Pastoral development in north eastern Kenya : past efforts, present experiences, future options

Abstract

African pastoral societies are affected by the general social, economic, political and ecological crises of the continent, and are subject to forces, which have an increasing influence on their ecosystems and cause growing vulnerability. Many analyses, which influence development decision-makers often, confuse symptoms and causes, therefore establishing inappropriate courses of action. Among policy makers and within some of the literature there is a current thinking that attributes traditional practices as the main barrier to development. Simplistic assumptions about the traditional attitudes of African herders are held up as explanations for development failure.

Development interventions in northeastern Kenya, as is in much of pastoral Africa, have not fared well. Development policy was geared towards pacification, control, and sedenterization of the Somali of northern Kenya, giving priority to livestock health and marketing and ignoring the plight of the herders. Much of what has been proposed fails in visualizing affordable ways of reaching nomadic pastoral peoples with any meaningful social services. While segments of development literature pay lip service to ascertaining pastoralists' desires, rarely has this expressed concern been fully translated into process.

This study will examine the significance of indigenous pastoral strategies within the sustainable development of the Somali of northeastern Kenya. The paper argues that without including indigenous pastoral strategies into the development process, not only will development efforts be unsustainable but in fact the costs of development are exacerbated. The need for planning and implementing development projects with, rather than, for local people have become increasingly apparent. Meaningful involvement of the local communities is an essential component of sustainable development.