The Production of Material Goods As Resilience Adaptation By Impelled Migrants in Malawi

Framing impelled displacement resulting from ecotourism promotion and development as a form of sociocultural and economic disaster, this study investigates the challenges faced by this new class of environmental refugees. Interviews conducted in Malawi with 153 local craftspeople and vendors show that the portability of human capital helps to ease the rural to urban transition and reduce the impact of anomie. Through the production of material goods, impelled migrants forge connections with their past while reinventing their sense of self. This contributes to disaster literature that focuses on transition processes in the aftermath of disasters and provides suggestions to improve resilience amongst displaced populations.