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Differentiation and Diversification: Changing Livelihoods in Qwaqwa, South Africa, 1970-2000

The documentation and analysis of the impacts of agrarian change and population displacement on the livelihoods of black South Africans under apartheid have occupied a central place in empirical research on South Africa. The country's transition to democracy and associated institutional and socio-economic transformations raise new questions about changing livelihoods in rural areas. This paper analyses processes of differentiation in Qwaqwa, Free State Province, in order to contribute to an understanding of the challenges faced by people in South Africa's former 'homelands'. The paper focuses both on the important economic, political and institutional changes that have taken place in one region of South Africa and on the particular household circumstances and social relations that affect livelihoods. Using evidence from the life histories of Qwaqwa residents, it demonstrates the complexity of livelihood diversification and ordinary people's attempts to alleviate risk and insecurity.