Understanding Different Types of Subsistence Economies: The Case of the Batwa of Buhoma, Uganda

SMC Author

Linda Herkenhoff, Saroja Subrahmanyan

SMC Affiliated Work

1

Status

Faculty

School

School of Economics and Business Administration

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2015

Publication / Conference / Sponsorship

Journal of Macromarketing

Description/Abstract

The Batwa of Buhoma, Uganda, a remote hunter-gatherer community were evicted from their forest in 1992 in order to provide a sanctuary for the mountain gorillas. Based on individual and group interviews, this commentary provides a case study that describes how the Batwa now address their basic needs, and how they participate in the formation of subsistence markets and microenterprises. In positioning this study, four types of subsistence economies are identified: nature-based, nonprofit-based, market-based, and hybrid. In addition, different types of subsistence markets are identified, namely, within community and cross community markets. This then raises several questions for future research and for subsistence communities like the Batwa’s regarding how to achieve sustainability.

Keywords

hunter-gatherers, subsistence markets, subsistence economies, sustainability, indigenous communities, macromarketing

Scholarly

yes

Peer Reviewed

1

DOI

10.1177/0276146714528954

Volume

35

Issue

2

First Page

243

Last Page

256

Disciplines

Business | Economics

Original Citation

Banbury, C., Herkenhoff, L. and Subrahmanyan S. (2015) Understanding different types of subsistence economies: The case of the Batwa of Buhoma, Uganda," Journal of Macromarketing, June Vol. 35 (2), pp. 243-256, doi:10.1177/0276146714528954

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