Coffee frontiers in the Central Highlands of Vietnam: networks of connectivity

The objective of this paper is to provide an understanding of how the gap between the ‘global’ and the ‘local-peripheral’ is bridged in the everyday life of the peasantry at a coffee pioneer front. The networks of connectivity between the spontaneous migrant-peasants at the coffee pioneer front in the province of Dak Lak in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, and the global coffee market are explored. This set of linkages helps the peasantry to settle, despite the harsh conditions of life on the frontier. This is illustrated through a brief ethnographic account of the ‘peripheral’ characteristics of life on a coffee pioneer front. By borrowing analytical tools from actor-network theory, the paper also illuminates the (actor) networks through which coffee finally reaches the export gate. This account suggests that global commodity production processes are often embedded in local dynamics, in this case, the political-economy of the frontier. Further, it implies the need to transcend scales when inquiring about peasant-market relationships in export agro-commodity production.