The Politics of Smallness

Abstract How does a vernacular unit, the “plot,” become a standard unit of land advertisement and sale? The shift away from agricultural land use often takes the form of subdivision, as parcels are broken down into smaller pieces. This essay asks about the meaningful and material work that goes into decomposing agricultural land and recomposing real estate “plots” in rural western Kenya. It looks carefully at the role of units, measurement, and size, with particular attention to the question of smallness. Drawing on historical sources and the author's fieldwork in two de-agrarianizing rural sites, the essay argues that ideas about smallness anchored in colonial agricultural policy continue to shape land tenure today. It first explores how the “plot” is constructed as a specific kind of unit (one that is both small and intended for real estate development). Next, it explores the history of smallness by looking at the role of land size in late colonial efforts at agrarian reform. Finally, it considers two moments where the plot emerges as a socially and historically constituted object that helps make land available for real estate. By unpacking the plot and denaturalizing land, the essay contributes to discussions on the role of social attachments in processes of land commodification.