Bonding Social Capital of Rural Women in Southwest Iran: Application of Social Network Analysis*

The establishment of local communal organizations is a unique strategy of rural communities to build resilience against economic challenges. Shirvareh is traditionally recognized as an important communal organization of women in Southwestern Iran for managing dairy production and securing their livelihood. Preserving this vital social institution and its associated indigenous knowledge was the main motivation of this study to examine factors influencing Shirvareh's performance. Given that relevant studies on the performance of this social organization in Iran are rare, the current study was an attempt to fill this gap through an empirical study using a social network analysis (SNA) approach. The general goal of this study was to investigate the networks of trusting relationships of rural women involved in the Shirvareh organization in Ghasr-e-Yaghoub village located in Fars province, Southwestern Iran. The results revealed that possible in-group trust ties were maximum whereas out-group trust ties were moderate to high, meaning that bonding social capital at individual, sub-group, and network level are generally high. High in-group and out-group ties enable community members to cope with disturbances, initiate social innovation, and act collectively, which in this case, assures the sustainability of their efficient traditional organization and protects them against poverty.