Paper short abstract:

Farming identities in Namibian Karakul sheep farming are shifting in response to economic and ecological crises. Farming itself becomes a valorised lifestyle, not merely a way of winning a livelihood. Categories of farm worker or farmer depend on land ownership as much as on knowledge.

Paper long abstract:

The Namibian Karakul industry is a type of sheep farming focused on the production of lamb pelts for the fashion industry. Formerly one of the most important export products from Namibia, a combination of drought, falling pelt prices, and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic now threaten the survival of Swakara, the Namibian Karakul. In this crisis situation, the identities and relations of sheep farmers and farm workers are being re-aligned.

Predation and predator control through fencing, herding, and hunting have shaped farming practices throughout the region. To farmers and farm workers, knowledge of sheep is entwined with knowledges of specific land and the ecologies of livestock and wildlife inhabiting it. The question of who is considered a farmer and who a farm worker depends as much on land ownership, which is concentrated in the hands of white commercial farmers, as it does on knowledge and skill.

Building on ethnographic fieldwork in southern Namibia, this paper investigates notions what makes ‘a good farmer’ in this complex field shaped by colonial injustices and ongoing economic and ecological crises. The categories of weekend-farmers, part-time farmers and hobby farmers are negotiated in pursuits of authenticity. White settler identities have undergone a shift from ‘hardy pioneers’ to ‘custodians’ of livestock, wildlife, land, and lifestyle. At a time when its economic benefit is uncertain, ‘the good farming life’ becomes something of value in itself, not merely a means of generating value.