Feminist story-telling radically challenges the conventional researcher- subject-reader relationship. The ‘subject’ is recognized as the expert who shares her knowledge with the researcher; the concepts and the words belong to the ‘subject’ and are not appropriated or altered unilaterally by the researcher. And the reader is not viewed as a passive recipient of expert knowl- edge. ‘If one person’s theorizing is sound and correct enough to be useful to another, the other still has to make use of her own knowledge to transpose and interpret it, to adapt it to the details of her own life and circumstances, to make it her own’ (Frye, 1983, p. xiv). Lengthy verbatim extracts encourage the
reader to respond to the data at a personal level, both intellectually and emotionally. Thus, feminists encourage the writing of research outcomes in a manner that is accessible to the lay reader. The roles and responsibilities of researcher, ‘subject’ and reader are thereby reconceptualized as a nuanced, non-hierarchical alliance. There is, however, a difference of opinion among feminist scholars as to the desired/target audience for feminist research. For example, liberal feminists are keen to educate men into an appreciation of gender equity and tend to write for a male audience. Radical and social femi- nists believe that women’s first priority is to ‘speak profoundly to one another’
(Heilbrun, 1988, p. 43). Ecofeminists, the group with whom I affiliate my thinking, are the most ecumenical, arguing that women and men alike need to be more respectful of Mother Earth.
Mindful of the intent of feminist research, I will nonetheless point out some of the common threads emerging from this ‘shared text’, as the reader is disadvantaged by having access to only a selected number of interview/correspondence fragments. In such a circumstance, the researcher must assume a more proactive interpretive role. In keeping with the jazz improvisation analogy, the individual threads, while often not identical, reflect and modify each other. The values, attributes and attendant behaviours are not necessarily unique to grounded entrepreneurial work but they are central to the life experiences reported here. Further data collection or the critical reassessment of already collected data may confirm or refute the definitive validity of these threads.
Multifaceted, Meaningful Work
For all three women, their work is, simultaneously, a means to honour Mother Earth and an opportunity to provide for the present and future needs of their families. More than simply capitalist asset acquisition and revenue generation,
‘gardening’ with Mother Earth is conducted within an ethical/religious/values- based context. A grounded enterprise is both a space and a place where these women become, accessing an opportunity that has been lost for many workers in industrial societies. Localization and re-ruralization initiatives could, according to their proponents, ‘strengthen and diversify economies at both the community and national levels’ (Norberg-Hodge, 1996, p. 394; Mies and Shiva, 1993). More urgently, reuniting with the land could bring spiritual/
psychological relief to alienated workers.
The Healing Power of Physical Work
Working on the land fosters the holistic interdependence of body, mind and spirit such that hierarchical distinctions between body work and mind work
are muted. Through strenuous physical labour Thuli, Catharine and Anne all experienced the healing power of Mother Earth and were justifiably proud of their accomplishments; yet those accomplishments would typically be deemed life-style businesses and not worthy of an entrepreneurial designation. As entrepreneurship theory shifts towards valorization of mind work, our theoret- ical frameworks are weakened and we lose sight of essential, meaningful enterprise. These stories are cautionary tales, reminding us of important human experiences.
Reconceptualized Time
Earth time has a rhythm that supersedes the unnatural constraints of quar- terly/annual business cycles. On the land, seasons/years are recognized as benchmarks, marking patterns, but working the land is a continuously regen- erative process. Death is not an ending but a transition point. While the agen- das of the Enlightenment, modernism and postmodernism embrace a naive desire to decouple life and death, Mother Earth teaches that life and death are one and inseparable, an insight that Hjorth and Steyaert astutely observe to be endemic to the entrepreneurial process in which ‘creativity and pathology are inevitably interwoven’ (Hjorth and Steyaert, 2003, p. 300). In the garden, death is not a taboo subject. Reflecting upon their life’s work, Thuli and Catharine envisaged a multigenerational timeline in which their children and grandchildren would benefit from their hard work. For Anne, her garden is an ideal place to die; she knows that new life will appear with the changing of the seasons.
Non-monetary Success
In subsistence and imperfectly monetized economies, success equals the phys- ical survival of oneself and one’s family. For Thuli and Catharine, hard work and pride in a job well done are proxy phrases for success. In a harsh envi- ronment, measurement against effort expended, rather than outcomes achieved, establishes pragmatic goals within the individual’s control. These goals align with what organizational behaviourists call intrinsic rewards.
Reciprocity and altruism replace individualistic consumption, not as an asser- tion of moral superiority, but as consistent with the realities of the work situa- tion. Working in a monetized economy Anne must meet necessary financial standards in order to stay in business; however, she does not set profit as her personal measure of success. Instead, she defines success as the creation of a peaceful destination and the building of long-term relationships with her customers.
Power Through Female Support Systems
Denied public influence by androcentric systems of ownership and economic control, Thuli and Catharine cultivated supportive relationships with women in their respective communities. As they engaged in cooperative endeavours they enacted power as a shared, collective resource, which enhanced prospects for group survival. With comparatively better legal rights and greater economic security, Anne was still uncomfortable with the notion of power over others. She talked about a relaxed work environment with her female employees; for her cooperation, even with a competitor, was a preferred strategy. When power is shared it empowers everyone and it can transform a community.
Building Relationships and Community
Unlike industrial production or knowledge work, grounded work – work that occurs with and for the land – is axiomatically concerned with space and place. Grounded entrepreneurial activity becomes a mutually beneficial inter- action between and among individuals as they collectively create meaning for themselves and for their community. In Thuli’s village, these transactions were non-monetary; she needed the help of young neighbourhood children to manage her garden; in turn, the children earned food, a win–win exchange.
Superficially, Anne’s relationship with her customers is a profit-creating economic value exchange and, as her business prospers, she contributes to a stronger local economy. However, she works hard to transform her space into place. She offers her customers a destination, a place of quiet and beauty and reflection; she encourages them to linger and is rewarded by the camaraderie and affection offered in return. As most of her customers are women, Anne is informally nurturing a vibrant, although transient, female community. Spoken of with affection within the gardening community, Anne does not have a pres- ence in the local business community.
About Strong Women
With limited public support, Thuli and Catharine and Anne succeeded in their chosen endeavors, exhibiting along the way strength and courage and patience and insight. But, because historians have not attended to our entrepreneurial foremothers (Bird, 1968; Lerner, 1986) and because entrepreneurship theories focus very narrowly on selected forms of enterprise, we are unaccustomed to reading about strong women56who engage in the essential, everyday business of living. Our collective entrepreneurial record needs reconstruction.