Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers

On Uneven Development

Purpose




There is a growing interest in artisan entrepreneurs around the world. Scholars are increasingly interested in how artisan enterprises use tourism in a resource-constrained resources. Based on the concept of artisan chocolate entrepreneur, the purpose of this paper is to examine the phenomenon of artisanal chocolate making in a small island with limited resources yet influenced by increased tourism.




Design/methodology/approach




Artisan enterprises are considered relevant in developing countries and their creation merits further attention. This study examines artisan enterprises using in-depth interviews, case studies, and an interpretative approach. The approach enables examining how artisan chocolate enterprises use tourism to develop their businesses in a context characterized by limited resources.




Findings




The findings show that artisan entrepreneurs are encouraged to start and develop enterprises due to lifestyle choices. The findings reveal a connection between artisan chocolatiers developing place-bound features to address a growing demand of tourists’ expectation for authentic and local products. The approach of artisan entrepreneurs in such conditions can be explained through entrepreneurial bricolage.




Originality/value




This study contributes to the literature on the initial stages of artisan enterprises particularly in resource-constrained environments influenced by tourism. More specifically, the study provides evidence of the relevance of tourism for artisanal enterprise emergence, which is a relatively overlooked area in tourism and artisanal studies in developing countries. The study highlights the key place bound features that artisanal chocolate entrepreneurs associate to their products based on tourists’ demand for authentic and local products.

/pdf/rethinking-artisan-entrepreneurship-in-a-small-island-a-tale-4q7scuhuoo.pdf

Rethinking artisan entrepreneurship in a small island A tale of two chocolatiers in Roatan, Honduras

The public health restrictions and social distancing imposed as a consequence of COVID-19 have not only had a profound impact on intangible heritage, they have also prompted resilience, reinvention, and creativity. This analysis of the period provides an insight into the social significance of intangible heritage and its adaptability and ability to evolve, while also raising questions about its sustainability. This article tackles the impact of lockdown and public health restrictions on the festivals included in the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Heritage in Spain. Employing qualitative and ethnographic methodology, the study analyzes the effects of restrictions on the 18 elements on the UNESCO list and the responses adopted; it also includes case studies on three elements. The article concludes that in the post-COVID-19 period, it will be necessary to rethink the economic and social sustainability of intangible heritage practices and to discover new ways of managing them. It will also be necessary to go back to more local formats that are less crowded and less dependent on tourism. The pandemic has exposed the fragility of intangible heritage, and it is now time to rethink the perhaps excessive growth it has experienced in recent years.

/pdf/the-sustainability-of-intangible-heritage-in-the-covid-19-3ryegmqo1r.pdf

The Sustainability of Intangible Heritage in the COVID-19 Era—Resilience, Reinvention, and Challenges in Spain

https://cibg.org.au/article_9927_dfac2a77b7d5e66d915931165ce062c8.pdf

Enforcement of maritime archaeology in malaysia: a review

For the last two decades, the polysemous notion of ‘scale’ has drawn an increasing amount of attention among scholars studying heritage policies and practices, often with regard to UNESCO c...

/pdf/scaling-heritage-the-construction-of-scales-in-the-3pcfg2zjga.pdf

Scaling heritage. The construction of scales in the submission process of alpinism to UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list

UNESCO heritage policies encourage the idea that heritage should be ‘shared’ at the international scale, and invite States and the involved actors to adopt this vision. Yet ‘sharedness’ can be understood in many different ways. In this article, we explore several territorial and political issues related to this notion of sharedness. A focus on the uses of a particular UNESCO tool—‘multinational nominations’— allows to shed light on transnational cultural practices and to examine forms of cooperation within communities and between States in the framework of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). Specifically, we analyse the work of a French commission for ICH as well as the nomination processes of three different cultural practices to the ICH Lists: flamenco, falconry, and alpinism. We argue that ‘shared heritage’ is interpreted in a variety of ways, leading to contrastive appropriations and competing territorial scenarios among the various protagonists.

/pdf/sharing-heritage-politics-and-territoriality-in-unesco-s-4yhmzi4e3g.pdf

Sharing heritage? Politics and territoriality in UNESCO’s heritage lists

This chapter examines the connections between the luxury industry and heritage paradigms, with an anthropological focus on craftwork and techniques. In this regard, the current organization and recent history of Swiss watchmaking offer a useful case study. Indeed, the current dominance of the Swiss watch industry in the market of high-added-value timepieces and the unprecedented success that the concept of heritage enjoys in the Swiss watch world may best be understood, jointly, by going back forty years. At that moment, the Swiss mechanical timepiece industry was under extreme pressure from a structural crisis, which began in 1974. Since the beginning of the 1980s, the category of heritage has been used as a means for industry leaders to progressively update the value of their mechanical products and reposition them into the luxury market. An exploration of the Swiss watch industry also reveals that, in the 1980s and 1990s, many Swiss brands went upmarket by selling products in their traditional styles but incorporating high-end mechanisms created and developed by skilled independent craftspeople, who were experienced in repair and restoration. This shift of heritage products into the luxury market has, in turn, reshaped the notion of the craftsperson or artisan and led to the emergence of a new category of watchmakers called ‘independent creators’.

Hervé Munz

Papers

Scaling heritage. The construction of scales in the submission process of alpinism to UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list

Sharing heritage? Politics and territoriality in UNESCO’s heritage lists

Crafting Time, Making Luxury: The Heritage System and Artisan Revival in the Swiss Watch Industry, 1975–2015