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

CHAPTER 6 THE 2005-2006 DROUGHT IMPACTS, PERCEPTION AND
RESPONSE
6.1: Introduction.
The previous five chapters outlined the wider context of this research and
the methodology used during the fieldwork. This chapter presents the
analysis of field research undertaken in the two study villages (Morulem
and Lokichar) in the Turkana District. The chapter takes a closer look at
the challenges, opportunities and constraints Turkana people faced during
the 2005-2006 drought and famine, and how they constructed their
livelihoods on the basis of their social relations.
The chapter consists of two sections. Each section deals with an element of
the framework discussed in Chapter 2 (see Figure 4). The first section
focuses on the quantitative dimensions of Turkana households’ livelihoods.
It gives an overview of the impact of the 2005-2006 droughts and famine in
the study area so as to enable us to appreciate the difficult economic
conditions Turkana people went through: conditions which they were
forced to grapple with on their own before they received any livelihood
support from the Kenya government and external donors. This will be
followed by an analysis of Turkana people’s environmental perception and
an interpretation of their economic predicament.
Section two then turns to what can be considered the crux of the thesis –
behavioural patterns which emerged in the process of adjustment to stem
the negative effects of the 2005-2006 drought and famine. This section
takes a more qualitative approach, focusing on richer and deeper interview
data. It looks at issues surrounding change, aiming to better understand
Turkana responses to drought. As discussed in Chapter 4, Turkana people
are generally known as opportunists taking advantage of various options
for subsistence, which again is an adaptation to the risks of their
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