Traditional Management of Drought and Famine in Kenya

Abstract

This paper maintains that it is not entirely possible to distinguish between purely pastoral management strategies in arid and semi-arid regions and those used by agriculturalists because of the historical symbiotic relationships that have existed between pastoral and agricultural societies. The three phases of famine are demonstrated: (1) the cultural phase, when relief is sought through social networks; (2) the family phase with the emphasis on nurturing the children; (3) the final individualistic selfish phase, which can actually mean the end of culture. The focus is on Kenyan societies, although some Africa-wide observations are made. A more general view of drought and famine management strategies is taken to include institutionalized behaviour patterns that have a bearing on survival. These strategies include: (1) organization of production that has risk avoidance as one of its objectives; (2) processing of the harvest and storage management strategies; (3) the actual drought and famine management strategies, being the contingency measures resorted to during severe drought and famines. Strategies discussed here portray useful indigenous knowledge that needs to be conserved in the absence of guaranteed food security. Similar critical resources are used in both agricultural and pastoral societies for survival, including labour, land, livestock and networks of relatives and friends.