Fluid Landscapes: Land Pawning and Livelihood Strategies in Salenrang, South Sulawesi

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2024

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Livelihood strategies change over time and in accordance with the conditions of a particular location and the available resources. The influence of capitalism and global markets continues to expand into rural regions, influencing local conditions, thus, smallholders are faced with challenges to their livelihoods. While this process has, historically, seen many countries shift away from agricultural livelihoods in favor of non-farm work, there are regions of the world, such as Southeast Asia, that have not followed this path. This suggests that these smallholders have adopted livelihood strategies, in conjunction with the introduction of external changes, that allows them to maintain their status as smallholders. This study examines the livelihood strategies of smallholders in Salenrang and the roles of the institutional process of land pawning in the adoption of these strategies. Using data from semi-structured interviews and direct observations, it aims to analyze how the tenure institution gadai mediates the adoption of livelihood strategies as well as mitigates the impacts of economic differentiation on rural livelihoods. This study used a conjunctural approach to understand the historical context of livelihood adoption and development in Salenrang, then combines this context with content analysis of the interview data to analyze the local tenure institution gadai in relation to the livelihood profiles of the village. The results suggest that gadai is a significant feature in Salenrang’s community structure. It is an institutional process that plays an important role in mediating livelihood strategies in Salenrang and also acts as a mechanism for mitigating the impact of livelihood diversification that has seen the shift away from agricultural livelihoods of smallholders in other regions of the world. This research argues that gadai, as a customary practice, historically has functioned as a welfare practice, however, while it continues to do so in many instances, it is also a practice with the potential to act as a tool of dispossession, especially given increasing livelihood diversification. For this reason, attention should be given to gadai in the future as rural and smallholder developments continue to occur.

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Geography, Indonesia, Land Pawning, Land Tenure, Livelihood Strategies

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100 pages

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