Universität zu Köln

Kuiper, Gerda (2017). "The Flowers Are Carrying Us". Agro-industrial Labour and Migrant Workers' Settlements at Lake Naivasha, Kenya. PhD thesis, Universität zu Köln.

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Abstract

This ethnography analyses labour relations and production processes within the cut flower industry at Lake Naivasha in Kenya. It interprets the work on the farms as "agro-industrial labour": a labour system that is characterized by high levels of discipline and a strict rhythm of the work, due to the demands posed by a highly perishable agricultural product. The dissertation draws on a mixed methods approach, triangulating the outcomes of a survey among inhabitants of workers' settlements with data gathered through several qualitative methods and archival and desk research. The main aim of the dissertation is to show how labour conditions and labour relations within the flower industry came into being and how these have changed over the years. It argues that the highly controversial position of workers in the industry cannot be understood by analysing the farms in isolation or by a sole focus on the global value chain of the flowers. The dissertation therefore analyses the connections between the ecological characteristics of the crop and the organization of labour; the 'manufacturing' of consent and the 'production' of the workforce; the role of 'cultural factors of difference' such as gender and ethnicity within farm hierarchies; and the influence of the migratory background of the workers on their position within the farms and in the settlements where they live. By providing a historical background and by following migrant workers from their arrival until their departure, this dissertations aims to provide a nuanced understanding of workers’ working and living experiences in Naivasha.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD thesis)
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Kuiper, Gerda kuiper.gerda@gmail.com UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-90890
Date:	1 October 2017
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Fächergruppe 4: Außereuropäische Sprachen, Kulturen und Gesellschaften > Institut für Ethnologie
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language Labour relations, translocal migration, agro-industry, Kenya, mixed methods, anthropology English
Date of oral exam:	1 March 2018
Referee:	Name Academic Title Bollig, Michael Prof. Dr. Schulz, Dorothea Prof. Dr. Anderson, David Prof. Dr.
Funders:	DFG
Projects:	Resilience, Collapse and Reorganization of Social-Ecological Systems of Africa's Savannahs
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/9089