The role oF local power relations in household vulnerability to Climate Change in humla, nepal - Climate Change Adaptation and Development: Transforming Paradigms and Practices - page 205

table 11.1 Characteristics of the three villages studied, Humla district

Villages Khaagaalgaon Syaandaa Khankhe

Religion Buddhist Hindu Hindu

Caste/ethnic group Lama Chhetri/Byaansi Thakuri, Dalit

Persons per
household

7* 8.6* 7.2

Child mortality per
household

0.2 1.4 0.9

Food security** Moderately food-

insecure

Highly food-
insecure

Highly food-
insecure

Main livelihood
strategies

Agriculture, trade Agriculture, trade,

wage labour

Agriculture, trade,
wage labour,
migration, food aid

Main crops
cultivated

Buckwheat, millet,
barley, potatoes,
seasonal vegetables

Buckwheat, millet,
barley, wheat,
potatoes, seasonal
vegetables

Rice, millet, barley,
wheat, corn,
seasonal vegetables

Main livestock Yaks, yak/cow

hybrids, horses,
sheep, goats

Yaks, yak/cow
hybrids, horses,
sheep, goats

Cows, buffalo,
sheep, goats

Data based on fieldwork 2010-2011 except for those denoted with an asterisk based on Roy (2010)
and with two asterisks that are based on DFSN (2010).

Field studies were conducted over a three-year period from August 2008
to July 2011. A total of 68 semi-structured and 52 key informant interviews
covering quantitative and qualitative data were carried out within the three
villages. In addition, seven focus group interactions, including with Dalits,
Thakuri, women, very poor and elders, were undertaken. In each village,
households were ranked into four wealth categories. The semi-structured
interviewees were selected as randomly as possible (through a list of household
heads) in an attempt to get fairly equal representation of the different divisions
(wards) within the villages and of each wealth category in each village . 3
Although food security is formally defined as a 'situation that exists when
all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient,
safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for
an active and healthy life' (Food and Agriculture Organization 2002, Chapter
2 ) , people's perception of what constitutes food security and insecurity may
vary. To capture perceptions of food insecurity, we measured food insecurity by
asking interviewees if they felt that their household had access to enough food
to live a healthy life. As such, this is a contextualized (reflecting in part the past
history of aid, political motivation and sense of identity as vulnerable or self-
sufficient) rather than an absolute measure of food availability and consumption
and is used as a starting point for analysing the causes of vulnerability.