Abstract
Cape Verde is an island country and Sahelian, where the climatic conditions cause a rainfall deficit originating dry periods causing a fragile agricultural development. The rural world is facing various problems such as lack of land for cultivation, lack of water and soil erosion. The "apanha de areia" (sand haversting) refers to the extraction of sand and gravel from the sea and rocks. Although it is considered as an environmental crime, the activity is carried for generations and supplies the civil construction business of the country. This study analyze this activity from the perspective of women from the interior of Santiago, in the locality of Charco, in the municipality of Santa Catarina. The research was carried out based on an ethnography of long duration, with spaced field visits, since January 2009 and the monitoring of environmental and gender policies in Cape Verde. As results, we highlight women's agency in the face of a context of growing social inequalities.
Highlights
Cape Verde is commonly presented in the literature as an island and Sahelian country, in which its climatic conditions cause a rainfall deficit, originating dry periods that persevere and, impose a fragile agricultural development
It is composed of ten islands, nine of which are inhabited, being its population comprised of 248,280 women and 243,403 men, according to the 2010 population census. (Instituto Nacional Estatística, 2011)
Considered as a medium developing country, the percentage of the poor population was 26.6% in 2007, according to Cape Verde’s Unified Questionnaire of Basic Wellbeing Indicators, published in the Statistical Yearbook. (Instituto Nacional de Estatística, 2015, p. 63)
Summary
Cape Verde is commonly presented in the literature as an island and Sahelian country, in which its climatic conditions cause a rainfall deficit, originating dry periods that persevere and, impose a fragile agricultural development. The sand harvesting is recognized locally as a work that involves more women than men, men are increasingly present in this activity, but only in some circumstances, as two partners who were on their way to the Charco explained to us These 22 and 27 year-old young men identified themselves as fishermen; they said that they prefer to go fishing, but as the sea was rough, they would have to go sand harvesting because they needed some money to endure until the end of the year and it would not be possible to wait for the sea conditions to improve. Sand extraction in Cape Verde is prohibited by law and it makes no sense for people to be making excuses of any kind (RETOMA, 2016).”
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