From grazing units to milking units: The gendered nature of intra-household livestock management and food security for pastoralists in Kenya

This paper offers a methodological and conceptual framework for empirically demonstrating the importance of gendered, intra-household units in shaping pastoral livestock management and food security. While the focal point for understanding livestock management and pastoral production systems traditionally has been range-lands where livestock graze with male herders, this study demonstrates that as much livestock management happens within the home under the care of women. This project draws from long-term mixed methods research as well as an in-depth focal household study conducted over 10 months with Maasai pastoralists in Kenya to examine the highly gendered activities of herding and milking. In considering multiple spaces of livestock management inside and outside the pastoral home, this project introduces and utilizes the concept of the milking unit (a group of cows allotted to, and managed by, women for milking activities) alongside the more well-studied category of the grazing unit (a group of cattle pooled together by household members for grazing activities). Findings about the micro-decisions of livestock management, and the gendered politics shaping them, illustrate that gendered, intra-household relations are just as, if not more, important than grazing patterns or household assets such as herd size in determining milk resources for individuals within households, with significant out-comes for livestock productivity, food security, and wellbeing. These conclusions suggest that examining gendered, intra-household variation can be key for understanding livelihoods and human-environment interactions for pastoralists and other communities in the global South.

Automated summary

This study provides a framework to empirically demonstrate the importance of gendered, intra-household units in shaping pastoral livestock management and food security. It shows that livestock management not only happens in range-lands with male herders, but also within the home under the care of women. By considering multiple spaces of livestock management and introducing the concept of the milking unit, this study highlights the significance of gendered, intra-household relations in determining livelihoods and human-environment interactions for pastoralists.