PhD thesis Title Page Final _Richard Juma - Victoria University ...

specific knowledge and skills acquired over the years from living in the
drought-stricken district. 81
4.8.4 Financial capital.
Financial capital consists of a stock of liquid financial resources such as
money, savings and access to credit, and less liquid resources such as
livestock, food stocks, and reciprocal claims (DFID 1994; Scoones 1998;
Ellis 2000). Financial capital discussed in this study includes livestock,
and reciprocal claims. Despite their high risks, these means of saving are
preferred by Turkana people over banks, because they are not only a
means of living, but also play a critical role in people’s lives, including
determining their status.
As pointed out by Galaty, Aronson, Salzman, and Chouinard (1981: 55)
“one must remember that livestock, particularly cattle, are not merely a
food resource; they are also capital, which is essential to all kinds of
negotiations involving influence and alliance; they are not merely savings,
they are the only form of investment available to tribal pastoralists”. As
Deng (2002: 52) explains, “For Dinka pastoralists’ in southern Sudan,
cattle are not only part of their life but they are the life”. A recent study of
African pastoralists also found that the number of livestock a household
owns is usually the most significant asset determining its wealth (Catley
2000; FEWSnet 2004/5).
Livestock: With an estimated livestock population in the Turkana District
of over 143,000 cattle, over 800,000 sheep, over 1,000,000 goats and over
30,000 donkeys, livestock are a key factor in the livelihood platform for the
Turkana District. A careful study sponsored by the Kenyan Government
showed that livestock income still contributes over 56.6 percent of the total
household income in the Turkana District (Republic of Kenya 2002).
81 This will form part of the discussion in Chapter 6.
120