Paper short abstract:

In Papua New Guinea (PNG) women entrepreneurs depend on informal institutions, such as, social networks, and familial connections, among other social ties, to recover and rebuild their business from economic losses imposed by the pandemic.

Paper long abstract:

Abstract

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, women entrepreneurs in the global south experienced businesses losses. In Papua New Guinea (PNG) women entrepreneurs with formally registered businesses experienced more hardship after the pandemic compared to women operating in the informal economy, despite the availability of economic recovery support through the formal institutions. This phenomenon points out the instrumental role of informal institutions, such as, social networks, and familial connections, among other social ties.

To address this question, this ethnographic study explores the impact of the pandemic on 20 migrant women entrepreneurs in the city of Port Moresby and 20 indigenous women entrepreneurs in the township of Goroka. Through interviews and field observation, the study aims to shed light on the current situation of these women entrepreneurs and explore possible initiatives that may help these informal businesses, like public recognition, funding opportunities through social monies, and cooperative ventures, among others.

The research offers evidence to inform policies and strategies that are contextually relevant and appreciates the unique role that women entrepreneurs perform within the economy. It considers the institutional structures that these women belong to and identity with, and how best to utilize these in post pandemic economic recovery efforts.

Keywords: informal economy, Papua New Guinea, entrepreneurs, women, post pandemic, institutions

Paper short abstract:

How are indigenous farmers ‘being resilient’ in the face of the increasing precariousness brought about by climate change and expansion of industrial agricultural systems? How far have politics of food sovereignty been able to respond to these emergent challenges?

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores the lacunae in Northeast India between the strategies of food sovereignty activists which are aligned with global conversations around Indigenous food systems, the state-led initiatives which seek to empower indigenous farmers through livelihoods and market linkages and food security, in the context of the multifaceted aspirations of Indigenous farmers in the region. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between January 2022 and December 2023, the paper considers the diverse significations that heritage food crops (such as buckwheat and millets), traditional agricultural systems (subsistence based shifting cultivation) and livelihood options come to accrue as Indigenous farmers, especially small and marginal farmers, navigate the emergent challenges of climate change, changing food preferences, youth migration, ever-expanding reach of industrial agricultural systems and global markets. The central question for the study has been: what makes an Indigenous farming community ‘resilient’ (Monica M. White, 2018) in the present context and have the received notions of food sovereignty been able to accommodate and respond to the present needs of the communities?

Paper short abstract:

Campesinos from Marina Kue, Paraguay (the site of the 2012 massacre resulting in a parliamentary coup) have leveraged complex care networks and an ethic of food citizenship to secure land and livelihood from a state which often privileges the interests of soy agribusiness and narcotraffickers.

Paper long abstract:

Campesinos in the district of Curuguaty petitioned the state’s bureaucratic channels for eight years in attempts to collect a title for land in Marina Kue, eligible for reappropriation under the post-dictatorship constitution. After prolonged administrative neglect, the campesinos organized a land occupation in May of 2012. But their occupation ended after only three weeks, when three hundred heavily-armed police stormed the campsite, defending the interests of agribusiness and expanding soy monoculture. The political repercussions that followed the massacre at Curuguaty were extraordinary: right-wing politicians blamed President Lugo, who had promised land reform during his campaign, for provoking campesino violence, and removed him from office in a parliamentary coup. The massacre and its political implications thrust the small community of Marina Kue into the international spotlight and caused long-simmering disillusionment with corruption to boil over in Paraguayan civil society. “¡¿Que pasó en Curuguaty?!” emerged as a rallying cry and alliances formed among campesinos, international human rights organizations, the Catholic church, and environmental NGOs in the pursuit of public accountability. After years of work, these coalitions have achieved impressive victories—winning the acquittal of all accused campesinos in 2018 and land regularization in 2023. For a total of 16 months between 2018 and 2022, I conducted ethnographic research with these coalitions in order to examine the circumstances under which campesinos can find and maintain reliable urban allies in order to organize for their land and livelihoods.

Paper short abstract:

This project examines the emerging experiments in fibers among young entrepreneurs in Nantong, China’s largest textile town. It investigates how the pursuit of new materials, technologies, and connotations of “homeyness” reshape production and consumption in a precarious post-pandemic economy.

Paper long abstract:

This project examines the emergence of experiments in fiber and textiles among young entrepreneurs in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China. Facing challenges posed by post-pandemic economic anxieties, resurgent geopolitical tensions, international trade wars, and re-spatialized global supply chains, young generations of textile businesspeople in China’s largest domestic textile center have lately resorted to new fibers, technologies, and connotations of “homeyness” (or “cozy-ness”) as potential solutions. My fieldwork has encountered, for example, bean-based fibers (marketed as an alternative to cotton) that cater to rising eco-friendly preferences among homeowners, as well as lightweight synthetically made blankets with the name “cool bean (bing doudou)” referring to their bean-like shape and texture. Unpacking these material-semiotic experiments through the narratives of various involved actors (entrepreneurs, factory workers, designers, etc.), this ethnographic study seeks to investigate the following questions: 1) What motivates such experiments? Are multiple levels of drives involved, prospectively ranging from peer pressure, market competition, and the Chinese state’s promotion of the slogan “created in China” (i.e., beyond “made in China”)? 2) What kinds of new relations, movements, economies, or experiences can be generated from within? Could they lead to substantial and sustainable developments or could they end up instilling a sense of “cruel optimism,” since the stakes of experimenting with new products in a constantly shifting economy are high? That is, with a thing-oriented analytical approach, this paper attends to new fibers’ rich materiality, configurations for different textile producers, and implications for understanding today’s Chinese economy.

Paper short abstract:

Drawing from seven months of fieldwork among independent artists and their communities in Guangzhou, China, in 2020-2021, this paper investigates the feminist alternative practices of independent artists in response to their experiences of gender marginalisation.

Paper long abstract:

Drawing from seven months of fieldwork among independent artists and their communities in Guangzhou, China, in 2020-2021, this paper investigates the feminist alternative practices of independent artists in response to their experiences of gender marginalisation. Along with being sexualised and discouraged by some of their art colleagues and the public, there has been an emergence of alternative practices among female independent artists in Guangzhou, including alternative art production, space cultivation, and community development. Alternative art practices have not only diversified the expression and representation of female artists; they have also helped female and non-binary people connect to discuss gender-related issues and provide mutual support. Altogether, these expanding feminist practices, spaces, and communities have yielded everyday life strategies to negotiate and contest existing patriarchal conventions and imbalanced power relationships. This paper also offers a view of changing gender politics within art communities in Chinese independent art field.