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

epertoire of adaptive strategies which stand out in relief and draw on
social networks as an insurance system. The dominant modes of networks
identified during the 2005-2006 drought and famine consisted of trading,
reciprocity, migration, splitting families and the search for allies. For
example, families were split with some members sent away to relatives,
friends, and school in order to ease the consumption pressure on available
household food resources. The process thus helped to slough off
population from the pastoral sector. The allies sought out included
traders, kinsmen, affine, bond friends, neighbours and school; and thirdly,
that adaptability in the Turkana district is a function of the physical,
social, and economic environment. For instance, the Ngibelai, who
inhabited a more hostile and isolated rural environment suffered more
severely, while the Ngisonyoka of the richer urban environment escaped
almost unscathed since their adaptive strategies aimed at augmenting
existing domestic food supplies by looking for non-pastoral food sources.
Finally, the study concludes that, since the drought and famine problem in
the Turkana District is an indication of what might become a wider
problem throughout Kenya; the challenge for the Turkana people and the
Kenyan government is to plan for a sustainable adaptive strategy based on
indigenous initiatives.
Key words: Drought, famine, Turkana, livelihood strategies, adaptive
strategies, social networks.
iv