Plant fibre crafts production, trade and income in Eswatini, Malawi and Zimbabwe

Abstract

The production of plant fibre products is considered a promising pathway for contributing to people's livelihoods particularly in developing countries, where economic options might be limited. However, there are limited comparative studies across countries on plant fibre products, making it difficult to examine how local and broader biophysical, socioeconomic, cultural and policy contexts influence craft production patterns in terms of primary plant resources used, products made and contributions to livelihoods. Using household surveys for data collection, this paper presents findings from a comparative analysis of plant fibre craft production and income in three southern African countries, Eswatini, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Although there was commonality in terms of the constraints experienced across the three countries, there were pronounced differences in the types and quantity of products and income between and within countries. The average gross monthly income from craft sales was modest and of the same order of magnitude across the three countries but 50% higher in Zimbabwe (US$75 ± 135) than in Eswatini (US$56 ± 71) and Malawi (US$48 ± 168). High craft income was associated with long experience in craft production, quantity of craft products and access to bulk buyers while old age, more income sources, high education level and bigger households yielded low craft income. Although craft income tended to be low, the economic contexts in these countries characterised by high levels of poverty, craft income represents an important livelihood source. Implications for policy interventions are discussed.