An essential guide for those dealing with the Cape Water Crisis and for general water saving in South and southern Africa, a notoriously water-scarce region.

Three provinces in South Africa have been declared national disaster zones because of drought. The way we think about water needs to change, and fast. This is especially true for those of us who have running water and flush sanitation piped into our homes. For millions of South Africans, water is already a precious resource that costs toil to collect and fuel to heat. Our middle-class expectations that water will gush steaming from our dozens of indoor taps 24/7 are going to look as bizarre to future generations as the spectacle of Cleopatra bathing in asses’ milk. Our Roman-orgy relationship with water is over.

This book will hopefully help to alleviate water panic and distress. A “can-do” compendium, it’s meant to be a guide, not prescriptive – not all solutions or tips are one-size-fits-all. Think of it as an ally in your fight to save water and part of your survival kit, along with the first-aid box; Valium for water-worriers.

In 1993 South Africa state president F.W. de Klerk and African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize ‘for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime’. Yet, while both deserved the plaudits they received for entering the negotiations that led to the end of apartheid, the four years of negotiations preceding the April 1994 elections, known as the transition era, were not ‘peaceful’: they were the bloodiest of the entire apartheid era, with an estimated 14,000 deaths attributed to politically related violence.

This book studies, for the first time, the conflicts between the ANC and the Inkatha Freedom Party that took place in South Africa’s industrial heartland surrounding Johannesburg. Exploring these events through the perceptions and memories of combatants and non-combatants from war-torn areas, along with security force members, politicians and violence monitors, offers new possibilities for understanding South Africa’s turbulent transition.

Challenging the prevailing narrative which attributes the bulk of the violence to a joint state security force and IFP assault against ANC supporters, the author argues for a more expansive approach that incorporates the aggression of ANC militants, the intersection between criminal and political violence, and especially clashes between groups aligned with the ANC.

The post-school education and training system in South Africa has been the focus of much attention since the establishment of the Department of Higher Education and Training in 2009. In the context of deepening inequality, poverty and unemployment, the need for a humanising, liberating and critical approach to learning and pedagogy in post-school education is becoming urgent. The rural and urban voices that speak in this book tell us that the current system is out of touch with the ways in which they are making a life.

Learning for Living challenges policy makers, researchers, educators and civil society organisations to think critically about the relationship between post-school education and the world of work, and about how to transform the post-school system to better serve the needs and interests of rural and urban communities. It issues a call to action, and proposes key principles to inform an alternative vision of post-school learning.

As a child, Thabo Abram Molefe, along with his family, is impelled into the apartheid era tradition of rural to urban transition. Moving from a farm to a multi ethnic and vibrant township in the heart of Heidelberg, the birthplace of Eugene Terre’ Blanche’s AWB, proves to be both a challenge and an adventure as he works to evade the nickname that has followed him as a result: "maplazini", Sotho for a dumb country bumpkin.

Native Boy explores a young man’s complex relationship with identity and race, seen through the lens of township life. Moreover, it is about his journey to escape the socio economic trap of the apartheid regime to forever limit the black man to a life of hardship.

This detailed Handbook to the Iron Age covers the last 2,000 years in Southern Africa.

The first part of the book outlines essential topics such as settlement organization, stonewalled patterns, ritual residues, long-distance trade, and ancient mining. Part two presents a comprehensive culture-history sequence through ceramic analyses, showing distributions, stylistic types, and characteristic pieces. The final section reviews and updates the main debates about black prehistory, including migration vs. diffusion, the role of cattle, the origins of Mapungubwe, the rise and fall of Great Zimbabwe, as well as the archaeology of the Venda, the Sotho-Tswana, and the Nguni speakers.

Handbook to the Iron Age is an abundantly illustrated study that is accessible to a wide range of people interested in African prehistory.

Did you know …

• That the muti market is worth R3 billion a year, with 27 million consumers?
• That the average hawker earns R3000 a month and there are nearly 500 000 of them!?
• That the trade in goats is worth millions of rand?
• That the dagga trade can set the standard for market and distribution to the informal market?
• That Parmalat Cheese Slices have created a multi-million rand business in kotas, and why the Perfect Sishebo Show is the biggest food show in the country?

Do consumers modernise or westernise? What are the eight cultural megatrends of the South African kasi sector? One of them is modernising, another is spirituality, but how and why?

Feast on Mogodu Mondays and Shwam-shwams, visit sacrifice ceremonies and stokvels, meet sangomas and urban trendsetters. You will never look at the low income informal sector people and businesses in the same way again. With stories and anecdotes, from kayaking down the Tugela, Zulu dancing in the pyramids to hijacking a Kulula flight, GG’s true life stories and how they link to understanding and inspiration for marketing ideas will make you gasp, laugh and shake your head in wonder.

A book as eclectic, mysterious and colourful as the marketplace it is written about.

Indigenous societies that are steeped in patriarchy have various channels through which they deal with abusive characteristics of relations in some of these communities. One such route is through songs, which sanction women to voice that which, bound by societal expectations, they would not normally be able to say. This book focuses on the nature of women’s contemporary songs in the rural community of Zwelibomvu, near Pinetown in KwaZulu-Natal. It aims to answer the question ‘Bahlabelelelani – Why do they sing?’, drawing on a variety of discourses of gender and power to examine the content and purposes of the songs.

Restricted by the custom of hlonipha, women resort to allusive language, such as is found in ukushoza, a song genre that includes poetic elements and solo dance songs. Other contexts include women’s social events, such as ilima, which refers to the collective activity that takes place when a group of women come together to assist another woman to complete a task that is typically carried out by women. During umgcagco (traditional weddings) and umemulo (girls’ coming-of-age ceremonies), songs befitting the occasion are performed. And neighbouring communities come together at amacece to perform according to izigodi (districts), where local maskandi women groups may be found performing for a goat or cow stake.

The songs, when read in conjunction with the interviews and focus group discussions, present a complex picture of women’s lives in contemporary rural KwaZulu-Natal, and they offer their own commentary on what it means to be a woman in this society.

Nearly three decades after the dawn of democracy, South Africa has remained a country of ‘two agricultures’. On the one hand we have a subsistence, primarily non-commercial, black farming segment. On the other hand, however, we have a predominantly commercial and white farming sector that is well-resourced and has access to domestic and international trade networks.

These disparities can be traced back to South Africa’s painful history where, for decades, black farmers were on the margins of government support and also experienced land dispossession and livestock plunder.

A Country of Two Agricultures focuses less on history and more on the present and the future, explaining why these disparities have persisted in the democratic era, and what it will take to overcome them. It aims to contribute to a better understanding of the variety of agricultural forces, taking into account both questions of domestic political economy and external factors, as well as to bring to light new risks and opportunities.

Wandile Sihlobo offers insights into the role of agriculture in the South African economy from an agricultural economy perspective, and provides political economy insights that are rooted in the experiences of farming communities on the ground and right through the value chain.

Beyond insights on the realities this book offers the government, the private sector, and anyone interested in the betterment of the South African economy, tools to grapple with this duality, and proposes a framework for bolstering the black farming segment for growth and competitiveness – and ultimately food security.

Managing community practice offers a comprehensive guide to a range of models and practices essential for the management of community-based practice. Fully updated, this second edition of a bestselling book takes account of the latest developments in community policy and practice. It places the management of community practice in the context of increasing pressures of economic austerity and trends towards community self-help and co-production of policies and services. Two brand new chapters cover community-led research and sustaining community practice for the future. Based on contributions from internationally recognised authors, the book offers a unique blend of theoretical models and practice guidance, including:an historical review of community practice in the UK; the organisational implications of managing community practice; ethical challenges in negotiating power and responsibility; the significance of networks in the context of partnership working; the manager's role in supporting community-led research; the importance of participative planning and evaluation.The book is an invaluable resource for operational and strategic managers in local government, community development, health, housing and other service delivery agencies with a focus on community participation and engagement. It is essential reading for tutors and students on a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses concerned with community development, community-oriented practice and social action.

This book explores learning outcomes for low-income rural and township youth at five South African universities. The book is framed as a contribution to southern and Africa-centred scholarship, adapting Amartya Sen’s capability approach and a framework of key concepts: capabilities, functionings, context, conversion factors, poverty and agency to investigate opportunities and obstacles to achieved student outcomes. This approach allows a reimagining of ‘inclusive learning outcomes’ to encompass the multi-dimensional value of a university education and a plurality of valued cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes for students from low-income backgrounds whose experiences are strongly shaped by hardship.

Based on capability theorising and student voices, the book proposes for policy and practice a set of contextual higher education capability domains and corresponding functionings orientated to more justice and more equality for each person to have the opportunities to be and to do what they have reason to value. The book concludes that sufficient material resources are necessary to get into university and flourish while there; the benefits of a university education should be rich and multi-dimensional so that they can result in functionings in all areas of life as well as work and future study; the inequalities and exclusion of the labour market and pathways to further study must be addressed by wider economic and social policies for ‘inclusive learning outcomes’ to be meaningful; and that universities ought to be doing more to enable black working-class students to participate and succeed.

Low-Income Students, Human Development and Higher Education in South Africa makes an original contribution to capabilitarian scholarship: conceptually in theorising a South-based multi-dimensional student well-being higher education matrix and a rich reconceptualisation of learning outcomes, as well as empirically by conducting rigorous, longitudinal in-depth mixed-methods research on students’ lives and experiences in higher education in South Africa. The audience for the book includes higher education researchers, international capabilitarian scholars, practitioners and policy-makers.

This book is an introduction to the works of a collective of academics on social innovation and socio-political transformation. It offers a critique of the dominance of market-based logics and extractivism in the age of neoliberalism. Calling for systemic change, the authors invite the reader to engage in the analysis and practice of socially innovative initiatives and, by doing so, contribute to the co-construction of a sustainable, solidarity-based and regenerative society. This book will not only be an inspiration for many academics and researchers broadly interested in social innovation, but also for social movements and their protagonists challenging the dominance of the status quo. In addition, it will appeal to policymakers and politicians who want to appreciate contemporary ways of thinking and gain inspiration on how to better meet the needs of the communities they serve. Contributors: L. Albrechts, I. Andre, I. Calvo Mendieta, S. Cameron, L. Cavola, D. Coimbra de Souza, G. Cotella, A. Da Rosa Pires, S. De Blust, P.M. Delladetsimas, M. Edwards, B. Galvan-Lopez, M. Garcia, H. Gulinck, P. Healey, J. Hillier, F. Hillmann, B. Jessop, M. Kaethler, G. Karametou, C. Kesteloot, A.Z. Khan, J.-L. Klein, A. Kuhk, M. Loopmans, D. MacCallum, M. Macharia, A. Martens, F. Martinelli, A. Mehmood, K. Miciukiewicz, E. Midheme, K. Morgan, E. Morlicchio, F. Moulaert, A. Novy, S. Oosterlynck, A. Paidakaki, C. Parra, M. Pradel, J. Pratschke, P. Rego, A. Rehman Cheema, C. Rodrigues, J. Schreurs, R. Segers, L. Servillo, N.-L. Sum, E. Swyngedouw, C. Tornaghi, P. Van den Broeck, B. Van Dyck, H. Verschure, T. Werquin, P. Widyatmi Putri

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. Setting out a new, path-breaking research agenda for global rural development, this timely book offers an innovative and embedded rural social science capable of both understanding and enacting progress towards diverse and sustainable pathways. It relocates rural development at the heart of global trends associated with widespread but uneven urbanisation, climate change and severe resource depletion, rising population growth, density and inequality, and global political, economic and health crises. Chapters collapse traditional binary notions of development as north-south, rural-urban, global-local and traditional modern, embracing a revised conceptualisation of uneven development as a process dependent upon multiple theoretical and conceptual frameworks. It offers potential routes for substantive, interlinked research agendas, including new ruralities, governance, land rights, agro-ecology, financialisation, power relations, family farming, and the role of markets. Scholars of geography, planning, rural sociology and rural-urban studies looking for a broader understanding of the topic will find this book essential. It will also be beneficial for those engaged in rural development policy and practice.

This Handbook is a critical resource for carefully considering the possibilities and challenges of strategically integrating participatory action research (PAR) and community development (CD). Utilizing practical examples from diverse contexts across five continents, it looks at how communities are empowering themselves and bringing about systemic change. Chapters provide models for sustainably integrating the two practices and explore the transformative potential of decolonizing innovations and incorporating community organizing. With contributions by leading scholars and practitioners from the global south and north, the Handbook explores ways to build infrastructure to bring PAR and CD together, how to use PAR and CD to build people's power and capacity, and how to integrate PAR and CD in relation to community and organizational capacity building. It further gives practical advice and academic analysis on youth PAR, how to use PAR and CD in crisis situations such as earthquakes and pandemics, and envisions radically alternative PAR and CD approaches. This is a timely resource for social science scholars looking to better understand PAR as an important research method. It rethinks the theories underpinning both PAR and CD, offering important lessons for community development practitioners and non-profit professionals, as well as higher education professors interested in community engagement.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. Setting out a new, path-breaking research agenda for global rural development, this timely book offers an innovative and embedded rural social science capable of both understanding and enacting progress towards diverse and sustainable pathways. It relocates rural development at the heart of global trends associated with widespread but uneven urbanisation, climate change and severe resource depletion, rising population growth, density and inequality, and global political, economic and health crises. Chapters collapse traditional binary notions of development as north-south, rural-urban, global-local and traditional modern, embracing a revised conceptualisation of uneven development as a process dependent upon multiple theoretical and conceptual frameworks. It offers potential routes for substantive, interlinked research agendas, including new ruralities, governance, land rights, agro-ecology, financialisation, power relations, family farming, and the role of markets. Scholars of geography, planning, rural sociology and rural-urban studies looking for a broader understanding of the topic will find this book essential. It will also be beneficial for those engaged in rural development policy and practice.

From the top 10 bestselling author of The Cornish Midwife When Scarlett West's useless husband, Luke walks out one day and never returns, she's left to try and make a new life for herself and her four-year-old daughter, Ava. But with debts mounting, there's only one place she can go... Returning home to the village where she grew up, Scarlett starts to slowly rebuild her life. Their cottage is beautiful, Scarlett has a new job and also the support of her family and friends. Maybe this is the second chance she so desperately needs? And then there's Cameron Ellis, Scarlett's gorgeous new boss. Everyone thinks Scarlett and Cameron are perfect for each other, and as Scarlett spends more and more time with him, she begins to think that maybe he could be part of their new future, too. That is until Luke returns, desperate to get his family back.... From Jo Bartlett, the bestselling author of The Cornish Midwives Series, perfect for fans of Jessica Redland, Holly Martin and Christie Barlow. This title was previously published as The Little Village on the Hill

Equity is the tool to achieve diversity and inclusion that will help eliminate injustice and fairly distribute the benefits of an equitable environment to everyone. Corporate culture around the world has already stated efforts for sustainable development through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in rural areas. This infrastructure must be strengthened so that the rural community can become an active part of changing the world of work. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts of Businesses in Rural Areas evaluates growth trajectories and educational opportunities in rural areas. It further explores the inclusion efforts of marginalized groups in rural society. Covering topics such as the construction industry, rural populations, and workplace inclusivity, this premier reference source is a valuable resource for policymakers, investors, professionals, business leaders and managers, economists, sociologists, students and educators of higher education, librarians, researchers, and academicians.