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Institute of Development Studies, Working Paper 340, March, Brighton, Mary Ann Brocklesby, Mary Hobley and Patta Scott-Villiers (2010)

A qualitative analysis of the engagement of pastoral communities in Ethiopia with the state and other institutions reveal the dynamics and effectiveness of their ‘voice’ in attaining livelihood security and addressing vulnerabilities.

Historically, pastoral communities in Ethiopia have had a lesser degree of engagement with the state regarding their livelihood issues. The ‘voice’ of people pursuing pastoral livelihoods has been primarily directed within clans and communities. The power to speak out and put forth their demands in order to secure better livelihood outcomes or calling for support from neighbours and clan members at times of distress is crucial in pastoral society. Dialogue is also seen as a tool for maintaining social cohesion within pastoral communities.

In recent times, with the state emerging as a principle agent of governance and development throughout Ethiopia, there is greater engagement and dialogue of the pastoral communities with government agencies. The role of ‘voice’ within pastoral communities has assumed newer dimensions. There is an enhanced effort by pastoralists to engage with state and non-state institutions for ensuring better distributions of goods and resources and securing stable livelihoods. However, simultaneously there has also developed a holistic demand of making the Ethiopian establishment comprehend and recognize the pastoral way of life and society.

In this context, Brocklesby et. al. studies the different aspects of ‘raising voices’ within pastoral communities in the three Ethiopian woredas (administrative units with population of 30-50,000), Dillo, Gawane and Sabba Boru for six months in 2009. Their study framework looks at three major aspects of development in pastoral communities. First, it assesses how people express their voices and participate in the development process. Secondly, the relationships between people at different levels, from intra-household to that with the state, and their implications for the effectiveness to be heard are examined. Finally, the study also looks at the institutional responses to the demands and issues of the pastoral communities and to what extent voice and responses are linked.

The contexts in the three study areas are varying. The Borana pastoralists from Dillo, mainly dependent on small livestock rearing, face increasing constraints to their pastoral livelihoods due to reduced access to pastures, caused by encroachment of woody acacia species and conflicts across the Kenya border. Gawane is the heartland of the AFAR pastoralists and historically been a wealthy pastoral society. However, even here, there are reports of reducing rangelands due to private appropriation of riverside land, bush encroachment, changes in the course of the Awash river and conflicts with neighbouring areas.  The pastoral economy in Sabba Boru is under stress more due to internal conflicts over land and mining, individualization of pastures and droughts.

The study notes that ‘competence’ of pastoralists is a critical element determining their livelihoods and well-being. ‘Competence’ is shaped through the accumulation of knowledge, skills, a network of relationships (relatives, clans, trading partners, and neighbours) and lastly but importantly, the raising of voice or having the power to actively connect with and engage in those networks.

One can identify four broad levels of competence- high, functional, stressed and non-competence among the pastoral communities. Those with ‘high’ competence are found to be thriving in terms of their livelihoods. These are people with strong networks, high levels of visibility in clan and government arenas, have better access to information and connections to rural and urban areas. Usually, this is backed by surplus herds, diversified income sources and plenty of access to financial resources through savings groups and remittances. The pastoralists with ‘functional’ competence are located above poverty conditions and have a ‘voice’ within clan systems. They are skilled and knowledgeable and adequately engage with government agencies but always do not have the power to secure meaningful responses.

The ‘stressed’ competence arises due to limited networks and low mobility and visibility within clans. This leads to increasing poverty and generically associated with those who have low ownership of livestock and no access to paid-employment or remittances. Finally, non-competence is associated with complete lack of networks and clan support, causes destitution and virtually leads to drop-outs from the pastoral community. Informal, irregular and stressful employment on the borders of urban areas helps such people to barely survive.

The assessment of the dynamics of competence among the pastoral communities shows that social cohesion is an important pre-condition for attaining competence. A rejection of social norms, through developing addiction to alcohol or narcotics, leads to the non-availability of any clan or community support, like donation of food and livestock, during vulnerabilities and livelihood shocks. This process is elaborated by case studies among the Borana pastoralists.

Another process that is undermining ‘voice’ of members of pastoral clans is the invasion of external investors, who seal land deals with a few influential clan members. The compensation that members receive is often arbitrary and knowledge of the terms and conditions of land deals are mostly absent among common clan members. Such methods of exclusion were illustrated by the case studies in the Gawane town.

The analysis of competence among pastoralists revealed the association between wealth, access to resources, income levels and the shaping of their ‘voices. The study further locates that effectiveness of ‘voices’ also depend on location, age and gender. Those pastoralists, who get de-linked from their communities and the rural areas, normally have very less chance of securing social support and better pastoral livelihoods. The old clan members are also losing much of their earlier stronger ‘voice’ due to new political institutions and parties, which promote the young as political representatives. This is many ways have disrupted or transformed the old clan system among the pastoralists.

Though women have their formal association, the policy institutions are normally gendered and many women felt attending meetings of such associations were not fruitful. Women find it more useful to raise their livelihood demands through their husbands or other male relatives. Case studies and interviews of women in all three woredas stood testimony to the gender-biased nature of the newer formal institutions.

The emergence and the working of the new institutions have undermined the old community system of sharing. Growing poverty among pastoralists has also been a reason why the old pastoral way of life (frequent sharing of livestock) has become more infeasible over the last couple of decades. The pastoralists increasingly feel as inert objects of the development policies of the state with decline of their own customary institutions, as revealed by group interviews of elders in Gawane. The study identifies that new processes like the Pastoral Communication Initiative (PCI), often facing government clamp-down, are not only aimed at strengthening the voice of the pastoral communities but also a political attempt to make the government recognize their way of community life.