Chapter 2
Appropriate Development for Nomadic Pastoralists
2.1. Introduction. The meaning of appropriate development.
Development in any society can be simply described as any activity or attitude which enables the members of that society to live more effectively in their natural environment.
This basic definition allows that development may be undertaken by the members of the society themselves or by external agents enabling the members of that society to help themselves. It is most effective when the two parties work together in evaluation, planning and implementation of measures to meet perceived needs that have been jointly accepted as necessary and achievable. There may be different priorities and perceptions of those needs but there should be a willingness to work together and for each party to contribute whatever resources it can to facilitate and sustain the development objectives agreed upon. It is this spirit of mutual acceptance and willingness to make a meaningful contribution and commitment which is indicated by the inclusion of the word "attitude" in the original definition given above. A destitute or disadvantaged society may have very few physical resources to contribute, apart from warm but usually weak bodies, but if there is an attitude of willingness to help themselves and an aspiration for improvement then development is usually possible, certainly more likely than if there is an absence of that attitude.
Appropriate development implies that there are a variety of different development activities but not all are relevant or helpful in all situations. As indicated in the original definition, different societies live in different environments and correspondingly require different activities or interventions to enable people within those environments to live most successfully.
Development which is appropriate will utilise resources technologies and approaches which will most effectively meet the needs of the target group society and will certainly include attitudes of mutual understanding, acceptance and willingness to learn from one another.
Holistic and transformational development.
To be appropriate, development plans and programmes must take into account the values and world view of the society being targeted. In societies such as pastoralists, where spiritual beliefs and dependence on a God who sends the rain are particularly important, then these should be included at every stage and level of planning and application. This is sometimes called "holistic development". It is also referred to by some Christian agencies as "transformational development" as it is based on the understanding that not only is the spiritual component of development important but that the Christian faith is relevant and applicable to any society and will transform it from within if properly presented and accepted. This aspect of development will be given further consideration in chapter 8.
Development in any society can be simply described as any activity or attitude which enables the members of that society to live more effectively in their natural environment.
This basic definition allows that development may be undertaken by the members of the society themselves or by external agents enabling the members of that society to help themselves. It is most effective when the two parties work together in evaluation, planning and implementation of measures to meet perceived needs that have been jointly accepted as necessary and achievable. There may be different priorities and perceptions of those needs but there should be a willingness to work together and for each party to contribute whatever resources it can to facilitate and sustain the development objectives agreed upon. It is this spirit of mutual acceptance and willingness to make a meaningful contribution and commitment which is indicated by the inclusion of the word "attitude" in the original definition given above. A destitute or disadvantaged society may have very few physical resources to contribute, apart from warm but usually weak bodies, but if there is an attitude of willingness to help themselves and an aspiration for improvement then development is usually possible, certainly more likely than if there is an absence of that attitude.
Appropriate development implies that there are a variety of different development activities but not all are relevant or helpful in all situations. As indicated in the original definition, different societies live in different environments and correspondingly require different activities or interventions to enable people within those environments to live most successfully.
Development which is appropriate will utilise resources technologies and approaches which will most effectively meet the needs of the target group society and will certainly include attitudes of mutual understanding, acceptance and willingness to learn from one another.
Holistic and transformational development.
To be appropriate, development plans and programmes must take into account the values and world view of the society being targeted. In societies such as pastoralists, where spiritual beliefs and dependence on a God who sends the rain are particularly important, then these should be included at every stage and level of planning and application. This is sometimes called "holistic development". It is also referred to by some Christian agencies as "transformational development" as it is based on the understanding that not only is the spiritual component of development important but that the Christian faith is relevant and applicable to any society and will transform it from within if properly presented and accepted. This aspect of development will be given further consideration in chapter 8.
2.2. The scale of the problem.
Before proceeding with further analysis of the meaning of development which is appropriate for pastoralists some consideration will be given to the numbers of people who come within that classification.
Problems of definition.
It is not possible to give numbers with any degree of accuracy due primarily to the difficulty of defining who they are. As noted in Chapter One, there are three main categories of nomadic, semi-nomadic and agro-pastoralists with different ethnic groups and subgroups fitting in somewhere along the continuum between the two extremes. What complicates the defining and classification process is the fact that many people and sometimes whole segments of pastoral societies appear to 'drop off' the end of this continuum when they suffer catastrophic livestock losses. The cause of the losses maybe due to drought, disease, enemy raiding, political upheavals, seizure of their grazing land by 'outsiders' or more commonly to a combination of these negative pressures. These will be given further consideration later but it will be noted here that some of these pressures are temporary and others more permanent in their effect. This means that many pastoralists appear to have left the pastoral sector when they leave the grazing lands only to reappear when the crisis is over, sometimes several years later. This situation is particularly prevalent at the agro-pastoralists end of the continuum where definition becomes so ambiguous as to involve thousands of people in some areas and probably millions worldwide.
An attempt to estimate the size of pastoral populations was made in 1976 by Stephen Sandford in one of the first papers published by the Pastoral Development Network in London. (1976.1c.) This appears in the table in Annex 1. He suggests that the total population in Africa at that time was 17.3 million. The numbers in Asia are uncertain and largely unknown so that it is not possible to give a figure for the world population. He does not try to include the numbers of other smaller groups such as reindeer herders in northern Europe or llama herders in South America
In a later publication Sandford gives another representation of the statistics whilst at the same time acknowledging that:
"the figures are subject to wide margins of error, since, even in countries with well developed statistical services, different estimates vary widely due to differences in definition of terms as well as to difficulties in counting.....The arid and semi arid areas of the earth which together I call 'dry' areas or regions cover some 50 mission sq. kms. or 35 percent of the earth's land surface area with a total human population of 500-600 million people. Of this total some 30 - 40 million are believed to have 'animal-based' economies, and the majority are pastoralists. Within the 30-40 million, 50-60 percent are found in Africa, 25-30 percent in Asia, 15 percent in all of America and less than one percent in Australia.....Many people believe that pastoral groups are gradually disappearing and that pastoralism is dying out as a way of life as people move into the cultivation of crops and other economic activities......In fact the direction of this trend, as with most other trends, depends on where you measure it and from what point in time..... While in many countries pastoralists have become less nomadic and some land previously used by them is no longer accessible to them, there is little evidence that on the world scale the absolute number of people dependent on livestock has decreased." (Sandford S 1983:2)
Nomadic pastoralists and numbers.
In the quotation above Sandford refers to the 'difficulty in counting' numbers amongst people who are first and foremost pastoralists in arid lands and therefore likely to be nomadic to differing degrees. The question of numbers is of particular interest to researchers and development workers, often giving rise to problems whether trying to count people or animals. Those who try to get accurate figures about herd sizes will frequently meet with confusing or contradictory responses which are obviously incorrect. This is because in many situations it is considered improper or offensive even to ask these questions and if an answer is given it may well be false. The reasons for this reluctance to divulge the correct number is sometimes the belief that this may bring misfortune but there are often other factors on pastoralists' minds, such as shame at having too few or suspicion that the respondent may be taxed more per head if the figures he gives are too high. Fortunately, this was not the case with the Waso Borana who feature in this case study, as verifiable information was readily given about numbers of animals inherited from their fathers, before the most recent drought and at the time of the interviews.
How to count 'nomads in waiting'.
If the counting of the number of animals is difficult, the problem of trying to count their owners, the pastoralists, is even greater. A cow is always a cow and a goat remains a goat but a pastoralist may appear in many different temporary guises and situations. As noted earlier, he may well have to leave his primary role in the grazing lands to find work or food in agricultural employment, in a town as a casual labourer or a beggar, or even worse in a famine relief camp. This temporary displacement may last for a few dry months or it may continue for years, but he will usually continue to think of himself as different from the settled farmer or urban dweller. He is a nomad in waiting, even if he spends most of his life in the town working as a night guard or tending a rich man's horses or other animals.
The problem of 'hitting a moving target'.
The other complicating factor is that of urban ebb and flow which makes it an exercise in futility, even if not quite impossible, to count the numbers of nomads in any ethnic group, or even in any particular country. The movement of Fulani around and across West Africa is quite remarkable to anyone who has witnessed it. They freely cross ethnic and political boundaries, not just as pastoralists with their animals, but probably in even greater numbers as traders, dispensers of native medicines, seasonal workers, or just going to visit relatives they have heard about in some far away place. It is this traditional mobility, greatly enhanced by the use of modern transportation which makes it more and more difficult to define, and count the numbers of nomadic pastoralists.
Another estimate and definition.
Adrian Cullis in a more recent study states that, "Some 20 million African pastoralists commit the majority of their time to and derive most of their income from domestic livestock keeping." He goes on to focus this definition on nomadic pastoralism, adding some useful comments on the causes thereof and contingencies which pastoralists employ to maintain their traditional and preferred livelihood.
In response to the arid environments they inhabit, pastoral communities have adopted a mobile system of livestock keeping, based on mixed herds of sheep, goats, cattle, camels and donkeys. Of necessity they move when pasture in an area becomes depleted or soiled. Only in this way can animal production be maintained and pastoral households sustain themselves. Extensive livestock production systems of this type are frequently the best way much of this land can be fully utilised.
Such is the vagary of rainfall throughout Africa's rangeland that almost all pastoral communities face cycles of good and hardship years. During good years herders increase and diversify their herds, whilst consecutive hardship years or 'pastoral drought,' human and livestock disease or livestock theft may result in large livestock losses and the consequent temporary collapse of household food production. Seldom, however, do environmental factors alone conspire to overwhelm the pastoral production of entire ethnic groups, since pastoralists have 'drought responses,' including mobile and adaptive grazing strategies, livestock and cereal exchanges, the establishment of diverse herds, herd splitting, and non-pastoral activities agriculture, wage labour etc. (1992:1).
Numbers on and off the grazing lands.
The figure that Cullis gave at the beginning of his introduction, of 20 million pastoralists in Africa, is highly speculative, even allowing for the ambiguity in defining to whom he is referring. The experience of this observer in several countries of both East and West Africa suggests that the number of displaced and urbanised nomads-in-waiting may well be greater than the number actively employed in livestock herding on the traditional grazing land. It is not just a simple question of what is usually described as the carrying capacity of any particular grazing land to support a limited number of animals and peoples. There is a much more complex interplay of voluntary and involuntary survival strategies now being practiced. Whereas early researchers suggested that over population and over-stocking were the major problems of pastoral production methods, it is now being appreciated that labour shortages and under stocking can be equally serious constraints.
Before proceeding with further analysis of the meaning of development which is appropriate for pastoralists some consideration will be given to the numbers of people who come within that classification.
Problems of definition.
It is not possible to give numbers with any degree of accuracy due primarily to the difficulty of defining who they are. As noted in Chapter One, there are three main categories of nomadic, semi-nomadic and agro-pastoralists with different ethnic groups and subgroups fitting in somewhere along the continuum between the two extremes. What complicates the defining and classification process is the fact that many people and sometimes whole segments of pastoral societies appear to 'drop off' the end of this continuum when they suffer catastrophic livestock losses. The cause of the losses maybe due to drought, disease, enemy raiding, political upheavals, seizure of their grazing land by 'outsiders' or more commonly to a combination of these negative pressures. These will be given further consideration later but it will be noted here that some of these pressures are temporary and others more permanent in their effect. This means that many pastoralists appear to have left the pastoral sector when they leave the grazing lands only to reappear when the crisis is over, sometimes several years later. This situation is particularly prevalent at the agro-pastoralists end of the continuum where definition becomes so ambiguous as to involve thousands of people in some areas and probably millions worldwide.
An attempt to estimate the size of pastoral populations was made in 1976 by Stephen Sandford in one of the first papers published by the Pastoral Development Network in London. (1976.1c.) This appears in the table in Annex 1. He suggests that the total population in Africa at that time was 17.3 million. The numbers in Asia are uncertain and largely unknown so that it is not possible to give a figure for the world population. He does not try to include the numbers of other smaller groups such as reindeer herders in northern Europe or llama herders in South America
In a later publication Sandford gives another representation of the statistics whilst at the same time acknowledging that:
"the figures are subject to wide margins of error, since, even in countries with well developed statistical services, different estimates vary widely due to differences in definition of terms as well as to difficulties in counting.....The arid and semi arid areas of the earth which together I call 'dry' areas or regions cover some 50 mission sq. kms. or 35 percent of the earth's land surface area with a total human population of 500-600 million people. Of this total some 30 - 40 million are believed to have 'animal-based' economies, and the majority are pastoralists. Within the 30-40 million, 50-60 percent are found in Africa, 25-30 percent in Asia, 15 percent in all of America and less than one percent in Australia.....Many people believe that pastoral groups are gradually disappearing and that pastoralism is dying out as a way of life as people move into the cultivation of crops and other economic activities......In fact the direction of this trend, as with most other trends, depends on where you measure it and from what point in time..... While in many countries pastoralists have become less nomadic and some land previously used by them is no longer accessible to them, there is little evidence that on the world scale the absolute number of people dependent on livestock has decreased." (Sandford S 1983:2)
Nomadic pastoralists and numbers.
In the quotation above Sandford refers to the 'difficulty in counting' numbers amongst people who are first and foremost pastoralists in arid lands and therefore likely to be nomadic to differing degrees. The question of numbers is of particular interest to researchers and development workers, often giving rise to problems whether trying to count people or animals. Those who try to get accurate figures about herd sizes will frequently meet with confusing or contradictory responses which are obviously incorrect. This is because in many situations it is considered improper or offensive even to ask these questions and if an answer is given it may well be false. The reasons for this reluctance to divulge the correct number is sometimes the belief that this may bring misfortune but there are often other factors on pastoralists' minds, such as shame at having too few or suspicion that the respondent may be taxed more per head if the figures he gives are too high. Fortunately, this was not the case with the Waso Borana who feature in this case study, as verifiable information was readily given about numbers of animals inherited from their fathers, before the most recent drought and at the time of the interviews.
How to count 'nomads in waiting'.
If the counting of the number of animals is difficult, the problem of trying to count their owners, the pastoralists, is even greater. A cow is always a cow and a goat remains a goat but a pastoralist may appear in many different temporary guises and situations. As noted earlier, he may well have to leave his primary role in the grazing lands to find work or food in agricultural employment, in a town as a casual labourer or a beggar, or even worse in a famine relief camp. This temporary displacement may last for a few dry months or it may continue for years, but he will usually continue to think of himself as different from the settled farmer or urban dweller. He is a nomad in waiting, even if he spends most of his life in the town working as a night guard or tending a rich man's horses or other animals.
The problem of 'hitting a moving target'.
The other complicating factor is that of urban ebb and flow which makes it an exercise in futility, even if not quite impossible, to count the numbers of nomads in any ethnic group, or even in any particular country. The movement of Fulani around and across West Africa is quite remarkable to anyone who has witnessed it. They freely cross ethnic and political boundaries, not just as pastoralists with their animals, but probably in even greater numbers as traders, dispensers of native medicines, seasonal workers, or just going to visit relatives they have heard about in some far away place. It is this traditional mobility, greatly enhanced by the use of modern transportation which makes it more and more difficult to define, and count the numbers of nomadic pastoralists.
Another estimate and definition.
Adrian Cullis in a more recent study states that, "Some 20 million African pastoralists commit the majority of their time to and derive most of their income from domestic livestock keeping." He goes on to focus this definition on nomadic pastoralism, adding some useful comments on the causes thereof and contingencies which pastoralists employ to maintain their traditional and preferred livelihood.
In response to the arid environments they inhabit, pastoral communities have adopted a mobile system of livestock keeping, based on mixed herds of sheep, goats, cattle, camels and donkeys. Of necessity they move when pasture in an area becomes depleted or soiled. Only in this way can animal production be maintained and pastoral households sustain themselves. Extensive livestock production systems of this type are frequently the best way much of this land can be fully utilised.
Such is the vagary of rainfall throughout Africa's rangeland that almost all pastoral communities face cycles of good and hardship years. During good years herders increase and diversify their herds, whilst consecutive hardship years or 'pastoral drought,' human and livestock disease or livestock theft may result in large livestock losses and the consequent temporary collapse of household food production. Seldom, however, do environmental factors alone conspire to overwhelm the pastoral production of entire ethnic groups, since pastoralists have 'drought responses,' including mobile and adaptive grazing strategies, livestock and cereal exchanges, the establishment of diverse herds, herd splitting, and non-pastoral activities agriculture, wage labour etc. (1992:1).
Numbers on and off the grazing lands.
The figure that Cullis gave at the beginning of his introduction, of 20 million pastoralists in Africa, is highly speculative, even allowing for the ambiguity in defining to whom he is referring. The experience of this observer in several countries of both East and West Africa suggests that the number of displaced and urbanised nomads-in-waiting may well be greater than the number actively employed in livestock herding on the traditional grazing land. It is not just a simple question of what is usually described as the carrying capacity of any particular grazing land to support a limited number of animals and peoples. There is a much more complex interplay of voluntary and involuntary survival strategies now being practiced. Whereas early researchers suggested that over population and over-stocking were the major problems of pastoral production methods, it is now being appreciated that labour shortages and under stocking can be equally serious constraints.
2.3. Assessment of the present situation in pastoral development.
"Vast sums of money have been expended over the last forty years on development in the areas over which pastoralists graze their herds and flocks yet, nevertheless, most pastoralists are worse off than they have ever been and pastoral productivity is lower than it has ever been. Clearly over the years something has gone terribly awry --Most agencies now recognise that the only way forward is to learn from past experience and to pay attention both to what pastoralists know and to what they want -- to recognise that the pastoralists themselves are the experts and learn from them." (Rural Extension Bulletin. April 1994 :2)
This powerful statement from the editorial of a recent journal with the theme of development for pastoralists can eloquently serve as an introduction to the subject of what is appropriate development for pastoralists in practice. It also serves to show one of the most important lessons learned from all development efforts amongst nomadic pastoralists, namely, that it is relatively easy for outside consultants to make development proposals and prescriptions but in practice the results almost invariably fail in the long term. The literature produced by nearly all objective project evaluation is uniformly dismal in its conclusions.
"A new and humbler spirit".
Before a few more insightful but disturbing examples are added , a positive word of hope will be inserted. It comes from the front cover of the Journal already quoted with the theme of development for pastoralists (Rural Extension Bulletin. April 1994). The writer makes a salutary statement which indicate signs of progress in the understanding and attitude of pastoral development professionals. He suggests that the "articles in the Bulletin show the importance of better understanding pastoral systems and hopefully reflect a new and humbler spirit influencing development programmes for pastoralists."
Turkana development programme assessment.
Another powerful appeal for the 'new and humbler spirit' to be exercised by development planners comes from northern Kenya where an African veterinary doctor has worked for 10 years amongst the Turkana. He begins with an introductory statement that refers to `decades of development failures in the pastoral area of Turkana district' - ascribing this to lack of local participation in development intervention, due to poor extension services. This articulate practitioner goes on to enlarge the purview of his criticism under the heading of 'The Development Strategy as devised for the Pastoralists. The outcome of development interventions in pastoral areas has been characterised by a pattern of failures ever since colonial days. The main reason for these failures has been the tendency by the authors of these interventions to prescribe solutions to pastoralists' problems, imagined or real, without involving the recipients they intended to serve.......
Ignoring the pastoralists when their own development is being decided solves nothing. Development implementors have missed the opportunity of surveying and identifying the real problems and their root causes together with the target group, within their traditional setting, and together with them charting solutions to those problems. This is the greatest weakness among development agents, who do not accept the need to change their approach, but continue to hurl abuse against "these backward pastoralists who are unwilling to welcome change." For instance, Turkana pastoralists are blamed for refusing to bring all their cattle for vaccination against rinderpest (D.V.O.'s Reports 1990,1991); they are accused of disowning the Katilu Irrigation Scheme which was meant to be theirs (Broch-Due and Storas 1983). Fingers are pointed as the Turkana for refusing to bring fresh fish to the fish freezing plant complex at Kalokol fisheries co-operative, rendering the latter a "white elephant" (Govt. of Kenya 1985), and the Turkana are blamed for trespassing with their livestock at Lotongot Livestock Holding Ground or South Turkana Game Reserve (Govt. of Kenya 1989). This blaming only serves to further isolate the pastoralists. The underlying cause of pastoralists' isolation from the development projects is that development agents never bothered to talk to the intended beneficiaries about the interventions they were introducing. It is as if the future of the pastoralists never belongs to themselves (Oba 1991). Nobody takes the trouble to ask if these people have their own strategies for their destiny.
It is this lack of talk between development agents and the pastoralists which has widened the gap between the two. Lokong (1987) stated that "the real obstacle to pastoralists' incorporation into the rest of the national system has been and remains lack of communication between the pastoral society and state structures at all levels." As the two parties continue in their separate cells, each is ignorant of the other's good intention, and they remain suspicious of each other.
There is therefore an urgent need for discussion between the two; for such talk to be meaningful it must be a two-way process - which simply means dialogue - that potent tool for extension. (Akabwai 1992:2)
This quotation has been given at length as it provides a good example of what is now recognised as the major problem in pastoral development when planned and practised by 'outsiders'. It is particularly significant that this assessment comes from an African practitioner who has stayed long enough to earn the right to make it.
Other examples in Kenya.
Numerous examples of the tragic results of 'professional arrogance' and the 'dialogue of the deaf' could be given from Kenya alone on such vital subjects for nomads as overstocking (Lipscombe 1955), controlled grazing schemes (Helland 1980), alternate food sources (Little 1983). One other will be given as it is the most recent statement of a respected researcher and compassionate observer of the Borana for more than 40 years.
"Why development for pastoralists rather than the development of pastoralism?. The answer, in a nutshell, is that almost all the attempts to improve on, or to replace traditional pastoralism have failed and the people have grown poorer; simply, the people must at last be put first. That means that if the developers have failed then the pastoralists much be heard, they could not make a worse bodge of things than their rulers have done". (Baxter 1994;3)
A comment from West Africa.
Another general assessment of the situation on the pastoral development scene will be given from West Africa as it shows the level to which expectations there had descended 10 years ago.
Development among nomadic herders in dry West Africa has been an unsuccessful undertaking. Many governments and bilateral and multi lateral agencies have failed to improve things, or have made them worse. There is now a feeling among some donors and governments that the problems are too great and returns too low, and that scarce development resources should be directed to projects offering a better chance of success and of higher rates of return. (Swift and Maliki. 1984:1)
"Vast sums of money have been expended over the last forty years on development in the areas over which pastoralists graze their herds and flocks yet, nevertheless, most pastoralists are worse off than they have ever been and pastoral productivity is lower than it has ever been. Clearly over the years something has gone terribly awry --Most agencies now recognise that the only way forward is to learn from past experience and to pay attention both to what pastoralists know and to what they want -- to recognise that the pastoralists themselves are the experts and learn from them." (Rural Extension Bulletin. April 1994 :2)
This powerful statement from the editorial of a recent journal with the theme of development for pastoralists can eloquently serve as an introduction to the subject of what is appropriate development for pastoralists in practice. It also serves to show one of the most important lessons learned from all development efforts amongst nomadic pastoralists, namely, that it is relatively easy for outside consultants to make development proposals and prescriptions but in practice the results almost invariably fail in the long term. The literature produced by nearly all objective project evaluation is uniformly dismal in its conclusions.
"A new and humbler spirit".
Before a few more insightful but disturbing examples are added , a positive word of hope will be inserted. It comes from the front cover of the Journal already quoted with the theme of development for pastoralists (Rural Extension Bulletin. April 1994). The writer makes a salutary statement which indicate signs of progress in the understanding and attitude of pastoral development professionals. He suggests that the "articles in the Bulletin show the importance of better understanding pastoral systems and hopefully reflect a new and humbler spirit influencing development programmes for pastoralists."
Turkana development programme assessment.
Another powerful appeal for the 'new and humbler spirit' to be exercised by development planners comes from northern Kenya where an African veterinary doctor has worked for 10 years amongst the Turkana. He begins with an introductory statement that refers to `decades of development failures in the pastoral area of Turkana district' - ascribing this to lack of local participation in development intervention, due to poor extension services. This articulate practitioner goes on to enlarge the purview of his criticism under the heading of 'The Development Strategy as devised for the Pastoralists. The outcome of development interventions in pastoral areas has been characterised by a pattern of failures ever since colonial days. The main reason for these failures has been the tendency by the authors of these interventions to prescribe solutions to pastoralists' problems, imagined or real, without involving the recipients they intended to serve.......
Ignoring the pastoralists when their own development is being decided solves nothing. Development implementors have missed the opportunity of surveying and identifying the real problems and their root causes together with the target group, within their traditional setting, and together with them charting solutions to those problems. This is the greatest weakness among development agents, who do not accept the need to change their approach, but continue to hurl abuse against "these backward pastoralists who are unwilling to welcome change." For instance, Turkana pastoralists are blamed for refusing to bring all their cattle for vaccination against rinderpest (D.V.O.'s Reports 1990,1991); they are accused of disowning the Katilu Irrigation Scheme which was meant to be theirs (Broch-Due and Storas 1983). Fingers are pointed as the Turkana for refusing to bring fresh fish to the fish freezing plant complex at Kalokol fisheries co-operative, rendering the latter a "white elephant" (Govt. of Kenya 1985), and the Turkana are blamed for trespassing with their livestock at Lotongot Livestock Holding Ground or South Turkana Game Reserve (Govt. of Kenya 1989). This blaming only serves to further isolate the pastoralists. The underlying cause of pastoralists' isolation from the development projects is that development agents never bothered to talk to the intended beneficiaries about the interventions they were introducing. It is as if the future of the pastoralists never belongs to themselves (Oba 1991). Nobody takes the trouble to ask if these people have their own strategies for their destiny.
It is this lack of talk between development agents and the pastoralists which has widened the gap between the two. Lokong (1987) stated that "the real obstacle to pastoralists' incorporation into the rest of the national system has been and remains lack of communication between the pastoral society and state structures at all levels." As the two parties continue in their separate cells, each is ignorant of the other's good intention, and they remain suspicious of each other.
There is therefore an urgent need for discussion between the two; for such talk to be meaningful it must be a two-way process - which simply means dialogue - that potent tool for extension. (Akabwai 1992:2)
This quotation has been given at length as it provides a good example of what is now recognised as the major problem in pastoral development when planned and practised by 'outsiders'. It is particularly significant that this assessment comes from an African practitioner who has stayed long enough to earn the right to make it.
Other examples in Kenya.
Numerous examples of the tragic results of 'professional arrogance' and the 'dialogue of the deaf' could be given from Kenya alone on such vital subjects for nomads as overstocking (Lipscombe 1955), controlled grazing schemes (Helland 1980), alternate food sources (Little 1983). One other will be given as it is the most recent statement of a respected researcher and compassionate observer of the Borana for more than 40 years.
"Why development for pastoralists rather than the development of pastoralism?. The answer, in a nutshell, is that almost all the attempts to improve on, or to replace traditional pastoralism have failed and the people have grown poorer; simply, the people must at last be put first. That means that if the developers have failed then the pastoralists much be heard, they could not make a worse bodge of things than their rulers have done". (Baxter 1994;3)
A comment from West Africa.
Another general assessment of the situation on the pastoral development scene will be given from West Africa as it shows the level to which expectations there had descended 10 years ago.
Development among nomadic herders in dry West Africa has been an unsuccessful undertaking. Many governments and bilateral and multi lateral agencies have failed to improve things, or have made them worse. There is now a feeling among some donors and governments that the problems are too great and returns too low, and that scarce development resources should be directed to projects offering a better chance of success and of higher rates of return. (Swift and Maliki. 1984:1)
2.4. Causes of misunderstanding and failure.
The question arises as to why development professionals apparently have so much difficulty in understanding the needs of nomadic pastoralists and consequently why there are so many glaring examples of failed plans and programmes amongst them.
The cultural chasm between developers and the pastoralists.
Part of the answer can be found in the basic definition of development given at the beginning of this chapter:- 'enabling people to live more effectively in their natural environment'. This definition is normally taken to mean that the development is probably going to be 'performed' by an agency outside the group being 'enabled', and therefore most likely to come from another environment. In practice it seems that the more foreign the 'enablers' are to the natural environment of the target group, the more likely it will be that they will not understand the nature or complexity of the environment they are dealing with.
For example, it is relatively easy for an expert from a western urbanized society to be able to analyse and prescribe some solutions for the problems of other urban societies in another part of the world. Similarly it is quite reasonable to expect to find those who can understand the problems of rural agrarian economies from other agricultural societies in other parts of the world. Many from these two strata of human society have grown up in those type of economies and cultures and gone on to higher education to become teachers, administrators and professional experts in those societies. They are competent and qualified `enablers' in socio-economic systems with which they are familiar.
Four difficulties to understanding appropriate development.
The difficulties for aspiring 'enablers' who would attempt to tackle development work in nomadic pastoral societies are fourfold. First, there are so few who have come out of those societies to become educated leaders with credentials recognised by government or non-governmental agencies concerned for their development. Second, the natural environment of most nomadic peoples is so far removed both geographically and culturally from the experience of those responsible for development planning and implementation. Third, the environment is not only foreign but can be very uncongenial, if not hostile, to the preferred living situation of those given the responsibility for implementing the development programme. Fourth, the environment in which most nomadic pastoralists are now living is ecologically marginal and their economies so precarious that any mistakes can have serious consequences. The situation is now so serious that all the best efforts of development experts and advisors have frequently been described as "useless" in subsequent appraisals. There are numerous examples where the results appear to have been worse than useless; when the effects have been not just neutral but negative in assisting the pastoralists to live more successfully in their natural environment.
Inappropriate development policies.
Some of the most serious problems faced by contemporary nomadic pastoralists are caused by misguided and inappropriate policies for rural development imposed by national governments and international agencies. Policy makers are unlikely to come from the pastoralist societies so do not understand their problems or the potential they can derive from arid and semi-arid land which would otherwise be unproductive. Much of their traditional grazing land is not suitable for agriculture - or even sedentary pastoralism. Nomadic pastoralism is the only viable means of production and resource extraction. Nomadic pastoralists in general are regarded as backward, "primitive", socially unacceptable in a modernising country, politically unreliable as they cannot accept boundaries which cross their traditional grazing paths. Official policy is usually to sedenterise nomadic pastoralists in the name of national unity - reducing them to the lowest casual labourers or to be settled on unrealistic and unworkable agricultural projects. This also ignores the reality that for many pastoralists "digging in the dirt" is culturally unacceptable. Many Tuareg and Fulani regard it as the work of slaves. Some would rather die than dig.
Inadequate share of development resources.
Nomadic pastoralists receive very little of the development resources which could be useful to them, such as human and animal medicine, water and range improvement technology, as the trained personnel do not want to go to these remote areas. The children of nomadic pastoralists rarely get a fair chance to receive the education which would enable them to come back to help their own people, so they remain in a marginalised, disadvantaged society in a cycle of misunderstanding, distrust and lost potential.
Failure in communications.
Lack of understanding of the problem and the potential contribution nomadic pastoralists could make to national economic programmes means that they are rarely consulted in the development planning and government policies which affect them. Even professional project planners and outside experts rarely stay long enough to appreciate their world view and their values. The more remote a society is from western value the longer it takes to acquire this understanding. Anthropologists may take the time to gain this understanding but there often appears to be a communication vacuum between them and the "rapid-response project planners".
Rural development tourism.
Nomadic pastoralists are particularly liable to suffer the problem of what Chambers describes as "development tourism" - remoteness from hotels and tarmac roads. They are also most likely to experience the effect of what Chambers describes as "Project bias, where "those concerned with rural development become linked to networks of urban contacts". (83:16) Donors look for convenient concentration of resources amongst people who will show early response and a quick return on the donor investment. This produces "show places" of elite, atypical communities to which government officials and donors can be taken to show maximum results for a minimum of inconvenience and effort.
The question arises as to why development professionals apparently have so much difficulty in understanding the needs of nomadic pastoralists and consequently why there are so many glaring examples of failed plans and programmes amongst them.
The cultural chasm between developers and the pastoralists.
Part of the answer can be found in the basic definition of development given at the beginning of this chapter:- 'enabling people to live more effectively in their natural environment'. This definition is normally taken to mean that the development is probably going to be 'performed' by an agency outside the group being 'enabled', and therefore most likely to come from another environment. In practice it seems that the more foreign the 'enablers' are to the natural environment of the target group, the more likely it will be that they will not understand the nature or complexity of the environment they are dealing with.
For example, it is relatively easy for an expert from a western urbanized society to be able to analyse and prescribe some solutions for the problems of other urban societies in another part of the world. Similarly it is quite reasonable to expect to find those who can understand the problems of rural agrarian economies from other agricultural societies in other parts of the world. Many from these two strata of human society have grown up in those type of economies and cultures and gone on to higher education to become teachers, administrators and professional experts in those societies. They are competent and qualified `enablers' in socio-economic systems with which they are familiar.
Four difficulties to understanding appropriate development.
The difficulties for aspiring 'enablers' who would attempt to tackle development work in nomadic pastoral societies are fourfold. First, there are so few who have come out of those societies to become educated leaders with credentials recognised by government or non-governmental agencies concerned for their development. Second, the natural environment of most nomadic peoples is so far removed both geographically and culturally from the experience of those responsible for development planning and implementation. Third, the environment is not only foreign but can be very uncongenial, if not hostile, to the preferred living situation of those given the responsibility for implementing the development programme. Fourth, the environment in which most nomadic pastoralists are now living is ecologically marginal and their economies so precarious that any mistakes can have serious consequences. The situation is now so serious that all the best efforts of development experts and advisors have frequently been described as "useless" in subsequent appraisals. There are numerous examples where the results appear to have been worse than useless; when the effects have been not just neutral but negative in assisting the pastoralists to live more successfully in their natural environment.
Inappropriate development policies.
Some of the most serious problems faced by contemporary nomadic pastoralists are caused by misguided and inappropriate policies for rural development imposed by national governments and international agencies. Policy makers are unlikely to come from the pastoralist societies so do not understand their problems or the potential they can derive from arid and semi-arid land which would otherwise be unproductive. Much of their traditional grazing land is not suitable for agriculture - or even sedentary pastoralism. Nomadic pastoralism is the only viable means of production and resource extraction. Nomadic pastoralists in general are regarded as backward, "primitive", socially unacceptable in a modernising country, politically unreliable as they cannot accept boundaries which cross their traditional grazing paths. Official policy is usually to sedenterise nomadic pastoralists in the name of national unity - reducing them to the lowest casual labourers or to be settled on unrealistic and unworkable agricultural projects. This also ignores the reality that for many pastoralists "digging in the dirt" is culturally unacceptable. Many Tuareg and Fulani regard it as the work of slaves. Some would rather die than dig.
Inadequate share of development resources.
Nomadic pastoralists receive very little of the development resources which could be useful to them, such as human and animal medicine, water and range improvement technology, as the trained personnel do not want to go to these remote areas. The children of nomadic pastoralists rarely get a fair chance to receive the education which would enable them to come back to help their own people, so they remain in a marginalised, disadvantaged society in a cycle of misunderstanding, distrust and lost potential.
Failure in communications.
Lack of understanding of the problem and the potential contribution nomadic pastoralists could make to national economic programmes means that they are rarely consulted in the development planning and government policies which affect them. Even professional project planners and outside experts rarely stay long enough to appreciate their world view and their values. The more remote a society is from western value the longer it takes to acquire this understanding. Anthropologists may take the time to gain this understanding but there often appears to be a communication vacuum between them and the "rapid-response project planners".
Rural development tourism.
Nomadic pastoralists are particularly liable to suffer the problem of what Chambers describes as "development tourism" - remoteness from hotels and tarmac roads. They are also most likely to experience the effect of what Chambers describes as "Project bias, where "those concerned with rural development become linked to networks of urban contacts". (83:16) Donors look for convenient concentration of resources amongst people who will show early response and a quick return on the donor investment. This produces "show places" of elite, atypical communities to which government officials and donors can be taken to show maximum results for a minimum of inconvenience and effort.
2.5. Historical reasons for the failure of development programmes.
Much of the blame for failure to understand the needs and aspirations of nomadic pastoralists is usually placed on the colonial administrators who took the responsibility to control and 'civilise' them. Baxter points out they assumed them to be a "dying breed".
"Almost from the first colonial intruders just assumed, without any evidence at all, that pastoralists were a species doomed by the inevitable march of progress; for example one of the first commentators on the Masai published a book in 1901 entitled [The Last of the Masai], and their first serious ethnographer forecast in 1910 that they would soon cease to exist. These misconceptions have lingered on into post-colonial times, but the pastoralists have endured and the old prejudices, which were disguised as scientific theories, have wilted. Every contemporary ethnographer would surely argue for the efficiency and resilience of traditional pastoralism and pastoralists; and further that traditional pastoralism, combined with the discriminating use of modern veterinary medicines, is still a most effective, probably the most effective, mode of producing food in arid and semi-arid lands.
Post-colonial officials, in Africa at least, have often taken on some of the prejudices held by their former rulers about the pastoral peoples that live on the national peripheries; rather as they took on the old colonial frontiers as their own inviolable national frontiers. Administrators also frequently tend to be against pastoralists particularly if they are nomadic, just because they appear untidy and are hard to map. (Baxter 1994:5)
In mitigation of the work of colonial administrators, Chambers, (who was one of them in northern Kenya), makes a valid point that most of them took their work very seriously and stayed at their posts for many years. This gave them a chance to get deeply involved and often committed to the welfare of the pastoralists scattered thinly over their vast areas of responsibility, even if this meant many weeks of travel on horse back to visit their junior district officers. This is in marked contrast to the present practice of many African administrators in these remote areas who seldom leave their offices and rarely stay more than a few months before getting themselves transferred. If they do venture into the bush it is usually at high speed in several vehicles with fully armed escort bristling with automatic weapons, stopping only to make a speech which is listened to politely by a few pastoralists rounded up for the occasion.
The failure of International development agencies.
Cullis adds to the list of those guilty of misguided efforts by saying that colonial administrators and those who came after independence were not alone in their attempts to eliminate subsistence pastoralism as quickly as possible.
"International development agencies have also devoted considerable effort and resources, through irrigation, agricultural and sedenterisation programmes, to the suppression of pastoral techniques of land and livestock management". (1992:3)
The costs of inappropriate development.
One of the most striking examples of this waste of effort and resources is found in northern Kenya cited by Richard Hogg in a paper intended to show that attempts to provide viable alternatives to pastoralism are far more complex and costly than restocking methods he advocates. He cites figures from a Kenya Ministry of Agriculture report of 1984 that development costs of the three government schemes in Turkana amounted to $61,240 per hectare or $21,800 per tenant household. "The operating costs alone amount to over three times the gross margin any farmer can expect from his plot. In spite of the high cost, farmers' returns from their plots are inadequate for subsistence, amounting, after deductions, to an average less than $77 per year, or the equivalent, after sale, of one large cow."(Hogg 1985:4) Hogg gives another example which is even closer to the geographical focus of this study. "In Isiolo District the development costs of Malka Daka, Gafarsa and Merti schemes run to nearly $17,000 per hectare. Yet since UNDP withdrawal in 1981 they have virtually collapsed, and nearly all the farmers are back on famine relief. At Malka Daka despair hangs like a pall over the scheme" (Hogg. 1985:5) Fortunately this scene is not now quite so bleak as at the time of Hogg's report and one of the positive features to emerge from this study will be the success of the Gafarsa irrigation project now that it is "owned" and operated by the local community instead of by an outside agency. Its success should have been be most instructive in the planning of subsequent riverside irrigation schemes but seems to have been ignored in the latest large project being built at Merti.
The example of the Malka Daka scheme.
The precedent of the Malka Daka scheme will be elaborated on here as it demonstrates the potential weaknesses of a centrally controlled and financed project with management by an educated elite who have little relationship or commitment to the local community.
In the District development plan of 1989-1993 the schemes is reported to have collapsed for three reasons. First the lack of funds for buying diesel and replacing old machinery. Secondly, the general apathy by the local community toward crop production and thirdly lack of an efficiently organised marketing system. These statements were discussed at length with Borana leaders and the few outsiders who have shown their commitment to the Malka Daka community. Their responses suggest different reasons for the collapse of the scheme. The first reason relating to inadequate funds to buy diesel fuel reflects the fact that the scheme depends on pumped water for irrigation. There was clearly a basic flaw in the design which did not allow for gravity flow. It seems that the original intake was so poorly sited and constructed that even before the canal and the necessary control sluice gates were completed, the river changed course and dropped from its former level to a point where the water could no longer flow into the canal. Much money had been spent to clear and level the land for cultivation, so rather than relocate this it was decided to provide diesel pumps at the river side to lift water into the feeder canals. Three of these were reported to have been bought but they were improperly sited and installed so that the next major floods not only inundated them but buried two of them so deep in the sand they have never been recovered.
As to the suggestion that funds had not been adequate to replace old machinery, the author witnessed for himself on a previous visit in 1987 that the machinery had never had a chance to become worn out. Almost new tractors and implements were lying idle with relatively simple defects or missing parts which put them out of service for months. Regular maintenance was not carried out and repairs were rarely completed. [1]
Blaming the local people for official failure.
The second reason given for the failure of the Malka Daka scheme refers to the general apathy of the community towards crop production. The inaccuracy of this criticism is demonstrated most effectively by observing the various schemes operated by the Borana themselves. The problem with the Malka Daka scheme seems to have been one of incentive or motivation. On that scheme the people were expected to work for wages to produce a crop for the government. The wages were very low, allegedly below the minimum established at that time by the Ministry of Labour. The complaint heard most often was that the workers had to plant whatever crop the project managers thought most profitable. The difference between this "State Farm system" and the freedom of choice on the shambas run by the Borana themselves is striking. Even on the adjacent Gafarsa irrigation scheme now owned and operated entirely by the local community the contrast in motivation and results is salutary. The willingness of at least some Borana to take to shamba life may be partly due to the particular disasters the present Borana elders have experienced in their lifetime, not just from recurring drought but more seriously through political upheaval and repeated Shifta attacks. A few of that generation seem to have given up pastoralism altogether whilst most prefer to mix shamba life for part of the family with pastoralism for others. The reluctance to relinquish their pastoral life was evidenced by the numbers of those presently cultivating who told of their plans to rebuild their herds, if they ever got enough money from their crops or any other means.
Much of the blame for failure to understand the needs and aspirations of nomadic pastoralists is usually placed on the colonial administrators who took the responsibility to control and 'civilise' them. Baxter points out they assumed them to be a "dying breed".
"Almost from the first colonial intruders just assumed, without any evidence at all, that pastoralists were a species doomed by the inevitable march of progress; for example one of the first commentators on the Masai published a book in 1901 entitled [The Last of the Masai], and their first serious ethnographer forecast in 1910 that they would soon cease to exist. These misconceptions have lingered on into post-colonial times, but the pastoralists have endured and the old prejudices, which were disguised as scientific theories, have wilted. Every contemporary ethnographer would surely argue for the efficiency and resilience of traditional pastoralism and pastoralists; and further that traditional pastoralism, combined with the discriminating use of modern veterinary medicines, is still a most effective, probably the most effective, mode of producing food in arid and semi-arid lands.
Post-colonial officials, in Africa at least, have often taken on some of the prejudices held by their former rulers about the pastoral peoples that live on the national peripheries; rather as they took on the old colonial frontiers as their own inviolable national frontiers. Administrators also frequently tend to be against pastoralists particularly if they are nomadic, just because they appear untidy and are hard to map. (Baxter 1994:5)
In mitigation of the work of colonial administrators, Chambers, (who was one of them in northern Kenya), makes a valid point that most of them took their work very seriously and stayed at their posts for many years. This gave them a chance to get deeply involved and often committed to the welfare of the pastoralists scattered thinly over their vast areas of responsibility, even if this meant many weeks of travel on horse back to visit their junior district officers. This is in marked contrast to the present practice of many African administrators in these remote areas who seldom leave their offices and rarely stay more than a few months before getting themselves transferred. If they do venture into the bush it is usually at high speed in several vehicles with fully armed escort bristling with automatic weapons, stopping only to make a speech which is listened to politely by a few pastoralists rounded up for the occasion.
The failure of International development agencies.
Cullis adds to the list of those guilty of misguided efforts by saying that colonial administrators and those who came after independence were not alone in their attempts to eliminate subsistence pastoralism as quickly as possible.
"International development agencies have also devoted considerable effort and resources, through irrigation, agricultural and sedenterisation programmes, to the suppression of pastoral techniques of land and livestock management". (1992:3)
The costs of inappropriate development.
One of the most striking examples of this waste of effort and resources is found in northern Kenya cited by Richard Hogg in a paper intended to show that attempts to provide viable alternatives to pastoralism are far more complex and costly than restocking methods he advocates. He cites figures from a Kenya Ministry of Agriculture report of 1984 that development costs of the three government schemes in Turkana amounted to $61,240 per hectare or $21,800 per tenant household. "The operating costs alone amount to over three times the gross margin any farmer can expect from his plot. In spite of the high cost, farmers' returns from their plots are inadequate for subsistence, amounting, after deductions, to an average less than $77 per year, or the equivalent, after sale, of one large cow."(Hogg 1985:4) Hogg gives another example which is even closer to the geographical focus of this study. "In Isiolo District the development costs of Malka Daka, Gafarsa and Merti schemes run to nearly $17,000 per hectare. Yet since UNDP withdrawal in 1981 they have virtually collapsed, and nearly all the farmers are back on famine relief. At Malka Daka despair hangs like a pall over the scheme" (Hogg. 1985:5) Fortunately this scene is not now quite so bleak as at the time of Hogg's report and one of the positive features to emerge from this study will be the success of the Gafarsa irrigation project now that it is "owned" and operated by the local community instead of by an outside agency. Its success should have been be most instructive in the planning of subsequent riverside irrigation schemes but seems to have been ignored in the latest large project being built at Merti.
The example of the Malka Daka scheme.
The precedent of the Malka Daka scheme will be elaborated on here as it demonstrates the potential weaknesses of a centrally controlled and financed project with management by an educated elite who have little relationship or commitment to the local community.
In the District development plan of 1989-1993 the schemes is reported to have collapsed for three reasons. First the lack of funds for buying diesel and replacing old machinery. Secondly, the general apathy by the local community toward crop production and thirdly lack of an efficiently organised marketing system. These statements were discussed at length with Borana leaders and the few outsiders who have shown their commitment to the Malka Daka community. Their responses suggest different reasons for the collapse of the scheme. The first reason relating to inadequate funds to buy diesel fuel reflects the fact that the scheme depends on pumped water for irrigation. There was clearly a basic flaw in the design which did not allow for gravity flow. It seems that the original intake was so poorly sited and constructed that even before the canal and the necessary control sluice gates were completed, the river changed course and dropped from its former level to a point where the water could no longer flow into the canal. Much money had been spent to clear and level the land for cultivation, so rather than relocate this it was decided to provide diesel pumps at the river side to lift water into the feeder canals. Three of these were reported to have been bought but they were improperly sited and installed so that the next major floods not only inundated them but buried two of them so deep in the sand they have never been recovered.
As to the suggestion that funds had not been adequate to replace old machinery, the author witnessed for himself on a previous visit in 1987 that the machinery had never had a chance to become worn out. Almost new tractors and implements were lying idle with relatively simple defects or missing parts which put them out of service for months. Regular maintenance was not carried out and repairs were rarely completed. [1]
Blaming the local people for official failure.
The second reason given for the failure of the Malka Daka scheme refers to the general apathy of the community towards crop production. The inaccuracy of this criticism is demonstrated most effectively by observing the various schemes operated by the Borana themselves. The problem with the Malka Daka scheme seems to have been one of incentive or motivation. On that scheme the people were expected to work for wages to produce a crop for the government. The wages were very low, allegedly below the minimum established at that time by the Ministry of Labour. The complaint heard most often was that the workers had to plant whatever crop the project managers thought most profitable. The difference between this "State Farm system" and the freedom of choice on the shambas run by the Borana themselves is striking. Even on the adjacent Gafarsa irrigation scheme now owned and operated entirely by the local community the contrast in motivation and results is salutary. The willingness of at least some Borana to take to shamba life may be partly due to the particular disasters the present Borana elders have experienced in their lifetime, not just from recurring drought but more seriously through political upheaval and repeated Shifta attacks. A few of that generation seem to have given up pastoralism altogether whilst most prefer to mix shamba life for part of the family with pastoralism for others. The reluctance to relinquish their pastoral life was evidenced by the numbers of those presently cultivating who told of their plans to rebuild their herds, if they ever got enough money from their crops or any other means.
2.6. Other misconceptions of the meaning of development.
The confusion of commercialisation.
One misuse of the word "development" is the commercialisation of the main resources available to nomadic pastoral people', their herds. This can take various forms, marketing of animals being the most obvious, but control of traditional grazing land either by ranching schemes or grazing blocks is another experiment in commercialisation which has been tried by different politically dominant regimes with dubious results.
A striking example of this is a case study in The Masai and the State by Kaj Arhem (1985). In this concise study Arhem examines the evolution of various development policies and the effects on the Masai of Tanzania. Through a historical review and analysis of these national development policies, Arhem shows how rural development in its different guises has contributed to the creation of a pastoral peasantry and served not only to impoverish many former nomadic pastoralists but to force them into a dependent relationship with the state.(1985:5) In his conclusions Arhem points out that:-
..despite the radical political and economic changes brought about by independence, there are remarkable similarities in the evolution of development policies during the colonial and post-colonial regimes in Tanzania. From the point of view of the pastoralists, the state- peasantry relationship has only changed in form, not in character. The overt modernization ideology of colonial times, founded in a capitalistic ethic, has turned into a covert belief in modernization, equally dominant in development practice but hidden behind socialist rhetoric. Development has become a matter less of reducing poverty among the peasants than of extracting wealth from them. (Arhem. 1985:61)
It may well be argued that this is overstating the case to the point of causing unnecessary offence to the government concerned, but these are statements which need to be made in a voice sufficiently loud for policy makers to hear.
Arhem makes another statement in his conclusion which is helpful, especially the last sentence:-
There is nothing inevitable about development. There are different notions and strategies of development which lead to different outcomes but the basic differences do not follow the conventional lines of cleavage between political ideologies and economies such as "capitalism" and "socialism". From the point of view of peasants and ethnic minorities, the difference lies in the way development strategies recognise and build on the values and the social rationality on which the particular society rests. (Arhem. 1985:63)
Land tenure - a political issue.
J.W.Bennett (1984) acknowledges that the problem of pastoralist populations is ultimately one of political decision and action. National governments will have to decide the issues of land tenure and use; allocation of grazing and water resources to pastoralists and other users in accordance with their potential contribution to the national agricultural and food economies of the countries concerned.
All this implies a change of perspective on the part of governments and their foreign advisors: a realization that animal husbandry should be given a priority status at least equal to that of crop agriculture, and that many things that have been viewed as traditional or primitive in indigenous systems can serve important needs and may well be the most efficient means of exploiting marginal and difficult environments. (1984:vii)
It is only when decision makers realise that nomadic pastoralists are making the best use of the land left to them and maximizing its resource potential that their skills and productivity will be properly recognized and stimulated by appropriate development. They may also then be accorded a proportionate share of the national resources for such things as research and rural services. This will require not just money to pay workers who can supply the services but also motivation to get them to go and to keep them serving in remote and sometimes dangerous places. The motivation is often more difficult to find and to sustain than the money.
Exploiting the cheap labour of impoverished pastoralists.
In many cases the use of the word "Development" in the literature is associated with schemes to exploit the commercial potential of the only resources of nomadic pastoralists, their herds, and their poorest people as a source of cheap labour in other areas. This "out migration" is sometimes referred to as "surplus labour" as if those who left the nomadic pastoral system were not needed. As Gudrun Dahl points out repeatedly in her detailed case study, Suffering Grass (1979) it is not shortage of work that causes the out-migration but shortage of food to feed the workers who can not be sustained by the available food supplies.
The consequences of labour shortage.
Dahl provides a good illustration of the consequences of labour shortage in her conclusion to the study of the Southern Borana and the "shifta war" which;-
..led to an out migration of significant categories of people, whose labour was essential for an ecologically merciful land use pattern. When large numbers of young men turned southwards to look for jobs down country, vast areas of grazing was left unused because of problems in organizing the defense of fora (fallow) herds... The range of cattle mobility decreased and this led to overgrazing of essential areas with annual grasses, which were within reach of permanent waters. It is very likely that the related losses of land, labour and livestock made the Borana more vulnerable to the post-war droughts than they would have been if they had been able to practice their traditional movement patterns. The pastoral economy has become more fragile than before, and the colonial and post-independence changes in the conditions of Boran life have led to a situation where the poor have worse chances of surviving on pastoralism, and the rich better chances of returning to livestock keeping when the drought is over. (1979:261)
Emergence of social stratification.
Dahl goes on to make other helpful observations about changes in Boran social and economic life resulting from political developments which she maintains will be "relevant to the understanding of other cases of change in African pastoralism." In contrast to the traditional means of wealth redistribution in Boran society for the highly valued "prestige or social esteem" in giving animals to the poorer members of the clan, the intrusion of outside influences and the impact of capitalist commercialisation has led to the emergence of social stratification and the acceptance of a "peripheral elite". Development must mean more than commercialisation and marketing schemes. It should not mean the erosion of social strengths and the introduction of Western capitalistic patterns of inequality and disparity of wealth distribution. These trends only lead to inevitable social breakdown and the weaknesses inherent in Western societies, whether capitalistic or Marxist. This is the reason why development must include the spiritual component of transformation from within - the balancing force which is needed in development to keep society free from the negative effects of materialism or selfishness which are alien to traditional social values usually prevalent amongst pastoralists.
The confusion of commercialisation.
One misuse of the word "development" is the commercialisation of the main resources available to nomadic pastoral people', their herds. This can take various forms, marketing of animals being the most obvious, but control of traditional grazing land either by ranching schemes or grazing blocks is another experiment in commercialisation which has been tried by different politically dominant regimes with dubious results.
A striking example of this is a case study in The Masai and the State by Kaj Arhem (1985). In this concise study Arhem examines the evolution of various development policies and the effects on the Masai of Tanzania. Through a historical review and analysis of these national development policies, Arhem shows how rural development in its different guises has contributed to the creation of a pastoral peasantry and served not only to impoverish many former nomadic pastoralists but to force them into a dependent relationship with the state.(1985:5) In his conclusions Arhem points out that:-
..despite the radical political and economic changes brought about by independence, there are remarkable similarities in the evolution of development policies during the colonial and post-colonial regimes in Tanzania. From the point of view of the pastoralists, the state- peasantry relationship has only changed in form, not in character. The overt modernization ideology of colonial times, founded in a capitalistic ethic, has turned into a covert belief in modernization, equally dominant in development practice but hidden behind socialist rhetoric. Development has become a matter less of reducing poverty among the peasants than of extracting wealth from them. (Arhem. 1985:61)
It may well be argued that this is overstating the case to the point of causing unnecessary offence to the government concerned, but these are statements which need to be made in a voice sufficiently loud for policy makers to hear.
Arhem makes another statement in his conclusion which is helpful, especially the last sentence:-
There is nothing inevitable about development. There are different notions and strategies of development which lead to different outcomes but the basic differences do not follow the conventional lines of cleavage between political ideologies and economies such as "capitalism" and "socialism". From the point of view of peasants and ethnic minorities, the difference lies in the way development strategies recognise and build on the values and the social rationality on which the particular society rests. (Arhem. 1985:63)
Land tenure - a political issue.
J.W.Bennett (1984) acknowledges that the problem of pastoralist populations is ultimately one of political decision and action. National governments will have to decide the issues of land tenure and use; allocation of grazing and water resources to pastoralists and other users in accordance with their potential contribution to the national agricultural and food economies of the countries concerned.
All this implies a change of perspective on the part of governments and their foreign advisors: a realization that animal husbandry should be given a priority status at least equal to that of crop agriculture, and that many things that have been viewed as traditional or primitive in indigenous systems can serve important needs and may well be the most efficient means of exploiting marginal and difficult environments. (1984:vii)
It is only when decision makers realise that nomadic pastoralists are making the best use of the land left to them and maximizing its resource potential that their skills and productivity will be properly recognized and stimulated by appropriate development. They may also then be accorded a proportionate share of the national resources for such things as research and rural services. This will require not just money to pay workers who can supply the services but also motivation to get them to go and to keep them serving in remote and sometimes dangerous places. The motivation is often more difficult to find and to sustain than the money.
Exploiting the cheap labour of impoverished pastoralists.
In many cases the use of the word "Development" in the literature is associated with schemes to exploit the commercial potential of the only resources of nomadic pastoralists, their herds, and their poorest people as a source of cheap labour in other areas. This "out migration" is sometimes referred to as "surplus labour" as if those who left the nomadic pastoral system were not needed. As Gudrun Dahl points out repeatedly in her detailed case study, Suffering Grass (1979) it is not shortage of work that causes the out-migration but shortage of food to feed the workers who can not be sustained by the available food supplies.
The consequences of labour shortage.
Dahl provides a good illustration of the consequences of labour shortage in her conclusion to the study of the Southern Borana and the "shifta war" which;-
..led to an out migration of significant categories of people, whose labour was essential for an ecologically merciful land use pattern. When large numbers of young men turned southwards to look for jobs down country, vast areas of grazing was left unused because of problems in organizing the defense of fora (fallow) herds... The range of cattle mobility decreased and this led to overgrazing of essential areas with annual grasses, which were within reach of permanent waters. It is very likely that the related losses of land, labour and livestock made the Borana more vulnerable to the post-war droughts than they would have been if they had been able to practice their traditional movement patterns. The pastoral economy has become more fragile than before, and the colonial and post-independence changes in the conditions of Boran life have led to a situation where the poor have worse chances of surviving on pastoralism, and the rich better chances of returning to livestock keeping when the drought is over. (1979:261)
Emergence of social stratification.
Dahl goes on to make other helpful observations about changes in Boran social and economic life resulting from political developments which she maintains will be "relevant to the understanding of other cases of change in African pastoralism." In contrast to the traditional means of wealth redistribution in Boran society for the highly valued "prestige or social esteem" in giving animals to the poorer members of the clan, the intrusion of outside influences and the impact of capitalist commercialisation has led to the emergence of social stratification and the acceptance of a "peripheral elite". Development must mean more than commercialisation and marketing schemes. It should not mean the erosion of social strengths and the introduction of Western capitalistic patterns of inequality and disparity of wealth distribution. These trends only lead to inevitable social breakdown and the weaknesses inherent in Western societies, whether capitalistic or Marxist. This is the reason why development must include the spiritual component of transformation from within - the balancing force which is needed in development to keep society free from the negative effects of materialism or selfishness which are alien to traditional social values usually prevalent amongst pastoralists.
2.7. Religious Issues.
Another component of appropriate development which will appear in this study will be the relevance to and impact of religion on the life of nomadic pastoralists.
Sandford's comment on the effect of Islam.
Sandford makes the briefest reference to this when he considers the objectives of pastoralists. "It is probable that societies which have been exposed to the Islamic faith will tend to have some values which are systematically different from those societies which have not been thus exposed". (1983:23)
The importance of spiritual values in pastoralist societies.
This study and its underlying understanding of development recognises that spiritual values are an essential part of most if not all rural third world societies. This is particularly true in pastoralist societies who are utterly dependent on rain for their survival. They may have different names for their deity but they all have the strongest belief that he is the one who sends the rain. Without the rain they know that there will be no grass and no future for their animals and consequently for them. In every pastoral group there are ceremonies or individuals whose primary purpose is to bring rain. In each of the twenty or so pastoral groups with which this writer has acquaintance there are also prayers for secondary issues such as to keep away diseases, enemies and wild animals but the primary expectation of the high God is that He is the one who alone can send rain.
Differences between pastoralists and cultivators' views of God.
Perhaps this view of God as the rain giver is less important to third world cultivating societies as for them, if the rains fail to bring a harvest on a cultivated crop, the farmer can try again for the next rain season. If the rains fail so that there is no grass for the animals of the pastoralist then the animals will die. If the pastoralist loses all his animals through drought he cannot start again on the next rains. The best he can hope for is that a few of them will survive from which he can begin the slow process of rebuilding his herd. In many parts of Africa where there is a bimodal rainy season the farmer may only have to wait 6 months before he can receive the next harvest.
In this study examining the meaning of holistic development, religion is taken to be an essential part of that development and in the world view and values of societies such as nomadic pastoralists where atheism is unknown. Christianity in particular is considered to be relevant for the following reasons: The Christian church in its many forms and expressions is the most ubiquitous people-based organization on earth with the widest global penetration and diversity, capable of adaptation and acceptance as a normative part of all civil societies, even under political oppression or persecution from other religions.
Christianity is a universal religion mandated by its founder, Jesus Christ, to be taken to the most poor and marginalised members of human society, amongst which nomadic pastoralists are appearing more and more frequently. He commanded His followers to declare the Christian gospel by word and by action to all the world, specifically to every tribe and language and ethnic entity, regardless of their political influence or the numbers within those ethnic groups. Jesus Christ not only gave them this mandate, He also promised them the power to fulfill His command and to be with them, "to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20) and "to the remotest parts of the earth" (Luke 1:8). It is not surprising therefore that Christian missionaries and social workers have historically been at the forefront of efforts to reach such isolated and frequently alienated social groups as nomadic pastoralists.
The problem for secular researchers.
However difficult it may be for 'outsiders' to understand the holistic world view of third world societies such as the pastoralists, there are few who would deny that each of those societies has a spiritual dimension which pervades all their culture.
It is presumably more difficult for secular anthropologists or a non religious development worker to comprehend the holistic world view of cultures which include a profound spiritual dimension. The western secular view which implicitly or explicitly brackets out the sacred may well miss the significance of certain practices and beliefs. Sandford gives one notable example of an anthropologist working amongst the Dassenech in southwest Ethiopia. He observed the practice of frequent animal sacrifices and interpreted this as a means of regulating livestock numbers to the carrying capacity of the environment. From this he concluded that the Dassenech put a high value on ecological equilibrium. (1983:23).
An example of the relevance of Christianity to nomadic pastoralists.
There is never any need to convince a pastoralist of the existence of God or any difficulty in getting him to talk about his beliefs. This is well illustrated by Vincent Donovan in his significant work which will be considered more fully in Chapter 8. Describing the Masai of Tanzania amongst whom he worked for 17 years he writes, "they have the positive characteristics of pastoralists. They are hospitable, generous, affectionate, worshipers of children, unbelievably gentle, and religious. They are firm believers in the one God, Engai, but are plagued by a fear of evil spirits, which fear is exploited by the witch doctor, the laibon" (Donovan 1978:21)
Donovan was a Roman Catholic priest who saw the irrelevance to the Masai of the institutional religion as practiced on the mission station. He decided to leave the mission station and all it's traditional institutions and to go to speak to the Masai about the gospel of Jesus Christ. He began by going early in the morning to a carefully selected Masai kraal belonging to one of the influential elders call Ndangoya.
He asked what I wanted to speak about. I said I wanted to talk to them about God, and he answered "Who can refuse to speak about God?"
I then pointed out that we were well known among the Masai for our work in schools and hospitals, and for our interest in the Masai and their cattle. But now I no longer wanted to talk about schools and hospitals, but about God in the life of the Masai, and about the message of Christianity. Indeed, it was for this very work of explaining the message of Christianity to the different peoples of Africa that I came here from far away. Ndangoya looked at me for a long time, and then said in a puzzled way, "If that is why you came, why did you wait so long to tell us about this?" (1978:20)
This model of Christian witness to a fiercely traditional pastoral group will be discussed at length later in this study as it illustrates most effectively the relevance not just of religion but in particular of Christianity to the Masai. It also sadly relates the eventual rejection of the Christian community which sprang up by the established church hierarchy who saw their structures and control systems being challenged. This demonstrates the unfortunate tendency of the established church and mission leaders to misunderstand the nature of a church which is appropriate and acceptable to nomadic pastoralists as well as it's role and relationship to material development work.
Another component of appropriate development which will appear in this study will be the relevance to and impact of religion on the life of nomadic pastoralists.
Sandford's comment on the effect of Islam.
Sandford makes the briefest reference to this when he considers the objectives of pastoralists. "It is probable that societies which have been exposed to the Islamic faith will tend to have some values which are systematically different from those societies which have not been thus exposed". (1983:23)
The importance of spiritual values in pastoralist societies.
This study and its underlying understanding of development recognises that spiritual values are an essential part of most if not all rural third world societies. This is particularly true in pastoralist societies who are utterly dependent on rain for their survival. They may have different names for their deity but they all have the strongest belief that he is the one who sends the rain. Without the rain they know that there will be no grass and no future for their animals and consequently for them. In every pastoral group there are ceremonies or individuals whose primary purpose is to bring rain. In each of the twenty or so pastoral groups with which this writer has acquaintance there are also prayers for secondary issues such as to keep away diseases, enemies and wild animals but the primary expectation of the high God is that He is the one who alone can send rain.
Differences between pastoralists and cultivators' views of God.
Perhaps this view of God as the rain giver is less important to third world cultivating societies as for them, if the rains fail to bring a harvest on a cultivated crop, the farmer can try again for the next rain season. If the rains fail so that there is no grass for the animals of the pastoralist then the animals will die. If the pastoralist loses all his animals through drought he cannot start again on the next rains. The best he can hope for is that a few of them will survive from which he can begin the slow process of rebuilding his herd. In many parts of Africa where there is a bimodal rainy season the farmer may only have to wait 6 months before he can receive the next harvest.
In this study examining the meaning of holistic development, religion is taken to be an essential part of that development and in the world view and values of societies such as nomadic pastoralists where atheism is unknown. Christianity in particular is considered to be relevant for the following reasons: The Christian church in its many forms and expressions is the most ubiquitous people-based organization on earth with the widest global penetration and diversity, capable of adaptation and acceptance as a normative part of all civil societies, even under political oppression or persecution from other religions.
Christianity is a universal religion mandated by its founder, Jesus Christ, to be taken to the most poor and marginalised members of human society, amongst which nomadic pastoralists are appearing more and more frequently. He commanded His followers to declare the Christian gospel by word and by action to all the world, specifically to every tribe and language and ethnic entity, regardless of their political influence or the numbers within those ethnic groups. Jesus Christ not only gave them this mandate, He also promised them the power to fulfill His command and to be with them, "to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20) and "to the remotest parts of the earth" (Luke 1:8). It is not surprising therefore that Christian missionaries and social workers have historically been at the forefront of efforts to reach such isolated and frequently alienated social groups as nomadic pastoralists.
The problem for secular researchers.
However difficult it may be for 'outsiders' to understand the holistic world view of third world societies such as the pastoralists, there are few who would deny that each of those societies has a spiritual dimension which pervades all their culture.
It is presumably more difficult for secular anthropologists or a non religious development worker to comprehend the holistic world view of cultures which include a profound spiritual dimension. The western secular view which implicitly or explicitly brackets out the sacred may well miss the significance of certain practices and beliefs. Sandford gives one notable example of an anthropologist working amongst the Dassenech in southwest Ethiopia. He observed the practice of frequent animal sacrifices and interpreted this as a means of regulating livestock numbers to the carrying capacity of the environment. From this he concluded that the Dassenech put a high value on ecological equilibrium. (1983:23).
An example of the relevance of Christianity to nomadic pastoralists.
There is never any need to convince a pastoralist of the existence of God or any difficulty in getting him to talk about his beliefs. This is well illustrated by Vincent Donovan in his significant work which will be considered more fully in Chapter 8. Describing the Masai of Tanzania amongst whom he worked for 17 years he writes, "they have the positive characteristics of pastoralists. They are hospitable, generous, affectionate, worshipers of children, unbelievably gentle, and religious. They are firm believers in the one God, Engai, but are plagued by a fear of evil spirits, which fear is exploited by the witch doctor, the laibon" (Donovan 1978:21)
Donovan was a Roman Catholic priest who saw the irrelevance to the Masai of the institutional religion as practiced on the mission station. He decided to leave the mission station and all it's traditional institutions and to go to speak to the Masai about the gospel of Jesus Christ. He began by going early in the morning to a carefully selected Masai kraal belonging to one of the influential elders call Ndangoya.
He asked what I wanted to speak about. I said I wanted to talk to them about God, and he answered "Who can refuse to speak about God?"
I then pointed out that we were well known among the Masai for our work in schools and hospitals, and for our interest in the Masai and their cattle. But now I no longer wanted to talk about schools and hospitals, but about God in the life of the Masai, and about the message of Christianity. Indeed, it was for this very work of explaining the message of Christianity to the different peoples of Africa that I came here from far away. Ndangoya looked at me for a long time, and then said in a puzzled way, "If that is why you came, why did you wait so long to tell us about this?" (1978:20)
This model of Christian witness to a fiercely traditional pastoral group will be discussed at length later in this study as it illustrates most effectively the relevance not just of religion but in particular of Christianity to the Masai. It also sadly relates the eventual rejection of the Christian community which sprang up by the established church hierarchy who saw their structures and control systems being challenged. This demonstrates the unfortunate tendency of the established church and mission leaders to misunderstand the nature of a church which is appropriate and acceptable to nomadic pastoralists as well as it's role and relationship to material development work.
2.8. Nomadic pastoralists and missionary priorities.
A final objective of this study is to consider the significance of the nomadic pastoral peoples from a missiological and eschatological point of view. It should be understood from the outset that this is based upon the premise that the ultimate purpose of the world wide Church of Jesus Christ is to reproduce itself in every ethnic group. The final climax of its destiny and human history will then be fulfilled when there are believers from every tribe and tongue and nation delighting to worship and obey the Lord Jesus Christ. This requires that they will not only have heard the gospel but seen it presented in such an effective manner that it will be comprehensible and attractive to them within their own God-given culture.
If this premise is accepted then a further purpose of this study is to point out that the nomadic pastoral peoples are a serious challenge remaining to be realistically faced by Christian Missions. They may not be many in terms of total world population, but in numbers of separate ethnic groups they are probably one of the last major blocks of unreached peoples where the Christian church has not yet penetrated. They are possibly the toughest challenge that the missionary enterprise will have to tackle in terms of physical hardship, distant cultural barriers, and from religious opposition. It seems logical then to suggest that, rather than leaving them until last as the least responsive people, mission leaders should be facing this challenge with urgent and serious commitment, giving appropriate attention to these most unreached peoples.
The "Nations" in the Old Testament Scriptures.
God's purposes for all the people on earth is not just a revelation found after the coming of Jesus Christ and the New Testament era but is clearly predicted in the Old Testament.
The first reference to God's inclusion of all peoples appears in the promises made to Abraham in the book of Genesis, some of which has already been quoted in other contexts. A summary will be given here to provide the foundation for other scripture references.
To Abraham - "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:3) "Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him" (Genesis 18:18) "through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me" (Genesis 22:18)
To Isaac - the Lord appeared to Isaac and said "Do not go down to Egypt-- live in the land for a while and I will be with you and will bless you, For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws. So Isaac stopped in Gerar. (Genesis 26:2-6)
To Jacob - "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through your offspring. (Genesis 28:13-14)
In the book of Psalms there are more than 100 references to God's concern for "all peoples," "and nations" "to the ends of the earth." Psalm 67 is a good example:
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us, God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him. (Psalm 67:1-7)
In Psalm 72 particular mention is made of the desert tribes:- "He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. The desert tribes will bow before him"...(Ps. 72:8-9) "All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him"...(Psalm 72:11) "All nations will be blessed through him and they will call him blessed". (Ps. 72:17)
The prophecy of Isaiah contains approximately 80 references to God's plan to include all peoples and nations in his redemptive purpose. For instance:-
Many peoples will come and say 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths...He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many nations. (Is. 2:3-4)
I the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the Gentiles to open the eyes of the blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.....Sing to the LORD a new song. His praise from the ends of the earth.....let the desert and its towns raise their voices: let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice (Isaiah 42:6-11)
I am the LORD and there is no other.....a righteous God and a Saviour, there is none but me. Turn to me and be saved all you ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other.....Before me every knee will bow; and by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me 'In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength. (Isaiah 45:18, 21-24)
The latter quotation from Isaiah is undoubtedly the source of one of the most striking passages in the New Testament referring to the global dimensions of God's plan for all peoples.
He (Jesus) humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on the cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:8-11)
The example of Jesus Christ on earth.- his attitude.
It is in the verses immediately preceding this universal declaration that the difference is revealed between the attitude of many Western Christian missionaries towards distant and disadvantaged peoples and that of their leader and model Jesus Christ.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross---.(Philippians 2:5-8)
It is readily accepted in principle that all development workers need to live simply and as close as possible to the people amongst whom they are working if they are to win their trust and acceptance. This attitude of simplicity and empathetic social identification is even more to be expected and evidenced in those seeking to show an appropriate Christian witness to non-Christian societies. If the intervention is to be appropriate it must be attractive and acceptable to the target society. They must feel that it is being brought by someone who understands their needs, both spiritual and physical and is willing to identify with them - even to the point of adopting their lifestyle. This is the model that Jesus Christ showed in his incarnation, choosing to enter this world not at the highest social level or even in a comfortable middle class home but willing to be born into a poor peasant family - even to be "made flesh" in a situation which involved some inevitable social disgrace.
The stated purpose and priorities of Jesus
Jesus also made plain from his first recorded message in the synagogue in Nazareth that his first priority on earth was to go to the poor and disadvantaged, quoting from the prophecy of Isaiah.
The Spirit of the LORD is on me because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed....(Luke 4:18,19)
These stated goals were actively demonstrated throughout His life, leading eventually to the most humiliating death - being crucified between two common criminals. It seemed that Jesus had no difficulty identifying with the poorest and most marginalised members of his society. It was only the proud and self righteous who invited his reproof. This is well illustrated by the familiar parable Jesus told about the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple, addressed "to some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else" (Luke 18:9) The conclusion of this parable expressly states that, "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 18:14). It is this attitude of the Lord Jesus which needs to be adopted by His followers when they aspire to serve Him where his love is most needed, amongst the truly poor, usually the economically and politically marginalised.
The model of the actions of Jesus Christ.
In the time of Christ, the science and technology of community development were very different from modern methods and interventions employed today. Nevertheless there are salutary lessons to be learned from the activity of Jesus Christ whilst He was on this earth by those who are motivated by Christian compassion to engage in holistic development.
1. He began His life's work by choosing a team of local people from the ordinary working classes to be with Him and to watch his approach to people in various types of human need (Luke 5, 6:12-16)
2. He started His active ministry by appearing with His new team of disciples amongst large crowds of common people "who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases" (Luke 6:17-18)
3. He taught a revolutionary doctrine of love your enemies and declared His special concern for the poor and despised in his teaching on the Sermon on the Mount, still widely respected even by secular and non-Christian scholars.
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets. But woe to your who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Who to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep." (Luke 6:20-25)
4. Jesus taught His followers not by secluding them in a theological training school for several years but by moving with them amongst ordinary people of the land to which He had been sent. Some of the earliest recorded examples of his actions involved healing individuals from the highest levels of society to the poorest, i.e.: the Roman centurion who demonstrated such great faith in Jesus and humility that he did not consider himself worthy to meet Jesus but sent some friends to ask Jesus to heal his servant. This story is immediately followed by the record of the concern of Jesus for a poor widow whose only son had just died.
As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out--the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, 'Don't cry.' Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, 'Young man, I say to you, get up!' The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. They were all filled with awe and praised God. 'A great prophet has appeared among us,' they said, 'God has come to help his people'. (Luke 7:12-16)
5. Another aspect of the activity of Jesus on earth which is particularly pertinent to those working amongst nomadic pastoralists is that He did not stay in one place or build any permanent institutions, but "travelled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means." (Luke 8:1-3) This example would have special interest in societies where women do most of the work whilst the men sit around and talk or watch the work going on.
6. The activity Jesus demonstrated himself and deputed to his followers frequently had a two-fold aspect--declaration of Christian teaching and physical and spiritual healing of the sick. "When Jesus had called the twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick....So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere." (Luke 9:1-2, 6)
Holistic development as practised by Jesus.
The interventions Jesus used and sometimes enjoined on his disciples were primarily healing of bodies, minds and spirits, and on at least two occasions feeding large crowds of hungry people.
Only those who cannot believe in a God who is more powerful than themselves are likely to dispute that Jesus possessed miraculous powers to heal and feed people in need.
It is noteworthy that however many people Jesus healed he did not heal every sick person in the society where he lived. For thirty years he lived as the son of a carpenter with no record of his having learned that or any other trade or doing any supernatural activity. It was only during and after a profound spiritual encounter at the River Jordan and in the nearby desert for 40 days that unusual power is said to have come upon him. "Jesus full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert......Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit and news about him spread through out all the countryside.." (Luke 4:1,14) He appears to have recognised the endowment of this new power as he quoted soon afterwards from the prophet Isaiah. "The Spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor". (Luke 4:14)
The promise of power.
It is significant that the same gospel writer who records these evidences of power coming upon Jesus Christ also records the following final statement of Jesus to his disciples.
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, 'This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,' and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, 'beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these thing. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.' (Luke 24:45-49)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
The purpose of the promise of power - to "the ends of the earth".
There is another point worthy of note in the two preceding references to power being promised by Jesus Christ to his followers. In both cases it is specifically stated that they would be his witnesses beginning at "Jerusalem and to all nations." The promise given in Acts chapter 1 expressly states a beginning and an ending and possibly some intermediary stages in an expanding movement which can be described as having four phases of advancement. "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
This last recorded statement of Jesus made before his ascension to heaven clearly indicates that he intended their witness to move from Jerusalem, presumably as quickly as possible and for that reason the power was given. It is regrettable that for so many years some of his most earnest followers and erudite biblical scholars have argued about whether this power was meant only for the twelve apostles who were trained by Jesus or whether the promise was for all who would obey his command to take the Christian message to all the peoples on earth.
The point of this discussion and its application to contemporary missiological thinking is that if the promise of the power of the Holy spirit was only given to the 12 original apostles then they singularly failed to fulfill the command and the purpose for which the promise was given - to take the Christian message to "all nations". That task has been left to all who see the imperative of the command and the purpose for which Jesus gave the promise of his power. The significance of this subject, the use of spiritual power in contemporary development practice by Christian believers, will be considered in the final chapter of conclusions and implications.
There is no denying that there has been a diminution in the practice of the supernatural power used by Christian workers to fulfill that purpose in proclaiming and demonstrating that love of Christ for all peoples but there are enough documented evidences of its occasional manifestation to encourage his followers to believe that there is still power available when the situation warrants it.
A final objective of this study is to consider the significance of the nomadic pastoral peoples from a missiological and eschatological point of view. It should be understood from the outset that this is based upon the premise that the ultimate purpose of the world wide Church of Jesus Christ is to reproduce itself in every ethnic group. The final climax of its destiny and human history will then be fulfilled when there are believers from every tribe and tongue and nation delighting to worship and obey the Lord Jesus Christ. This requires that they will not only have heard the gospel but seen it presented in such an effective manner that it will be comprehensible and attractive to them within their own God-given culture.
If this premise is accepted then a further purpose of this study is to point out that the nomadic pastoral peoples are a serious challenge remaining to be realistically faced by Christian Missions. They may not be many in terms of total world population, but in numbers of separate ethnic groups they are probably one of the last major blocks of unreached peoples where the Christian church has not yet penetrated. They are possibly the toughest challenge that the missionary enterprise will have to tackle in terms of physical hardship, distant cultural barriers, and from religious opposition. It seems logical then to suggest that, rather than leaving them until last as the least responsive people, mission leaders should be facing this challenge with urgent and serious commitment, giving appropriate attention to these most unreached peoples.
The "Nations" in the Old Testament Scriptures.
God's purposes for all the people on earth is not just a revelation found after the coming of Jesus Christ and the New Testament era but is clearly predicted in the Old Testament.
The first reference to God's inclusion of all peoples appears in the promises made to Abraham in the book of Genesis, some of which has already been quoted in other contexts. A summary will be given here to provide the foundation for other scripture references.
To Abraham - "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:3) "Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him" (Genesis 18:18) "through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me" (Genesis 22:18)
To Isaac - the Lord appeared to Isaac and said "Do not go down to Egypt-- live in the land for a while and I will be with you and will bless you, For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws. So Isaac stopped in Gerar. (Genesis 26:2-6)
To Jacob - "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through your offspring. (Genesis 28:13-14)
In the book of Psalms there are more than 100 references to God's concern for "all peoples," "and nations" "to the ends of the earth." Psalm 67 is a good example:
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us, God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him. (Psalm 67:1-7)
In Psalm 72 particular mention is made of the desert tribes:- "He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. The desert tribes will bow before him"...(Ps. 72:8-9) "All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him"...(Psalm 72:11) "All nations will be blessed through him and they will call him blessed". (Ps. 72:17)
The prophecy of Isaiah contains approximately 80 references to God's plan to include all peoples and nations in his redemptive purpose. For instance:-
Many peoples will come and say 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths...He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many nations. (Is. 2:3-4)
I the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the Gentiles to open the eyes of the blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.....Sing to the LORD a new song. His praise from the ends of the earth.....let the desert and its towns raise their voices: let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice (Isaiah 42:6-11)
I am the LORD and there is no other.....a righteous God and a Saviour, there is none but me. Turn to me and be saved all you ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other.....Before me every knee will bow; and by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me 'In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength. (Isaiah 45:18, 21-24)
The latter quotation from Isaiah is undoubtedly the source of one of the most striking passages in the New Testament referring to the global dimensions of God's plan for all peoples.
He (Jesus) humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on the cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:8-11)
The example of Jesus Christ on earth.- his attitude.
It is in the verses immediately preceding this universal declaration that the difference is revealed between the attitude of many Western Christian missionaries towards distant and disadvantaged peoples and that of their leader and model Jesus Christ.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross---.(Philippians 2:5-8)
It is readily accepted in principle that all development workers need to live simply and as close as possible to the people amongst whom they are working if they are to win their trust and acceptance. This attitude of simplicity and empathetic social identification is even more to be expected and evidenced in those seeking to show an appropriate Christian witness to non-Christian societies. If the intervention is to be appropriate it must be attractive and acceptable to the target society. They must feel that it is being brought by someone who understands their needs, both spiritual and physical and is willing to identify with them - even to the point of adopting their lifestyle. This is the model that Jesus Christ showed in his incarnation, choosing to enter this world not at the highest social level or even in a comfortable middle class home but willing to be born into a poor peasant family - even to be "made flesh" in a situation which involved some inevitable social disgrace.
The stated purpose and priorities of Jesus
Jesus also made plain from his first recorded message in the synagogue in Nazareth that his first priority on earth was to go to the poor and disadvantaged, quoting from the prophecy of Isaiah.
The Spirit of the LORD is on me because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed....(Luke 4:18,19)
These stated goals were actively demonstrated throughout His life, leading eventually to the most humiliating death - being crucified between two common criminals. It seemed that Jesus had no difficulty identifying with the poorest and most marginalised members of his society. It was only the proud and self righteous who invited his reproof. This is well illustrated by the familiar parable Jesus told about the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple, addressed "to some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else" (Luke 18:9) The conclusion of this parable expressly states that, "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 18:14). It is this attitude of the Lord Jesus which needs to be adopted by His followers when they aspire to serve Him where his love is most needed, amongst the truly poor, usually the economically and politically marginalised.
The model of the actions of Jesus Christ.
In the time of Christ, the science and technology of community development were very different from modern methods and interventions employed today. Nevertheless there are salutary lessons to be learned from the activity of Jesus Christ whilst He was on this earth by those who are motivated by Christian compassion to engage in holistic development.
1. He began His life's work by choosing a team of local people from the ordinary working classes to be with Him and to watch his approach to people in various types of human need (Luke 5, 6:12-16)
2. He started His active ministry by appearing with His new team of disciples amongst large crowds of common people "who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases" (Luke 6:17-18)
3. He taught a revolutionary doctrine of love your enemies and declared His special concern for the poor and despised in his teaching on the Sermon on the Mount, still widely respected even by secular and non-Christian scholars.
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets. But woe to your who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Who to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep." (Luke 6:20-25)
4. Jesus taught His followers not by secluding them in a theological training school for several years but by moving with them amongst ordinary people of the land to which He had been sent. Some of the earliest recorded examples of his actions involved healing individuals from the highest levels of society to the poorest, i.e.: the Roman centurion who demonstrated such great faith in Jesus and humility that he did not consider himself worthy to meet Jesus but sent some friends to ask Jesus to heal his servant. This story is immediately followed by the record of the concern of Jesus for a poor widow whose only son had just died.
As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out--the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, 'Don't cry.' Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, 'Young man, I say to you, get up!' The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. They were all filled with awe and praised God. 'A great prophet has appeared among us,' they said, 'God has come to help his people'. (Luke 7:12-16)
5. Another aspect of the activity of Jesus on earth which is particularly pertinent to those working amongst nomadic pastoralists is that He did not stay in one place or build any permanent institutions, but "travelled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means." (Luke 8:1-3) This example would have special interest in societies where women do most of the work whilst the men sit around and talk or watch the work going on.
6. The activity Jesus demonstrated himself and deputed to his followers frequently had a two-fold aspect--declaration of Christian teaching and physical and spiritual healing of the sick. "When Jesus had called the twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick....So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere." (Luke 9:1-2, 6)
Holistic development as practised by Jesus.
The interventions Jesus used and sometimes enjoined on his disciples were primarily healing of bodies, minds and spirits, and on at least two occasions feeding large crowds of hungry people.
Only those who cannot believe in a God who is more powerful than themselves are likely to dispute that Jesus possessed miraculous powers to heal and feed people in need.
It is noteworthy that however many people Jesus healed he did not heal every sick person in the society where he lived. For thirty years he lived as the son of a carpenter with no record of his having learned that or any other trade or doing any supernatural activity. It was only during and after a profound spiritual encounter at the River Jordan and in the nearby desert for 40 days that unusual power is said to have come upon him. "Jesus full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert......Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit and news about him spread through out all the countryside.." (Luke 4:1,14) He appears to have recognised the endowment of this new power as he quoted soon afterwards from the prophet Isaiah. "The Spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor". (Luke 4:14)
The promise of power.
It is significant that the same gospel writer who records these evidences of power coming upon Jesus Christ also records the following final statement of Jesus to his disciples.
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, 'This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,' and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, 'beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these thing. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.' (Luke 24:45-49)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
The purpose of the promise of power - to "the ends of the earth".
There is another point worthy of note in the two preceding references to power being promised by Jesus Christ to his followers. In both cases it is specifically stated that they would be his witnesses beginning at "Jerusalem and to all nations." The promise given in Acts chapter 1 expressly states a beginning and an ending and possibly some intermediary stages in an expanding movement which can be described as having four phases of advancement. "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
This last recorded statement of Jesus made before his ascension to heaven clearly indicates that he intended their witness to move from Jerusalem, presumably as quickly as possible and for that reason the power was given. It is regrettable that for so many years some of his most earnest followers and erudite biblical scholars have argued about whether this power was meant only for the twelve apostles who were trained by Jesus or whether the promise was for all who would obey his command to take the Christian message to all the peoples on earth.
The point of this discussion and its application to contemporary missiological thinking is that if the promise of the power of the Holy spirit was only given to the 12 original apostles then they singularly failed to fulfill the command and the purpose for which the promise was given - to take the Christian message to "all nations". That task has been left to all who see the imperative of the command and the purpose for which Jesus gave the promise of his power. The significance of this subject, the use of spiritual power in contemporary development practice by Christian believers, will be considered in the final chapter of conclusions and implications.
There is no denying that there has been a diminution in the practice of the supernatural power used by Christian workers to fulfill that purpose in proclaiming and demonstrating that love of Christ for all peoples but there are enough documented evidences of its occasional manifestation to encourage his followers to believe that there is still power available when the situation warrants it.
[1] It was no secret in the closest commercial centres at Isiolo and Meru that if you needed parts for your tractor or vehicle of the same make as those being used at Malka Daka, they could be bought cheaply from the project administration. Hence the number of machines immobilised for lack of a key component. Eventually the Project Director was imprisoned when it was proven that he had misappropriated funds totalling several millions of shillings. The officials in the project administration were from the Director's own ethnic group in southern Kenya, mostly his own relations or acquaintances. This points to the need to have trusted people from the local community involved in responsible positions in every development project - especially those entailing external capital expenditure.