Helga Vierich

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Location: Golden Spike, Alberta Canada
Work: Anthropology
Biographical: Education: 1973 Bachelor of Arts, University College, University of Toronto 1974 MA, Physical Anthropology, University of Toronto 1981 Ph.D. Anthropology, University of Toronto, Thesis title: The Kua of the Southeastern Kalahari: A study in the socio-ecology of dependency, based on 28 months fieldwork and archival research in Botswana. Scholarships and Awards: 1974-75 Doctoral Fellowship, National Research Council of Canada 1975-76 Doctoral Fellowship, National Research Council of Canada 1976-77 Doctoral Fellowship, National Research Council of Canada 1977-78 Doctoral Fellowship, Canada Council, Award #452-773310 1978-79 Doctoral Fellowship, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Award #452-784295 Research Related Employment Experience: June 1997-June 1998 Researcher, GIEF (Gender Issues Education Foundation), Edmonton. This research concerned such issues as the frequency of gender bias in reporting on family violence and child abuse and involved extensive review of the literature on these subjects collected from Canadian, American, and British sources. July 1981 - July 1985 Principal Social Anthropologist, Economic Program, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Cooperative Program, Stationed at Kamboinse, near Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) This research was funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The objectives were to supply ICRIST with baseline data on the agricultural production system in the semi-arid zones in West Africa. Work was carried out in collaboration with other ICRISAT scientists, notably the economist, agronomist, and the sorghum breeders. As the Principal Staff member, my job was to direct and oversee the work of some fifteen research assistants, with a budget of $140,000 pre year. I was also involved in doing primary research on special topics, such as collection of life histories, and interviewing people in the villages on subjects such as land tenure and social organization. Fieldwork was concentrated in six villages located in three agro-climatic zones. Intensive studies of land use and tenure, division of labour, and the social organization of production groups were the major aspects of this work. Data were also gathered on cereal consumption, wood and water use, health and nutritional status and labour migration. Sept. 1981- December 1981 Researcher for Treaty Nine Band, Northern Ontario, on the subject of local self-government on Native reservations. Much of this research was done at the National Archives in Ottawa and necessitated a federal security clearance. May 1979 to January 1980 Consultant: Research into the socio-economic impact of the 1979 drought in rural Botswana. The work was funded by the German Agency for Technical Assistance. This work involved several months of fieldwork in the Kalahari desert an the preparation of two reports documenting the impact of the drought and recommending appropriate policy to the Botswana Government. October 1976 to May 1979 Informally seconded to the Ministry of Local Government and Lands, Botswana During the period of fieldwork with the Kua and the Bakgalahadi in the Kalahari, reports were submitted to the Ministry of Local Government and Lands and to the District Development Officer of the Kweneng to aid in development planning.
Favourite Publications: Science Lancet Nature Discover Scientific American Before Farming