Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Finding that ‘Eureka’ moment
T2 - the importance of conducting detailed field-research in Africa
AU - Neimark, Benjamin
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - In 2005–2006, I conducted 14 months of fieldwork on the political economy of bio-prospecting in Madagascar. I was in the deep south of Madagascar investigating the industrial production of the prized medicinal plant, rosy periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus). The goal of my research was to examine how foreign pharmaceutical companies gain and maintain access to the plant and if Malagasy benefited from the trade. During that time I had the unusual opportunity to observe a sacrificial ram ceremony. In the moment, the sacrifice seemed irrelevant to my work. It was quick and before I knew it, it was over and the local periwinkle collectors were getting back to the hustle and bustle of market day. It did not seem very significant to any of them, so I let it pass as well. However, after a full review of my data back home, I realized that the sacrifice was one in a series of ‘mechanisms of access’ that companies will employ to overcome the social barriers to production and continue the flow of periwinkle out of the area. Drawing on my own experiences in Madagascar, I describe the importance of keeping detailed field notes to the success of the overall research project.
AB - In 2005–2006, I conducted 14 months of fieldwork on the political economy of bio-prospecting in Madagascar. I was in the deep south of Madagascar investigating the industrial production of the prized medicinal plant, rosy periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus). The goal of my research was to examine how foreign pharmaceutical companies gain and maintain access to the plant and if Malagasy benefited from the trade. During that time I had the unusual opportunity to observe a sacrificial ram ceremony. In the moment, the sacrifice seemed irrelevant to my work. It was quick and before I knew it, it was over and the local periwinkle collectors were getting back to the hustle and bustle of market day. It did not seem very significant to any of them, so I let it pass as well. However, after a full review of my data back home, I realized that the sacrifice was one in a series of ‘mechanisms of access’ that companies will employ to overcome the social barriers to production and continue the flow of periwinkle out of the area. Drawing on my own experiences in Madagascar, I describe the importance of keeping detailed field notes to the success of the overall research project.
KW - fieldwork
KW - bio\-prospecting
KW - political ecology
KW - Madagascar
KW - Africa
U2 - 10.1080/19376812.2012.679467
DO - 10.1080/19376812.2012.679467
M3 - Journal article
VL - 31
SP - 76
EP - 79
JO - African Geographical Review
JF - African Geographical Review
SN - 2163-2642
IS - 1
ER -