“When Your Child Gets Easy Money, It Feels Good Being a Mom”: 'Thai migrations and wild-berry picking in northern Sweden as a form of social reproduction'

Abstract

The present article explores ‘free’ wild-berry picking in Sweden, as experienced by Thai migrants. Thai women with permanent residence permits in Sweden pick and sell wild berries to earn extra income during the summer holidays. They also invite seasonal migrants who provide the wild-berry industry with berries, but who have no formal employment. This private form of organising berry picking can be understood as a strategy, in that women with heavy social and financial responsibilities have found a way of maintaining the social reproduction of their Thai families and helping them earn important additional incomes.

Keywords

• migrant labour
• wild-berry industry
• gender
• social reproduction
• thailand