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

placed on the contribution of social networks in livelihood sustainability.
Chapter 7 discusses factors that impinge on adaptability in the Turkana
District. Chapter 8 summarises the study, providing a conclusion and
policy implications of the study.
1.8 Chapter summary and hypotheses.
In this chapter, the following research questions were established: What
are the indigenous livelihood strategies deployed by the Turkana people to
cope with crises both in general, and in the 2005-2006 drought and
famine in particular? And how do they cope on their own without support
from outside the community? How do local practices and indigenous
knowledge contribute, or not, to the challenge of maintaining sustainable
livelihoods? The concept of social networking is used to focus on the
dynamics of the Turkana people’s livelihood during a crisis. To set the
scene for the discussion of the research problem, an overview was provided
of the wider context in which the colonial and post independence
government policies in Sub-Saharan Africa impoverished and increased
pastoralist’s vulnerability to calamities. This was followed by a selected
review of the literature on how various pastoralists adjust to the challenge
of the impending crises such as migrating, splitting families, and so forth,
depending on the configuration of their social relations.
A preliminary observation arising from the literature review is that typical
adaptive responses result in behaviours that take on exaggerated form in
times of economic hardship. The review reveals that East African
pastoralists possess a repertoire of adaptive strategies which they call into
action during drought and famine. The adaptive responses are guided by a
detailed knowledge of what environmental, physical, and social resources
are available and how they might contribute to their survival in times of
need. Survival then depends greatly on the group or individual capacity to
access potential means of support in the social and economic world
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