Archaeology 1: 23–54
Linares O (1985) Cash crops and gender constructs: The Jola of Senegal. Ethnology 24: 83–94
Long N and Long A (eds) (1992) Battlefields of Knowledge: The Interlocking of Theory and Practice in Social Research and Development. Routledge, London
Longhurst R (1986) Household food strategies in response to seasonality and famine. Institute of Development Studies Bulletin 17: 27–35
Madge C (1994a) The ethics of research in the Third World. In: Robson E and Willis K (eds) Postgraduate Fieldwork in Developing Areas: A Rough Guide, pp 91–102. Darg Monograph No 8. Institute of British Geographers, London
Madge C (1994b) Collected food and domestic knowledge in The Gambia, West Africa. Geographical Journal 160: 280–294
Madge C (1995) The adaptive performance of West African life: continuity and change of forestry activities in The Gambia. Geografiska Annaler B 77(2): 109–124
Mahoney F (1981) Stories of the Senegambia. Government Printer, Banjul, The Gambia
Mitchinson AW (1881) The Expiring Continent; A Narrative or Travel in the Senegambia with Observations on Native Character, the Present Condition and Future Prospects of Africa and Colonialism. Allen, London
Okafor JC (1980) Edible woody plants in the rural economy of the Nigerian forest zone. Forest Ecology and Management 3: 45–55
Okafor JC (1981) Woody plants of nutritional importance in traditional farming systems of the Nigerian humid tropics. Unpublished PhD thesis, Department of Forest Resource Management, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Park M (1799) Travels in the Interior Parts of Africa: Performed under the Direction and Patronage of the African Association in the Years of 1795, 1796 and 1797. Bryan Edwards, London
Parkin D and Croll E (eds) (1992) Bush Base: Forest Farm: Culture, Environment and Development, Routledge, London
Percival DA (1968) The Common Trees and Shrubs of the Gambia. Government Printer, Bathurst, The Gambia
Rocheleau DE (1987) The user perspective and the agroforestry and research and action agenda. In: Gholz HL (ed) Agro-forestry: Realities, Possibilities and Potentials, pp 59–88. Martinus Nijhoff, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
Shepherd G (1992) Managing Africa's Tropical Dry Forests. Overseas Development Institute, London
Sontheimer S (ed) (1991) Women and the Environment: A Reader. Earthscan, London
Tomkinson M (1987) Gambia. Tomkinson Publishing, London
Wickens GE, Goodin JR and Field DV (eds) (1985) Plants for Arid Lands. Allen and Unwin, London
World Bank (1988) World Development Report. Oxford University Press for the World Bank, London
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Madge, C. Ethnography and agroforestry research: a case study from the Gambia. Agroforest Syst 32, 127–146 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00711569
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00711569