Challenging orthodoxies: Understanding poverty in pastoral areas of East Africa

Understanding and alleviating poverty in Africa continues to receive considerable attention from a range of diverse actors, including politicians, international celebrities, academics, activists and practitioners. Despite the onslaught of interest, there is surprisingly little agreement on what cons...

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Autores principales: Little, P.D., McPeak, J.G., Barrett, Christopher B., Kristjanson, Patricia M.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Wiley 2008
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/751
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author Little, P.D.
McPeak, J.G.
Barrett, Christopher B.
Kristjanson, Patricia M.
author_browse Barrett, Christopher B.
Kristjanson, Patricia M.
Little, P.D.
McPeak, J.G.
author_facet Little, P.D.
McPeak, J.G.
Barrett, Christopher B.
Kristjanson, Patricia M.
author_sort Little, P.D.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Understanding and alleviating poverty in Africa continues to receive considerable attention from a range of diverse actors, including politicians, international celebrities, academics, activists and practitioners. Despite the onslaught of interest, there is surprisingly little agreement on what constitutes poverty in rural Africa, how it should be assessed, and what should be done to alleviate it. Based on data from an interdisciplinary study of pastoralism in northern Kenya, this article examines issues of poverty among one of the continent's most vulnerable groups, pastoralists, and challenges the application of such orthodox proxies as incomes/expenditures, geographic remoteness, and market integration. It argues that current poverty debates `homogenize' the concept of `pastoralist' by failing to acknowledge the diverse livelihoods and wealth differentiation that fall under the term. The article concludes that what is not needed is another development label (stereotype) that equates pastoralism with poverty, thereby empowering outside interests to transform rather than strengthen pastoral livelihoods.
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spelling CGSpace7512024-06-26T09:37:31Z Challenging orthodoxies: Understanding poverty in pastoral areas of East Africa Little, P.D. McPeak, J.G. Barrett, Christopher B. Kristjanson, Patricia M. Understanding and alleviating poverty in Africa continues to receive considerable attention from a range of diverse actors, including politicians, international celebrities, academics, activists and practitioners. Despite the onslaught of interest, there is surprisingly little agreement on what constitutes poverty in rural Africa, how it should be assessed, and what should be done to alleviate it. Based on data from an interdisciplinary study of pastoralism in northern Kenya, this article examines issues of poverty among one of the continent's most vulnerable groups, pastoralists, and challenges the application of such orthodox proxies as incomes/expenditures, geographic remoteness, and market integration. It argues that current poverty debates `homogenize' the concept of `pastoralist' by failing to acknowledge the diverse livelihoods and wealth differentiation that fall under the term. The article concludes that what is not needed is another development label (stereotype) that equates pastoralism with poverty, thereby empowering outside interests to transform rather than strengthen pastoral livelihoods. 2008-07 2010-03-02T09:31:12Z 2010-03-02T09:31:12Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/751 en Limited Access Wiley Little, P.D, McPeak ,J., Barrett, C. and Kristjanson, P. 2008. Challenging orthodoxies: Understanding poverty in pastoral areas of East Africa. Development and Change. 39 (4): 585-609.
spellingShingle Little, P.D.
McPeak, J.G.
Barrett, Christopher B.
Kristjanson, Patricia M.
Challenging orthodoxies: Understanding poverty in pastoral areas of East Africa
title Challenging orthodoxies: Understanding poverty in pastoral areas of East Africa
title_full Challenging orthodoxies: Understanding poverty in pastoral areas of East Africa
title_fullStr Challenging orthodoxies: Understanding poverty in pastoral areas of East Africa
title_full_unstemmed Challenging orthodoxies: Understanding poverty in pastoral areas of East Africa
title_short Challenging orthodoxies: Understanding poverty in pastoral areas of East Africa
title_sort challenging orthodoxies understanding poverty in pastoral areas of east africa
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/751
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