{"id":437,"date":"2013-03-05T22:30:41","date_gmt":"2013-03-05T22:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/anthrocervone.org\/africanhumanities\/?page_id=437"},"modified":"2023-06-22T00:24:33","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T00:24:33","slug":"livelihoods","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.anthrocervone.org\/africanhumanities\/culture-society-2\/livelihoods\/","title":{"rendered":"Livelihoods"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Livelihoods<\/em> are the means by which a person acquires necessities for life. Yet, what a person does for a living<\/em> is more than a matter of acquiring resources, livelihoods are central to social life and individual identity. This lesson will address the role of livelihoods for people living in Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lesson Objectives<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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  • define livelihoods<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • recognize the relationship between livelihoods and identity as well as social positioning<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • describe the role of markets in social systems<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • present a livelihood in a selected African country<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    Livelihoods as a Social Concept<\/h6>\n\n\n
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    A woman in Lagos, Nigeria sifts Ofada rice which is commonly farmed in southwest Nigeria.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

    In the Prehistories & Civilizations lesson, we explored the ways that humans developed technological adaptations to the environment such as stone tools and agriculture. These technologies allowed people to manipulate their environment and maximize resources to meet their needs. As people form groups, they create a society, and within a society, humans work together and engage in adaptive strategies <\/em>as a means of meeting their needs from the environment. Adaptive strategies are organized into livelihoods<\/em>, and these tasks and duties are carried out according to the positioning of the individual within their society<\/em>. Social positioning such as gender, age, and kinship oftentimes determines the tasks, duties and obligations of individuals within a community. Livelihoods are frequently linked to individual identity labels such as ‘attorney’, ‘teacher’ or ‘farmer’.  As people engage in livelihood activities, they also participate in a system of exchange within their society by contributing resources other people need in exchange for the resources they need. The system of exchange, production, distribution and consumption of resources taking place in a society and between societies is called an economy<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Small Scale Economies<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n
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    Adjame market in Cote d’Ivoire<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

    Small scale economic systems are organized by social positioning such as gender, age, kinship, and\/or clan. Activities are often based on a system of risk avoidance. In agricultural economies, for example, environmental events such as drought, landslides, early freezes, and\/or flooding can incur catastrophic effects on the crops and animals that people rely on for subsistence. To avoid disaster, such as famine from loss of food crops, agriculturalists engage in an age-old strategy to diversify the resource base. What this means is that the farmer will produce multiple different crops to increase security; if an early freeze kills one crop, the family or community will be able to depend on alternate crops that survive. Within small-scale economies, people also rely on social networks to increase security. Social networks increase security by providing people with a safety net to access resources and assistance. Because of this, markets are both economically and socially significant in small-scale societies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Markets<\/strong> are a social locus for people to interact and engage in exchange relations. Geographically, markets are the nodes that connect villages and communities across vast distances. Throughout Africa and many parts of the world, open-air markets are festive locations where people congregate to buy, sell, and trade as well as interact. The video below depicts Roque Santeiro, the largest market in Angola. Watch the video and consider the ways that markets are both socially and economically significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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