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

climate, and socio-economic conditions. Recent studies in the Turkana
District shed more light on the major causes of vulnerability in that
particular area and supports Scoones (1998) line of thought. According to
Swift (1985) and the Turkana District Contingency Unit (1992), the main
constraints that are said to facilitate famine are cattle raids from the
neighbouring communities, livestock diseases and climatic factors. As will
be discussed in Chapters 4 and 5, the historical context which
encompasses the origin and culture that constitutes the identity of the
Turkana people, and their marginalization through colonial and post
colonial periods is important to their livelihood situation. Therefore, this
study assumes the context given by Scoones (1998). 43
Generally, in this framework (Figure 4), drought among other factors is
seen to change the resource flows critical for livelihood sustainability in
the Turkana District by profoundly disrupting the local people’s assets or
resources. Practically, the focus of this study centres on the idea that
Turkana people, either as individuals or groups, do not think of their
livelihood strategies immediately as crisis strikes. They first define the
problem they face on the basis of their world view (e.g. values, norms,
taboos, and roles), and give it a specific meaning before adopting a relevant
livelihood strategy.
The literature on livelihoods distinguishes between ‘coping’, which involves
temporary adjustments to livelihoods in the face of crisis, but does not
necessarily bring a change in livelihoods, and ‘adaptation’ which involves a
longer term shift in the conventional practices and informal or formal rules
pursued by households and communities inorder to secure their
livelihoods and to minimize the risk of lives (Scoones 1998; Sinclair and
Ham 2000). According to De Waal (1994), it is the local coping strategies
43 The context given by Scoones (1998) forms the basis for the consideration of a wide
range of factors which have impacted negatively on the Turkana people’s livelihood. These
factors are extensively discussed in Chapters 4 and 5.
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