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Development interventions, changing livelihoods, and the making of female Maasai pastoralists

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  • Elizabeth Wangui

Abstract

The broad objective of this paper is to examine the evolution of gendered aspects of livelihood strategies and their interaction with various development interventions. Central to this is an empirical analysis of gendered divisions of labor in the context of rapidly changing pastoralist livelihoods. The paper begins with a literature review on gender roles in pastoralist societies. Two important gaps in the existing literature are identified. First, studies on gender roles are too often studies on women’s roles as men’s roles are rarely included. Secondly, despite a recognition that pastoral livelihoods are rapidly changing, much of the research has ignored the gendered impacts of this change. The study area is Loitokitok Division, Kajiado District, Kenya. Field data were collected in an extensive household survey, key informant interviews, and group discussions held in two field seasons between 2001 and 2004. Results indicate that development interventions led to land use encapsulation, sedentarization, new ways of accessing dry season grazing areas, new land uses, new livestock breeds, and increased school enrollment. In the context of these livelihood changes and increasing drought, a fundamental shift in gendered roles in livestock production has occurred. Maasai women in the study area contribute more labor to livestock production than men do. Various efforts to modernize the livestock sector are leading to a loss of women’s control of milk resources. This finding has important implications for current and future development interventions in pastoralist communities and their ability to improve livelihoods of the most vulnerable sections of the population. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008

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  • Elizabeth Wangui, 2008. "Development interventions, changing livelihoods, and the making of female Maasai pastoralists," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 25(3), pages 365-378, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:25:y:2008:i:3:p:365-378
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-007-9111-z
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    Cited by:

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    2. Joana Roque de Pinho & Clara Grilo & Randall B Boone & Kathleen A Galvin & Jeffrey G Snodgrass, 2014. "Influence of Aesthetic Appreciation of Wildlife Species on Attitudes towards Their Conservation in Kenyan Agropastoralist Communities," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(2), pages 1-10, February.
    3. Olivia Howland & Dan Brockington & Christine Noe, 2020. "Women’s Tears or Coffee Blight? Gender Dynamics and Livelihood Strategies in Contexts of Agricultural Transformation in Tanzania," Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Centre for Agrarian Research and Education for South, vol. 9(2), pages 171-196, August.
    4. Loos, Tim & Zeller, Manfred, 2015. "Income structures of Maasai households- Who benefits whom?," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212154, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    5. Tim K. Loos & Manfred Zeller, 2014. "Milk sales and dietary diversity among the Maasai," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 45(S1), pages 77-90, November.
    6. Yurco, Kayla, 2024. "From grazing units to milking units: The gendered nature of intra-household livestock management and food security for pastoralists in Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    7. Goldman, Mara J. & Little, Jani S., 2015. "Innovative Grassroots NGOS and the Complex Processes of Women’s Empowerment: An Empirical Investigation from Northern Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 762-777.
    8. Walter Leal Filho & Daniel Nzengya & Gladys Muasya & Judith Chemuliti & Jokastah Wanzuu Kalungu, 2017. "Climate change responses among the Maasai Community in Kenya," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 145(1), pages 71-83, November.
    9. Loos, Tim K. & Zeller, Manfred, 2014. "To sell or not to sell – Maasai milk marketing in Ngerengere, Tanzania," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 9(2), pages 1-13, April.

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