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“Mining is in the belly”: The pursuit of individual wealth in Rwanda

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  • Perks, Rachel

Abstract

This paper examines the socio-economic conditions under which Rwandan men moved into artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), and highlights the personal progress made possible through their labour. In the face of an unforgiving rural environment and an economy limiting in labour opportunity, young men leave their family homesteads in search of off-farm employment. Though these men never associate their labour migration with poverty, their stories are laden with reference to the “better life” they have achieved by working in the mines. Their stories show how mining is an over-looked solution to the long-held puzzle confounding underemployment and bleak non-farm opportunities in rural Rwanda.

Suggested Citation

  • Perks, Rachel, 2019. "“Mining is in the belly”: The pursuit of individual wealth in Rwanda," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-1.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:63:y:2019:i:c:3
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2019.101423
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Baffour-Kyei, Vasco & Mensah, Amos & Owusu, Victor & Horlu, Godwin S.A.K., 2021. "Artisanal small-scale mining and livelihood assets in rural southern Ghana," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).

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