Borana women’s network for local food security

Pastoralist societies are known for their strong social networks. The paper “Borana women’s indigenous social network marro in building household food security: case study from Ethiopia” by Abiyot Eliyas Anbach and Darley Jose Kjosavik, published in Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice 2018 (8:29), explores the role of marro – a women’s network to access resources to improve food security of Borana pastoralist and agropastoralist households  in southern Ethiopia. The paper investigates types of resources shared and the role of shared resources in augmenting household food security.

The marro is a voluntary social-support network between friends, neighbours and relatives in which all women participate, regardless of livelihood base, economic status and age difference. Most women use marro when need arises, while a significant number of poor and elderly women depend on it for daily survival. Marro relations function as bonding and bridging networks in which resources are mobilised and shared between neighbouring and distant households. In both bonding and bridging marro, women share resources such as food items, labour and cash on the basis of trust and solidarity. The primary aim is to overcome household food shortages that increase during drought.

More frequent droughts and lack of appropriate external support are limiting the scope of marro in building household food security by limiting the availability of resources and increasing the number of poor people urgently needing help. The findings add knowledge on the role of social security networks in improving household food security that must be taken into account when designing responsive and sustainable food-security interventions in pastoral areas.

Posted on 30 October 2018 in Pastoralism, Gender & Youth, Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition