ABSTRACT
The 'commoditisation' of labour in African rural areas is frequently associated with a decline in forms of collaborative work and the use of wage labour when it becomes necessary to secure workers from beyond the household. Turning to the contemporary context of co-operative work in the Transkei, it is apparent that a historical perspective is required in terms of which work parties can be seen as linked to both the relations between households and the internal composition of households in general. One of the more important forms of co-operative work in Shixini is what is colloquially known as the 'agricultural company'. This consists of from four to twelve homesteads, which combine their labour, implements and draught cattle to perform agricultural tasks such as ploughing, planting and, to a lesser extent, harvesting. The need for agricultural companies arises for a number of reasons, both ecological and material.
