Craft Development and Development through Crafts: Adaptive Strategies of Labrador Women in a Changing Fishery

Abstract

Abstract: Like women in other coastal regions of the North Atlantic, Labrador women have a long history of adapting to the exigencies of life in a fishing, hunting and trapping society. For over 60 years crafts production has provided these women the means to contribute cash to household incomes, especially during times of economic hardship. In this article we explore the creation of early rural development initiatives by the International Grenfell Association and other philanthropic organizations that provided craft skills, instruction, materials and access to markets for these craft products. We explore further how these early development schemes have undergone change since their inception and how contemporary Labrador women view and organize themselves in craft-production activities within the broader context of community development issues.IntroductionSince the turn of this century, social service providers, health care professionals, clergy, provincial development workers and individual Labradorians have grappled with the question of how to increase the income of fishers who live along that rugged coast. Over the years, the numerous, local, provincial and philanthropic schemes have met with only limited success. In various permutations, a focus on the development of a craft industry has been part of all of these schemes, in particular as it relates to the improvement of women's opportunities to contribute cash to household incomes. There are a number of profound changes which have occurred in Labrador in the last decade, such as the catastrophic demise of the cod fishery, the negative impacts of sealing protests on the sale of pelts and other furs, and tighter controls in the salmon fishery. These changes have contributed to an urgent need to find solutions to the short- and long-term socio-economic problems of coastal Labradorian people. Social-scientific research has focussed on understanding and remedying these conditions in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. While such studies have made important contributions to understanding the conditions under which these fishers live, they have focussed largely on fishery policies, the economics of the fishing industry or the social organization of fishing crews. The subjects of these studies have been predominantly male fishers from the Newfoundland portion of the province. Less attention has been given to the conditions under which Labradorians, and women (in particular, Labrador women), live and their potential for contributing to the economic recovery of the region. Some important exceptions include the work of Brice-Bennett (1992), Cahill and Martland (1993), Davis (1988), McCay (1988), Neis (1988) and Porter (1985), among others.The goal of this article is to explore the role of crafts production in providing Labradorian women with the means to earn an income and contribute to the local cash economy. To this end, we examine the barriers to the development of crafts as a significant economic enterprise in coastal Labrador since the demise of Canada's east coast cod fishery.We begin with a discussion of the historical context of craft production, and then turn to the organization of contemporary craft groups and women's involvement in them. Following this, we examine the nature of crafts production and, finally, focus on the barriers impeding the florescence of crafts production in these difficult times. An exploration of these features and their various linkages requires some familiarization with the research locale. The following section provides a brief ethnographic overview of the south coast of Labrador.Description of the Study AreaLabrador, roughly the size of Italy, constitutes the eastern boundary of Canada's sub-Arctic and makes up the larger and northern portion of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The research area is situated along a jagged stretch of isolated coast and off-shore archipelagos between Sandwich Bay and Mary's Harbour (see Figure 1). …