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

strategies in one approach. How pastoralists’ perceive food needs, how
they interact with sociological processes taking place within and beyond
their households, and the diverse ways in which they interpret these
experiences may be viewed as determinants of how they cope with various
perturbations, for example, drought and one of its consequences, famine.
For instance, given the limited period of study, capturing the dynamics of
Turkana households’ livelihood strategies during the 2005-2006 drought
and famine and, at the same time, avoiding the dangers of simplistic
overviews was no easy task. This called for a combination of different
approaches, as discussed in Chapter Two. The core theory used in the
study was the sustainable livelihood approach with a particular focus on a
comprehensive and holistic understanding of issues at both the micro and
macro level. The approach also focused on the household and its assets as
a unit of social organisation. It implies that, following Sen (1981), what
Turkana people actually have, for instance their strengths and capabilities,
is more important to consider than looking at their needs or what they
don’t have. The scope of the sustainable livelihood approach was improved
by the application of the symbolic interaction theory developed by Mean
(1964), Blumer(1969) and Schutz (1970). Symbolic interaction theory views
adjustment behaviour as being influenced by taboos and perceptions, as
was the case in Turkana. Social exchange theory, as discussed by Homans
(1961) and Blau (1964), broadened the sustainable livelihood approach,
and helped to deepen our theoretical understanding of the dynamics of
reciprocity and symbiosis as an insurance mechanism among Turkana
pastoralists.
The purpose of combining the three approaches is that they have a
rationale for focusing on issues affecting Turkana people, and they aim to
strengthen the claims of the most vulnerable. The use of the three
approaches has also helped in counteracting the limitations of each
approach and allowed for consideration of various factors and processes
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