A problematic social innovation: a case study of the Bofi Pygmies France trade camp in Grima, Central African Republic
2012
Fargeot C. | Roulet P.A.
The monetarisation of the economy and the construction of roads in the Central African forest by industrial forestry are changing the social and strategic practices linked to the mode of production of the Pygmy peoples. From a case study of the Bofi Pygmies of Grima, a village in the south-west of the Central African Republic, the article describes the appearance of a new kind of temporary settlement, the trade camp. This camp enables the seminomadic peoples to sell the forest products they gather and bushmeat directly to the urban traders, without the intermediary of the villagers. This evolution is in line with - and reinforces - a general dynamic of changing social relations within forest populations. The stances of each stakeholder (Pygmies, villagers, traders, authorities) are analysed, and a comparison between the official discourse and what is identified as being left unsaid is proposed. Finally, the article outlines some elements of thought on the influence of these changes on the natural resources available and the long term viability of the emerging new social model. (Résumé d'auteur)
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