4.
rationality of women's life, which is centred in (though by no means

confined to) the domestic domain. And within that domain, there is one

resource which is critical: fuel supply. It could be said to be the

key both to cropping choices and household food availability.

Huss-Ashmore writes:

 "Because fuel is essential for processing almost
 all foods, it can be considered a critical
 resource for the maintenance of health and
 nutritional status. In Mokhotlong the type of fuel
 used, and the time spent to procure it, vary
 according to the seasonal availability of dung"
 (Huss-Ashmore 1982:156).

The preferred fuel is compacted dung, readily available during the

winter from the kraal close to the homestead, which, dried in uniform

slabs, burn with the slow, even heat necessary for long cooking of

dried grains and pulses. Women from kraal-less households have to

purchase the dung or to manipulate kin relations to get it. When the

cattle are moved in the summer to the high pastures, women must use

horse and cattle dung, picked up from the fields and trails, which is

less dense and takes more time to gather. Both sorts are kindled with

resinous, woody shrubs which become scarcer as the summer passes but

may be the only source of summer fuel if insufficient dung can be

gathered. For a short period, kraal dung may be kindled with maize

cobs as they are threshed in the winter. It is fuel availability

rather than food availability which determines which foods are eaten

at different seasons:

 "The supply of slow-cooking protein sources is not
 used equally throughout the year but is depleted
 during the cold season when appropriate fuels are
 available. During the summer the population relies
 heavily on wild vegetable protein sources, which
 require more time to locate and gather but which
 can be rapidly cooked" (Huss-Ashmore 1982:157).