An Anthropological Study on the Global Commodity Circuit for Ghanaian Handicrafts
Project/Area Number |
15H06300
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Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
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Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
Research Field |
Cultural anthropology
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Research Institution | Nagasaki University |
Principal Investigator |
USHIKU Haruka 長崎大学, 多文化社会学部, 戦略職員 (10759377)
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Project Period (FY) |
2015-08-28 – 2017-03-31
|
Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2016)
|
Budget Amount *help |
¥2,340,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥540,000)
Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000)
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Keywords | 手工芸品 / 現代消費文化 / 流通 / 企業 / ガーナ / 「顔の見える」関係 / 消費 / グローバルな循環 / 「顔の見える関係」 / 流通と消費 / 経済人類学 / インターフェイス |
Outline of Final Research Achievements |
This study examines how the global commodity circuit for Bolga baskets, a Ghanaian handicraft item, has been maintained by analyzing the associated marketing/consumption practices. Five different, partly overlapping circuits of consumption are identified. This multiplicity of consumption circuits provides markets for the various kinds of baskets. While some circuits emphasize alternative consumption practices, the results of interviews with retailers and analysis of consumers’ blogs and online reviews suggests that consumers actually demand higher-quality baskets of moderate prices. This study then examines the trading practices wholesalers employ to meet the demands of “picky” consumers and the former’s relationship with weavers and local middlemen. It describes the circuits cannot be maintained without flexible trading practices based on the holistic understandings of the life in the basket-producing villages, which leads to an adequate supply of higher-quality baskets.
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Report
(3 results)
Research Products
(11 results)