Page 331 - Panjek, Aleksander, Jesper Larsson and Luca Mocarelli, eds. 2017. Integrated Peasant Economy in a Comparative Perspective: Alps, Scandinavia and Beyond. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 331
and and labour as resources of an integrated peasant economy in a swedish district
much as needed, and probably also had some problems with harvesting
enough hay. Thus, in spite of larger forest resources than the other farms,
these resources couldn’t be fully utilised as labour availability became a se-
vere bottleneck in the integrated economy during the 1860s crop failure.
Hyttbäcken had large areas of agricultural land and needed, even
more than Backåkers, income to keep up with high costs, not least for all
the hired labour. During the crop failure, the farm had cash reserves to
keep the labour, which could maintain the work of fields and meadows and
also increase the production of charcoal in the forest.
Our main result of the analysis of a diversified economy in relation to
ecosystem resources and labour, is that resources that are less sensitive to
weather were essential, but that the realisation of alternative income sourc-
es may be restricted by the availability of labour, both in general and at
particular periods during the year. It was necessary to keep enough labour
during periods of declining income, to avoid a negative loop of further re-
duced income. Here, the social network of relatives and neighbours may be
essential. We see examples of changed use of ecosystems in response to la-
bour deficit, such as a switch from labour-intense hay-making to the use of
grasslands for grazing at Backåkers. Furthermore, seasonality of the eco-
system resources could cause severe shortage of labour, which inhibited the
use of some resources. An integrated economy therefore needed resource
use to be dispersed in time.
Acknowledgement
We want to thank Anna Thomasson and family for giving us access to the
farm archive of Hyttbäcken. The study was funded by the Swedish Resear-
ch Council within the research project Resilience of subsistence – the agra-
rian households between society and nature 1750–1900. We want to thank
our colleagues in the project for valuable input on the results.
Bibliography
Archival sources
NM: Nordiska Museet.
SBD: Svenska Bondedagböcker.
44: Diary from Matses/Strandmora, including farm accounts, written by
Anders Ersson 1851–1894.
329
much as needed, and probably also had some problems with harvesting
enough hay. Thus, in spite of larger forest resources than the other farms,
these resources couldn’t be fully utilised as labour availability became a se-
vere bottleneck in the integrated economy during the 1860s crop failure.
Hyttbäcken had large areas of agricultural land and needed, even
more than Backåkers, income to keep up with high costs, not least for all
the hired labour. During the crop failure, the farm had cash reserves to
keep the labour, which could maintain the work of fields and meadows and
also increase the production of charcoal in the forest.
Our main result of the analysis of a diversified economy in relation to
ecosystem resources and labour, is that resources that are less sensitive to
weather were essential, but that the realisation of alternative income sourc-
es may be restricted by the availability of labour, both in general and at
particular periods during the year. It was necessary to keep enough labour
during periods of declining income, to avoid a negative loop of further re-
duced income. Here, the social network of relatives and neighbours may be
essential. We see examples of changed use of ecosystems in response to la-
bour deficit, such as a switch from labour-intense hay-making to the use of
grasslands for grazing at Backåkers. Furthermore, seasonality of the eco-
system resources could cause severe shortage of labour, which inhibited the
use of some resources. An integrated economy therefore needed resource
use to be dispersed in time.
Acknowledgement
We want to thank Anna Thomasson and family for giving us access to the
farm archive of Hyttbäcken. The study was funded by the Swedish Resear-
ch Council within the research project Resilience of subsistence – the agra-
rian households between society and nature 1750–1900. We want to thank
our colleagues in the project for valuable input on the results.
Bibliography
Archival sources
NM: Nordiska Museet.
SBD: Svenska Bondedagböcker.
44: Diary from Matses/Strandmora, including farm accounts, written by
Anders Ersson 1851–1894.
329
