The Livelihoods ApproachBasic concepts and definitions

Jorge Carrillo-Rodriguez

Social Development Advisor

Capacity Building Workshop on “Action Research on Disability,

Poverty and Livelihoods”

Bangkok, 16-18 January 2012

Key Concepts

A livelihood compriseso Capabilities

o Assets (material and social)

o Strategies

A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from external stresses and shocks, maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets now and in the future while not undermining the natural resource base.

Assets (capital)

Human: Skills, Knowledge, Information, Ability to work, Health

Financial: Savings, Credit, Remittances, Pensions

Social: Networks, Groups, Trust, Access to services

Physical: Infrastructure, Transport, Shelter,

Natural: Land, Water, Wildlife, Biodiversity, Environment

Strategies used by poor households

Mainly urban Urban and rural

Income raising

• domestic service - e.g. cleaning

and childcare (esp. girls and

women)

• urban agriculture

• renting out rooms

• home gardening

• processing, hawking, vending

• transporting goods

• casual labour/piece work

• specialised occupations (e.g. tinkering, food preparation, shoe-

shining, prostitution)

• child labour

• mortgaging and selling assets

• selling children into bonded labour

• migration for seasonal work

• seasonal food for work, public works & relief

Lowering expenditures

• scavenging

• cutting transport costs (e.g.

walking to work)

• changes in purchasing habits (e.g. small frequent purchases,

rather than cheap bulk buys, and/or poorer quality food)

• stinting on goods and services (e.g. buying less and/or cheaper

food)

• discrimination and triage (e.g. giving less food to weaker/ less

favoured household members).

Social capital

• community kitchens (comedores

populares)

• shared childcare

• mutual help e.g. loans from friends or saving groups

• family splitting (e.g. putting children out to others)

• remittances from household members working away

Livelihood outcomes

More income Increased well-being Reduced vulnerability Improved food security More sustainable use of the natural resource base

Disability/poverty cycle

Poverty/disability cycle

THANK YOU