Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
of living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and
recover from stresses and shocks, maintain or enhance its capabil-
ities and assets, while not undermining the natural resource base.
The livelihoods framework was initially designed to improve the
understanding of rural households, but it is now seen as a generic framework
for use in urban as well as rural areas (Singh and Gilman, 1999; Martı
´
n et al,
2000; Sanderson, 2000). The framework does not attempt to provide an exact
representation of reality, but it does provide a way of thinking about
livelihoods designed to stimulate debate and reflection. The livelihoods
framework views poor households as being dependent upon a diversity of
strategies in order to face urban poverty (Figure 3.2). These strategies are
based on a set of household 'assets': natural capital (land and water); financial
capital; physical capital (houses, equipment, animals, seeds); human capital
(in terms of both labour power and capacity, or skill); and social capital
(networks of trust between different social groups). The deployment of assets
also depends on external influences such as dealing with regulations, policies,
Figure 3.2 The sustainable livelihoods systems framework
