Philosophy, Culture & Resource Sharing among Pastoral Communities

Description

This book explores pastoralists’ world views, their culture or shared understanding and resource sharing systems. Pastoralists globally, and over their evolutionary history, have evolved and perfected a sustainable complex blend of largely socialist and capitalist production system informed by their dynamic arid and semi-arid environmental conditions. Their livelihood and resource sharing strategy ensured that everyone’s basic needs was taken care of through an elaborate and resilient resource sharing system. This system emphasised equity before profit and ensured that everyone freely got a share of a critical resource like meat and milk before the extra was traded via barter trade. The pastoralists’ philosophy and culture stressed humane relationship between people and respect for the supernatural or God. The supernatural was believed to be the sun which rose from the East. God’s blessings emerged from the East with the rising sun while evil went down the West with the setting sun. Pastoralists evolved along a cyclic pattern of time, life and life hereafter. This humane philosophy, culture and resource sharing system ensured pastoralist survival in their largely resource deficient arid and semi- arid environment.

Dr. Mark Kiptui is a teacher by profession and a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Applied Environmental Social Science, School of Environmental Studies, University of Eldoret. Dr Kiptui has served as Head of Department for two terms spanning 2014-2018. He is also the External Examiner of Kabarak University, Moi University and University of Kabianga. His research interest includes livelihood studies in dry lands and its impacts on community’s socio-economic development. He also researches on human population change, climate change and socio-economic development. Dr Kiptui had supervised, to completion, 8 masters and 6 doctoral students. He has authored three books titled: 1) Impacts of Maternal Education on Infant and Child Mortality in Rural Kenya; 2) Community Coping Strategies in the Harsh Arid and Semi-Arid Lands of Kenya; and 3) Environmental Drivers of School Attendance in Dry Conflict-Prone Areas. This is Dr Kiptui ‘s fourth book.