Based on a decade of first-hand experience and secondary research, this richly detailed study follows daily life in four villages in Tanzania. It investigates their regional economy, civil society, democratization, AIDS, population growth, farming and households and environmental degradation and population. An essential text for all serious students and researchers interested in development.

Contents: Introduction; Conceptualizing the peasantry; Civil society and governance; The ecology of the Kagera region: the physical and human environment; AIDS and depopulation; Rwandese refugees in Tanzania; The staff of life; Coffee, the world market connection; Sustainable development reconsidered: the rich farmers; Women heads of household: the need for empowerment; Consumer goods and the cash economy; Conclusion; Bibliography.