Agro-industrial Labour in Kenya : Cut Flower Farms and Migrant Workersâ#x80 ; #x99 ; Settlements

Â#x80;Gerda Kuiper has done a great service to anthropology and African studies by writing a book on the important but understudied global flower industry of Naivasha, Kenya. This will be a valued resource for courses in African studies, economic anthropology, and development studies.â#x80;#x99; â#x80;#x94;Peter D. Little, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Anthropology and Director of Global Development Studies, Emory University, USA â#x80;In this rich and detailed ethnography, Kuiper seeks to situate labor in the cut flower industry within a wider social and historical field in which the environment, gender, colonialism, and broader political economic factors all come to matter.â#x80;#x99; â#x80;#x94;Sarah Besky, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and International and Public Affairs, Brown University, USA â#x80;Kuiper has provided us with a superbly crafted ethnography of the migrant farm workers whose labour the flower farms of Naivasha depend upon. This is a classic of its genre, and a timely reminder of both the resilience and fragility of Kenya's labour market.â#x80;#x99; â#x80;#x94;David M. Anderson, Professor of African History, University of Warwick, UK This ethnography analyses labour relations within the export-oriented cut flower industry at Lake Naivasha in Kenya. Though this agro-industry has attracted critical attention from journalists and non-governmental organizations, this book is the first comprehensive, social scientific analysis of the industryâ#x80;#x99;s labour arrangements and production processes. Gerda Kuiper here interprets the work on the farms as â#x80;agro-industrial labourâ#x80;#x99;: a labour system characterized by high levels of discipline and a strict rhythm of work, due to the demands posed by a highly perishable agricultural product. This framework enables the author to draw on insights from a wide range of anthropological and sociological studies on (agro- )industrial wage labour around the globe. This mixed-methods approach, deployed alongside rich ethnographic detail, allows the author to center the flower farm workers in her analysis. Gerda Kuiper, Ph. D., is a cultural anthropologist with a regional focus on Eastern Africa, a thematic focus on economic anthropology and globalization, and a strong interdisciplinary commitment Â#x80;Gerda Kuiper has done a great service to anthropology and African studies by writing a book on the important but understudied global flower industry of Naivasha, Kenya. This will be a valued resource for courses in African studies, economic anthropology, and development studies.â#x80;#x99; â#x80;#x94;Peter D. Little, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Anthropology and Director of Global Development Studies, Emory University, USA â#x80;In this rich and detailed ethnography, Kuiper seeks to situate labor in the cut flower industry within a wider social and historical field in which the environment, gender, colonialism, and broader political economic factors all come to matter.â#x80;#x99; â#x80;#x94;Sarah Besky, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and International and Public Affairs, Brown University, USA â#x80;Kuiper has provided us with a superbly crafted ethnography of the migrant farm workers whose labour the flower farms of Naivasha depend upon. This is a classic of its genre, and a timely reminder of both the resilience and fragility of Kenya's labour market.â#x80;#x99; â#x80;#x94;David M. Anderson, Professor of African History, University of Warwick, UK This ethnography analyses labour relations within the export-oriented cut flower industry at Lake Naivasha in Kenya. Though this agro-industry has attracted critical attention from journalists and non-governmental organizations, this book is the first comprehensive, social scientific analysis of the industryâ#x80;#x99;s labour arrangements and production processes. Gerda Kuiper here interprets the work on the farms as â#x80;agro-industrial labourâ#x80;#x99;: a labour system characterized by high levels of discipline and a strict rhythm of work, due to the demands posed by a highly perishable agricultural product. This framework enables the author to draw on insights from a wide range of anthropological and sociological studies on (agro- )industrial wage labour around the globe. This mixed-methods approach, deployed alongside rich ethnographic detail, allows the author to center the flower farm workers in her analysis. Gerda Kuiper, Ph. D., is a cultural anthropologist with a regional focus on Eastern Africa, a thematic focus on economic anthropology and globalization, and a strong interdisciplinary commitment Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Introduction (Gerda Kuiper)....Pages 1-33 Naivasha’s History: From Livestock to Flowers (Gerda Kuiper)....Pages 35-84 Coming to Naivasha: Finding a Place to Stay and a Place to Work (Gerda Kuiper)....Pages 85-125 Inside the Farms: Rhythms and Hierarchies (Gerda Kuiper)....Pages 127-182 Workers’ Settlements: In Search of Order (Gerda Kuiper)....Pages 183-237 Building a Future: Preparing to Go “Home” (Gerda Kuiper)....Pages 239-264 Conclusion (Gerda Kuiper)....Pages 265-273 Back Matter ....Pages 275-284