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

The sustainable livelihoods approach is central to this discussion. It
provides an important insight and a strong starting point to understanding
the dynamics of Turkana pastoralists’ livelihoods as it places a lot of
emphasis on ownership of, or access to, assets which the Turkana people
could use to construct their own routes out of food insecurity problems.
The approach incorporates a view that integrates social capital 32 directly
into household livelihood analysis. But for the purpose of this thesis, the
sustainable livelihood approach is too general and lacks the specificity to
carry a detailed analysis of all the issues critical to understanding Turkana
people’s livelihood strategies. To improve its theoretical depth and make it
more powerful analytically, this study draws from two other approaches:
symbolic interaction theory and social exchange theory. These theories
were incorporated on the basis of their applicability to the research
problem and add an important dimension to the study. The three theories
also share some features and highlight several variables which are critical
to understanding capacities and ways in which Turkana people cope with
drought and famine.
Initially, these three theories will be reviewed separately in order to
operationalize and improve their theoretical depth. Finally, with special
emphasis on drought, a framework will be formulated to analyse Turkana
pastoralists’ adaptation to the constraints imposed by dryland conditions.
The framework illustrates an alternative scenario, by highlighting the
positive aspects of the livelihood situation in the Turkana District by
looking at what is possible, rather than, negatively, at how desperate
things are.
32 The incorporation of social resources within the sustainable livelihood approach relates
to the earlier work of Amartya Sen (Sen 1981; Sen 1985).
36