From household to region: the marketing/production interface
Abstract
Academic interest in African pastoralism increased considerably in
the 1970s and early 1980s. Studies in this time period emphasized,
inter alia, ecology and subsistence production, political economy,
farmer/pastoralists interaction, resource allocation and livestock
marketing. Another trend which was emphasized but is still mainly at
the conceptual stages is that of analyzing pastoral production systems
from a regional perspective. Fundamental to this position is the
premise that pastoral systems are components of a larger spatial
economy; that is, a subsector of a regional economy. This paradigm
advocates a better understanding of the linkages between the pastoral
sector and other sectors of the regional economy.
This dissertation analyzes the Il Chamus pastoral economy (Kenya)
using the methods of regional analysis. The central thesis is that
recent socio-economic changes in the Il Chamus pastoral economy are
related to broader transformations at the regional level, particularly
regarding the Baringo regional grain market. The di'sintegration of the
regional market favors a more diversified pastoral production system,
one that incorporates significantly more grain production. However, it
is only when social relations at the production level are understood
that one can assess how these regional changes are manifested at the
neighborhood and homestead levels. It is suggested that pre-existing
social 'relations based on livestock ownership have allowed mainly the
wealthier Il Chamus to benefit from the economic diversification of the
past fifteen years.
It is argued in this study that regional analysis as it has been
used by economic anthropologists must be modified in the African context
to account for the importance of production and its social relations.
The dissertation proposes a "bottom up" or micro production approach to
regional analysis. Such a perspective allows one to understand the
causes and processes involved with the II Chamus transformation from
pastoralism to agro-pastoralism.
Citation
Submitted to the faculty of the Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Anthropology, Indiana UniversityPublisher
Institute of Anthropology, Gender and African Studies