The Commodities and Anticommodities research programme focuses on modes of indigenous production as sustainable practice and resistance against agrarian commercial capitalism in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean during the colonial era.
The introduction of commercial agriculture in colonised regions of the world is often considered as serving the interests of the colonisers at the expense of local populations, their knowledge and cultural identity. This programme takes a different approach, arguing that changes triggered by colonial introductions of commercial agriculture (‘commodity') included forms of resistance against and creative responses to those changes that led to specific ‘indigenous' forms of production (anti-commodity). By investigating and bringing together unexplored expressions and various examples of anti-commodity practices, the programme intends to shed new light on the impact of commercial agriculture in the colonial era and how it has affected agricultural changes in developing nations today.
The research team consists of: