Paper short abstract:

This paper will discuss how historical weather patterns have been addressed by farming communities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It will address the effects of 'dessication', before employing historical anthropology to describe how climate was interpreted, addressed and accepted in the past.

Paper long abstract:

South Africa is currently experiencing a devastating drought. Some view it as the impact of El Niño, others see it as a result of decline in morality in a post apartheid, neo-liberal society. The drought has coincided with the first major recession since the appointment of the democratic dispensation in 1994 which has for many exacerbated the interpretation of drought. However, this is not a new phenomenon, being part of an historical cyclical wet / dry system. Furthermore, gradual change in climate appears to have been identified as early as the mid-19th century Cape Colony, with the trends being described as 'dessication' resulting in the writing into law the requirements for the retention of indigenous forests, legally circumscribed as 'Crown Forests' to preserve the environment. For South African farmers, subsistence and mechanical, drought and floods are not a new challenge. Cycles of feast and famine, wet and dry are abundant in the social records of the last century, showcasing the optimism and desperation of people working the land.

This paper will employ methodologies of historical anthropology to discuss climate variation and climate change in KwaZulu-Natal, Southern Africa. Archival records, documents produced by Farmer's Associations and the Natal Agricultural Union will be used to interrogate this subject, in addition to situating more recent assertions which attempt to explain the current crisis.