ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the reasons for selecting the case study site, provides an overview of the Tshiombo area and discusses the methodology used in the household survey. During the initial, extensive, phase of the study, a short-list of villages that might be suitable for the planned case study was complied. In this, two key issues had to be considered - the wide variety of ecological conditions found in Venda and the fact that, as far as could be ascertained, agriculture was extremely marginal to livelihoods over much of the territory. One of the areas visited during the early stages of fieldwork, and that stood out as an area of strong small-holder activity, was the Tshiombo irrigation scheme. Tshiombo irrigation scheme is situated at the western end of the Tshiombo valley, on the upper reaches of the Mutale River in central Venda. The irrigated lands cover an area of 1,196 hectares, divided into 930 plots of approximately 1.28 hectares each.
