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Poverty and livelihoods: whose reality counts? - …

Environment and Urbanization, Vol. 7, No. 1, April 1995173 LIVELIHOODSP overty and livelihoods : whose reality counts? Robert ChambersSUMMARY: This paper explores how professionals univer-sal, reductionist and standardized views of Poverty differ fromthose of the poor themselves. Poverty line thinking concernedwith income- Poverty and employment thinking concerned withjobs, project Northern concerns on the South, where the reali-ties of the poor are local, diverse, often complex and illustrate how poor people s criteria differ from thoseassumed for them by professionals.

Environment and Urbanization, Vol. 7, No. 1, April 1995 173 LIVELIHOODS Poverty and livelihoods: whose reality counts? Robert Chambers SUMMARY: This paper explores how professionals’ univer- sal, reductionist and standardized views of poverty differ from

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Transcription of Poverty and livelihoods: whose reality counts? - …

1 Environment and Urbanization, Vol. 7, No. 1, April 1995173 LIVELIHOODSP overty and livelihoods : whose reality counts? Robert ChambersSUMMARY: This paper explores how professionals univer-sal, reductionist and standardized views of Poverty differ fromthose of the poor themselves. Poverty line thinking concernedwith income- Poverty and employment thinking concerned withjobs, project Northern concerns on the South, where the reali-ties of the poor are local, diverse, often complex and illustrate how poor people s criteria differ from thoseassumed for them by professionals.

2 The paper also discussesneglected dimensions of deprivation including vulnerability,sea sonal i ty , powerl e s sness a nd humil i a ti on. In th e n ewunderstandings of Poverty , wealth as an objective is replacedby wellbeing and employment in jobs by livelihood. The finalsections argue for altruism and reversals to enable poor peopleto analyze and articulate their own needs, and they concludewith the implications for policy and practice of putting first thepriorities of the SUMMARY OVERVIEW(1)ANTI- Poverty RHETORIC is widespread, and some indica-tors of human well-being have improved.

3 However, current con-ditions are often appalling, trends in many places negative, andfuture prospects for hundreds of millions of people very assessing conditions, and seeing what to do, professionals realities are universal, reductionist, standardized and of economists dominate, expressed in Poverty thinkingconcerned with income- Poverty , and employment thinking con-cerned with jobs. Both project Northern, more industrial andurban conditions, concerns and categories onto Southern, moreagricultural and rural, realities. Both have force but miss muchand mislead. Professional biases have been challenged but theyremain deep, secure and realities of poor people are local, complex, diverse anddynamic.

4 Income- Poverty , though important, is only one as-pect of deprivation. Participatory appraisal confirms many di-mensions and criteria of disadvantage, ill-being and well-beingas people experience them. In addition to Poverty , these in-clude social inferiority, isolation, physical weakness, vulnerabil-ity, seasonal deprivation, powerlessness and livelihoods are an objective on which most poorpeople and professionals can agree. Household livelihood strat-Robert Chambers is a Fellowof the Institute of DevelopmentStudies at the University ofSussex. He has worked onru ral d eve lop men t in su b-Saharan Africa and South Asiaand is currently concentratingo n t h e d ev e lo p m en t an dspread of the approaches andmethods of participatory ruralappraisal.

5 He is author of RuralDevelopment: Putting the LastFirst, Longman, Harlow, d d re s s : T h e I n s t it u t e ofDevelopment Studies, Uni-v ers ity of S us se x, Falme r,Brighton BN1 9RE, UK, Fax:(44) 1273 6212021. This is a corrected and up-dated version of Poverty andL i v e l i h o od s : W h o se R ea l i t yCounts? A Policy Paper No. 1commissioned by UNDP for theWorld Summit for Social Devel-174 Environment and Urbanization, Vol. 7, No. 1, April 1995 livelihoods egies often involve different members in diverse activities andsources of support, at different times of the year.

6 Many of these,such as home-gardening, exploiting common property resources,share-rearing livestock, family splitting, and stinting are largelyunseen by normal professionals. A sustainable livelihood in-tensive strategy stresses natural resources management, re-distribution of livelihood resources, prices and payments, health,abolishing restrictions and hassle, and safety nets for poor peo-ple during bad paradigm of reversals and altruism demands a new pro-fessionalism. The paradigm and the new professionalism putpeople before things, and poor people and their priorities firstof all.

7 The challenges presented are institutional, professionaland personal. The policy and practical means to promote andsustain well-being, livelihoods and equity include two comple-mentary agendas, one conventional and one new. Underlyingthe new agenda is the basic human right of poor people toconduct their own analysis. Four elements in this new agendaare: Analysis and action by local people, especially the poor Sustainable livelihoods Decentralization, democracy and diversity Professional and personal changeReversals and a radical rethink are required if the realities ofthe poor are to GLOSSARY OF MEANINGSMUCH CONFUSION, AND some false consensus, arises fromvague and different uses of words.

8 The senses in which somekey words will be used in this paper are as follows: Deprivation refers to lacking what is needed for dimensions are physical, social, economic, political, andpsychological/spiritual. It includes forms of disadvantage suchas physical weakness, isolation, Poverty , vulnerability andpowerlessness. Development means good change. Employment means having a job with an employer who pro-vides remuneration (usually a wage or salary) for work does not include sporadic casual labour. Ill-being is the experience of bad quality of life.

9 Income-poor and income- Poverty refer to low per capita income. Livelihood refers to the means of gaining a living, includinglivelihood capabilities, tangible assets and intangible assets.(2)Employment can provide a livelihood but most livelihoods ofthe poor are based on multiple activities and sources of food,income and security. Normal professionalism is the thinking, values, methods andbehaviour dominant in a profession or discipline.(3) Paradigm means a coherent and mutually supporting patterno pm e n t , U N D P , N ew Yo rk ,August 1994.

10 It is also publishedas Discussion Paper 347 by theInstitute of Development Studies,University of Sussex, BrightonBN1 9RE, UK. For insights intoNorth-South, upper-lower rela-tionships I am grateful to JennyChambers, and for comments ondrafts of this paper to RosalindE y ben , S i m on Max w el l an dGunilla . Ch am b er s , Ro be r t , a n dGordon Conway (1992), Sustain-able Rural livelihoods : PracticalConcepts for the 21st Century,Discussion Paper 296, Instituteof Development Studies, Univer-sity of Sussex, Brighton, UK,February, pages Normal professionalism andthe new paradigm are elaboratedon in Chambers, Robert (1993),Challenging the Professions:Frontiers for Rural Development,Intermediate T echnology Publi-cations, London, chapters 1, 5, 6and and Urbanization, Vol.


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