The daily experience of farm dwellers on a commercial farm inthe North-West Province

Abstract

English: Farm dwellers’ daily experiences on a commercial farm in the North-West Province are qualitatively explored and described with the aim of arriving at an understanding of their specific experience. It is concluded that they experience their environment as entrapping. Numerous forces structure this experience, such as a lack of tangible and social resources, their geographical and social isolation, the uneven transformation of traditional employment relations and a sense of powerlessness (an inability to influence their circumstances). However, they also experience it as including some enabling elements.

Afrikaans:Plaasbewoners se daaglikse leefervaring op ’n kommersiële plaas in die Noordwesprovinsie word ondersoek en beskryf aan die hand van ’n kwalitatiewe benadering ten einde ’n begrip te vorm van hul spesifieke ervaring. Daar word tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat plaasbewoners hul leefomgewing as inperkend ervaar. Talle kragte struktureer hulle ervaring, onder meer ’n gebrek aan tasbare en sosiale bronne, hul geografiese en sosiale isolasie, die ongelyke transformasie van tradisionele indiensnemingsverhoudinge, asook ’n lae magsbelewing (’n onvermoë om hulle omstandighede te beïnvloed). Dit het egter ook hul ervaring van enkele bevorderlike elemente in hulle omgewing na vore gebring.