Relocation and change in Manantali, Mali
Grimm, C.
IDA Development Anthropology Network 6(1): 10-15
1988
Document Number: 323285
The case study is concerned with the radical transformations that have occurred during the last 10-15 years in the Manantali area, the most dramatic change being the recent relocation of 10 000 people as a result of construction of a major dam across the Bafing River during 1981-88. Changes prior to dam construction were also found to contribute to the present situation. Preliminary results of data collected over a 22-month period during the relocation process indicate that the combined effects of resettlement and a previous increased involvement in export crop production have led to changes in domestic organization and the development of new forms of socioeconomic stratification. An examination of changes in trading practices and the emergence of other non-farm sources of remuneration, such as wage employment and resettlement project compensation, demonstrates how capital accumulation is restructuring social relations in the region. In particular, a few men are capitalizing on these changes and rising to new levels of wealth through commercial entrepreneurship and capitalist agriculture, invoking new relations of production and exploitation.