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Pastoral Livelihoods

by Stephen Browne — last modified 03/04/2008 20:36

FEG Consulting's experts have been working in pastoralist livelihood systems for over sixteen years, building a substantial base of cross-continental knowledge about pastoral economies, refining methodologies for assessing and monitoring these systems, and developing strong institutional links with agencies concerned with pastoralist survival.

FEG's pastoralist work has extended across Africa and into parts of Asia, including (but not limited to) the Somalis in the Ogaden and Somalia; the Nuer, Dinka and Toposa in southern Sudan, the Karamajong in Uganda, the Himba in Angola, the Turkana in Kenya, the Maasai in Tanzania, the Fulani in the Sahel, and pastoralists in the Cholistan and Tharpakar deserts in Pakistan.

This broad and deep first hand field experience has allowed FEG Consulting to build up considerable knowledge about pastoral economies, as well as to hone specific methodological approaches for assessing and monitoring pastoral livelihoods. Click here for more on how HEA has been adapted for pastoral settings.

At the same time, FEG Consulting has nurtured strong institutional and technical relationships with many of the agencies directly involved in address pastoralist needs, including: FEWS NET, FSAU Somalia, LEWS, DPPA, SC-UK, Oxfam GB, ICRC, CARE, and Christian Aid. 
A Livelihood System on Edge

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Pastoralists have traditionally made use of lands that agriculturalists shunned, existing in these sparse expanses by moving in tandem with shifting seasonal rains and pasture. This mobility has afforded them the flexibility to withstand the occasional drought or raid and to recover relatively quickly. With population growth and increased competition over even marginal lands, the constraints on movement have tightened. In the Horn of Africa, these limits have coincided with a decade of poor rains, putting their livelihoods at risk of collapse.  

 
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