Pastoral process diagrams

The process diagrams employed here are intended to serve as an analytical and elicitation tool. The main elicitation strategy is to print out each of these process diagrams on a separate card or sheet of paper, which can be sorted in a preliminary way into those that are produced/used/consumed and those that are not.

Each diagram is focused on a single resource, which can be a natural resource or a derived cultural resource that is produced, consumed, exchanged, or otherwise employed by Mongolian pastoralists. Used as a tool for discussion of resource use with herders, the diagrams are intended to provide a visual support for exploring the diverse actions and decisions concerning the ways in which the resource may be obtained and used. As such, the guiding questions mainly reference the production/obtaining and consumption/exchange actions rather than the qualities of the resource itself. See resource_diagram_questions.csv for an empty spreadsheet for entering summary notes from interviews, recordings, and participant observation; resource_diagram_questions_sample.csv provides a sample set of notes for aaruul based on trial recordings and interviews with family members. The coding system for these tables, and underlying questioning strategy, are described below.

Topics and coding

R : Resource

Name of the resource (natural or cultural)

A : Activities

Activity process for obtaining/producing and consuming/exchanging the resource. Numbers refer to the labelled boxes in the process diagram, which are generally:

1. Domestic production
2. Purchase (market exchange)
3. Obtained by gift / redistribution among kin
4. Sale (market exchange)
5. Direct domestic consumption
6. Gift / redistribution to kin
7. Use as an element of other process
8. "
9. "

Q : Question

General questions about each of the above activities. These are intended as a guideline for prompting and later for annotation and comparison; not all questions may be relevant in each case.

a : Actors

Who produces, obtains, or uses the resource? With whom it is exchanged, or to whom it is given? What are the reasons for this organization of production, exchange, and consumption?

t : Time

In cases of gift or exchange, when and where does this take place (e.g., holidays, visits, or routine occasions)? Is production or consumption seasonal in nature?

q : Quantity

How much is produced or obtained; how much is consumed?

v : Values

Why is this particular option chosen instead of, or alongside, others? What is the economic and symbolic value of the process and of the product? If this process is not chosen, why not? Are the constraints related to resource availability, technical knowledge, institutional limits, market forces, or other factors?

p : Process

What form(s) does this type of production, consumption, or exchange take? How much variety is there? (Specifically ask about processes that are uncommon because they are relatively specialized--such as the production of tashuur--or that have unique characteristics to the household or local area.) What symbolic uses of the product are present? Ideally we would like to organize video recordings of each of the processes, from which specific comparative details will be evident, alongside information about the time and intensity of labour and the quantity of resource inputs and outputs. Commentary on the method and quantity of resource use and production could appropriately be obtained during production itself. Is it possible to schedule a recording session?

N1-Nn

Responses for a specific individual / household / xot ail.

Technical details of diagrams

The diagrams are produced programmatically from a spreadsheet (resource_diagrams.csv), using a base SVG template. The main translated elements are:

1. Name of the resource
2. Domestic production technology
3. Form of direct consumption (if applicable)
4. Known uses of the resource as an input for further production processes

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