Volume 5, Issue 1, January 2014, Pages 5–15
Takunda J Chirau1, Sipho Nkambule2, and Gift Mupambwa3
1 Rhodes University, Department of Sociology, South Africa
2 Rhodes University, Department of Sociology, South Africa
3 North West University, Department of Sociology, South Africa
Original language: English
Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This study explores the rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe. Taking Moyo Musande as a case study, the study identifies and explores the livelihood strategies of households in the context of contemporary economic and political conditions. The empirical findings unpacked diverse livelihood activities and resources that villagers deploy to construct livelihoods. Contemporary livelihoods are not only located within natural resources and agrarian activities but also constitutes informality, civil society donations, social reciprocity, pensions and remittances. Livelihoods are often jeopardized by numerous challenges namely lack of credit, theft, unemployment and politics. Despite the challenges rural people negotiate and maneuver to secure household economic well being. The study demonstrated that given sound rural development policies, households are very much proficient of constructing their own fruitful sustainable livelihoods. These findings were projected through in-depth interviews which are a genre of qualitative methodology. Theoretically, the paper is underpinned by the Sustainable Livelihood Framework to examine the livelihoods strategies and the vulnerability context that complicates lives and livelihoods of rural people in Moyo Musande.
Author Keywords: Livelihoods, Assets, Sustainable Livelihoods, Agriculture Intensification, Migration.
Takunda J Chirau1, Sipho Nkambule2, and Gift Mupambwa3
1 Rhodes University, Department of Sociology, South Africa
2 Rhodes University, Department of Sociology, South Africa
3 North West University, Department of Sociology, South Africa
Original language: English
Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
This study explores the rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe. Taking Moyo Musande as a case study, the study identifies and explores the livelihood strategies of households in the context of contemporary economic and political conditions. The empirical findings unpacked diverse livelihood activities and resources that villagers deploy to construct livelihoods. Contemporary livelihoods are not only located within natural resources and agrarian activities but also constitutes informality, civil society donations, social reciprocity, pensions and remittances. Livelihoods are often jeopardized by numerous challenges namely lack of credit, theft, unemployment and politics. Despite the challenges rural people negotiate and maneuver to secure household economic well being. The study demonstrated that given sound rural development policies, households are very much proficient of constructing their own fruitful sustainable livelihoods. These findings were projected through in-depth interviews which are a genre of qualitative methodology. Theoretically, the paper is underpinned by the Sustainable Livelihood Framework to examine the livelihoods strategies and the vulnerability context that complicates lives and livelihoods of rural people in Moyo Musande.
Author Keywords: Livelihoods, Assets, Sustainable Livelihoods, Agriculture Intensification, Migration.
How to Cite this Article
Takunda J Chirau, Sipho Nkambule, and Gift Mupambwa, “Rural Livelihoods in Zimbabwe: Heterogeneity, Diversification and Vulnerability,” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 5–15, January 2014.
