Most of the disabled people in the world live in poverty. In order to escape poverty, microfinance is said to be a solution. The Microfinance Institutions do not, however, incorporate everybody who is poor in their programs, which could be assumed. Disabled people and their families are a group which many times are not included in these programs. Since they many times already faces discrimination and also are excluded from the rest of the society they do not have a solution on how to escape from poverty. In Guatemala where the disabled people most surely also are indigenous gives them double stigmas. The purpose of this research is to identify what impacts microfinance has on the livelihoods of the families with disabled children around Lake Atitlán, Guatemala and subsequent to this what adaptations the MFIs should take when working with families within this target group. In order to collect the data a field study around Lake Atitlán, Guatemala with semi-structured interviews was done. The respondents were mothers of disabled children and employees of two NGOs. To analyze the results, DFIDs Sustainable Livelihood Framework was used. Since the frameworks give a broader spectrum than just one category of life it is easier to see what impacts the microfinance have on the livelihood and what the respondents are lacking in the microcredit program. The research demonstrates that microfinance has positive impacts on some aspects of the livelihoods of families of disabled children even if not to many MFIs within the country focus on them. Another conclusion of the study is that MFIs do not need to make big adaptions in order to work with this specific target group, they need however, inform about disabilities in order to end discrimination.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Due to high levels of unemployment many people in South Africa have sought work in the informal sector of the country's economy. The activities of landfill waste pickers therefore came about because of this. Landfill waste pickers recover recyclables on mountains of waste and sell to different Buy Back Centers (BBCs) in their areas. Despite the hardships, working on unbearable working conditions and poor income, landfill waste pickers have managed to sustain their livelihoods. The aim of the study was to conduct an analysis of the livelihoods of landfill waste pickers in South Africa using the sustainable livelihood framework. The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative research approach using multiple case study strategy of inquiry. The population of the study was the landfill waste pickers at the selected landfill sites and material recovery facility. Convenient sampling was used to select the research sample. Data was gathered through observations, semi-structured one-on-one interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, and document analysis to involve multiple sources of data. The research study took place in the following provinces of South Africa namely Western Cape, North West, and Eastern Cape. Out of these provinces the following municipalities were selected for the study Stellenbosch and Oudtshoorn (Western Cape), Potchefstroom and Vryburg (North West) and Graaff Reinet (Eastern Cape). Themes were identified using the elements of sustainable livelihood framework (SLF) and thematic analysis. SLF was used to analyse and present findings under the following elements of SLF vulnerability context, livelihood assets, transforming structures and processes, livelihood strategies and livelihood outcomes. After using a robust approach in analyzing the livelihoods of waste pickers the main outcome was that waste pickers are trying to make a living and they are entrepreneurs. The study also showed that it is important that waste pickers need to be integrated into the waste management system but not to formalize or regulate them. But ultimately give them support so that they continue to do their work better in better conditions.

Research on livelihoods has been conducted across various fields but there has been less focus upon detection and analyzing of the interconnected relationships between space and livelihoods. This study investigates these relationships from a place-specific point of view utilizing the Tibetan exile community in India as a case study. The qualitative method of semi-structured, in-depth interviews has been employed in order to gather primary data. Theoretically, this thesis draws it framework mainly from the human geography perspective on space and place combined with the conceptual Sustainable Livelihood framework.  This thesis argues that it is possible to distinguish four examples of reciprocal relationships between space and livelihoods in the places studied. These are spatial congregation into an ethnic enclave, the altering of place specific time-space relations which in turn alters livelihood possibilities over time, migration and spatial dispersion of livelihoods. These results are case specific and not generalizable. / Forskning kring försörjningsmöjligheter har utförts inom en rad vetenskapliga fält men få har fokuserat på att finna och analysera ömsesidiga relationer mellan space och försörjningsstrategier. Denna studie undersöker dessa relationer med en plats-specifik utgångspunkt och använder det tibetanska exilsamhället i Indien som fallstudie. Den kvalitativa metoden semi-strukturerade djupintervjuer har använts för att samla in primärdata. Uppsatsen drar sitt teoretiska ramverk från det samhällsgeografiska perspektiven på space och place i kombination med det konceptuella ramverket Sustainable Livelihood framework.  Uppsatsen menar att det är möjligt att särskilja fyra exempel på de ömsesidiga relationerna mellan space och försörjningsstrategier. Dessa är rumslig ansamling i en etniska enklav,  förändringar i platsspecifika tid-rum relationer vilket påverkar försörjningsmöjligheter över tid, migration och rumslig spridning av försörjning. Dessa resultat anses vara fallspecifika och därför inte möjliga att generalisera.

The purpose of the study was to investigate how farmers in Quang Bing Province, Vietnam have been making the transition from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture. This process began in 1986 when the Vietnam economy changed from central planning to a market orientation. The research strategy was based on case study analysis of two communes in each of three agro-ecological zones, defined as coastal, plains and mountains. Within each commune there were six embedded household case studies, i.e 36 in total. Case studies were selected purposively to capture diversity of agro-ecological zones, market access and communications, wealth and income status, and ethnic communities. Households were interviewed twice; first in either late 2006 or early 2007, and again in late 2008. The study was approached using a constructivist paradigm and a lens of livelihood analysis, focusing on resources, institutions, interventions and the dynamics of change. Particular attention was given to the development of markets (inputs, outputs, land, labour and credit) and supply chain factors. Separate measures of commercialisation were constructed based on outputs and inputs, and at the level of both individual activities and the overall household. Investigations were informed by existing theory, but no hypotheses were tested. Instead, the research focused on emergent patterns and insights, and the enrichment and modification of existing theory. A review of literature indicated that the transition from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture in Vietnam was different from other countries on account of the specific combination of low technology agriculture, typical of much of developing Asia, combined with the transformation from a centrally planned economy to a market orientation as occurred in Central and Eastern European countries. At commune level, the key determinants of commercialisation were strong physical connections to markets, with good road access being paramount. Once all weather road access for motorised vehicles was available, then rapid commercialisation occurred. Supply chains typically developed faster for outputs than inputs. New technologies that increased the yield of basic food crops, and facilitated by Government and NGO programs, led to the release of land resources no longer required for meeting food security needs. Households retained their production of food crops that provided food security, and added additional cash earning activities. At the level of individual households, the commercialisation process was led by entrepreneurial families who perceived opportunities relating to profitable activities, and combined this with hard work. Often these opportunities were linked to what they had observed or learnt elsewhere. Once first movers took up a new technology, others observed and followed. There were many enabling factors, such as access to land, access to capital, and access to credit. However, none of these could be considered a determinant, in that the absence of any one factor did not by itself preclude successful commercialisation. Absence of an active male worker was a major constraint to commercialisation, as was lack of necessary crop and livestock skills. There was evidence that income disparities were increasing between the wealthy and the poor. Output commerciality across all households averaged 88 % in 2008 and was higher for wealthy households (95 %) than poor households (83 %). All households still produced their own food crops, but these crops had low market values and hence had a low impact on the output commerciality index. Output commerciality measured in percentage terms obscured that wealthy families had net incomes almost 13 times greater than poor households. A major theoretical insight was that key commercialisation factors are multiple and context dependent. Accordingly, there is a need in any investigation for a holistic approach, based on a livelihood framework that incorporates the complexities associated with the development of markets, as well as giving consideration to the range of interventions and institutional policies that impact on livelihood development.

Inadequate attention has been paid to the complexity of rural livelihoods and the dimensions of poverty. Although progress has been achieved in poverty reduction in many countries over the years, statistics indicate that there is still much to be done. Nearly half of the population of South Africa is poor. Sustainable Livelihood Approaches see poverty reduction as achievable through diversification of livelihood strategies. Communities can benefit from the development of tourism through employment, financial gains, infrastructure creation and cultural revitalisation. While fees charged for tourism activities have the potential to contribute to locals, they are rarely controlled by them. The aim of this study was to formulate a Sustainable Livelihood Framework for Tourism (SLFT) along the African Ivory Route. The study involved fourteen villages near Fundudzi, Mtomeni and Nthubu camps which were purposively selected as they represented the three main ethnic groups in the province. Mixed method research design was used and included qualitative and quantitative approaches. A 10% sample was selected from the total number of households. Questionnaires, focus group and key informant interviews were used to collect data. The data was analysed and presented in tables, graphs and maps. The perceptions of the communities towards the African Ivory Route were both positive and negative. The benefits included, improved network, community empowerment and development of infrastructure. The constraints included, conflicts, mistrust, political interference and power struggle among the various institutions. The study concluded that the African Ivory Route has not achieved sustainable livelihoods outcomes for the concerned communities. The recommendation was that frameworks for maximising benefits from tourism were necessary to directly support community development. Communities, Institutions, Tourists and Environment (CITE) framework was conceptualised to assess the best way for attaining positive sustainable livelihoods outcomes. / Geography / Ph. D. (Geography)

PhD (Geography) / Department of Geography and Geo- Information Sciences / One of the major challenges facing all categories of farmers globally is climate change. African smallholder farmers are the most vulnerable to changes in climate. In most parts of South Africa, empirical evidence indicates the level to which climate change has impacted negatively on agricultural production. Rising temperatures, prolonged drought and decreasing rainfall have affected local farmers’ livelihood and crop production. In the Vhembe District of South Africa’s Limpopo Province, smallholder farming predominates and its vulnerability to climate change has increased for the past decades. This study, therefore, assesses the impact of climate change and adaptation strategies on smallholder farming systems in the Vhembe District To achieve this aim, qualitative and quantitative research methodologies were employed. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 224 smallholder farmers to elicit data on perceptions; climate change impacts, adaptation and IKS based strategies to deal with climatic shocks. Focus group discussions (FGDs), semi-structured interviews with the extension officers elicited thematic data that complemented the interview survey. Climate data were obtained from the South Africa Weather Service (SAWS) for the period 1980 to 2015. Smallholder farmers’ perceptions about climate change were validated by an analysis of climatic trends from 1980-2015. A thematic analysis of qualitative data and the Multi Nominal Logit (MNL) regression model was used based on socio-economic and biophysical attributes such as access to climate knowledge, gender, farm size, education level, and farmers’ experience, decreasing rainfall and increasing temperature as farmers’ determinants of their adaptation options to climate change. Furthermore, farmers’ perceptions tallied well with climatic trends that showed flood and drought cycles. Most of the smallholder farmers were aware of climate change and its impacts over the past decades. The study further indicated that, due to the marked climate change over this period, farmers have adopted different coping strategies at on-farm and off-farm levels. In terms of adaptation, the major adaptive strategies used by smallholder farmers included the use of drought-tolerant seeds; planting of short-seasoned crops; crop diversification; changing planting dates; irrigation and migrating to urban areas. The study recommends a framework that would include water conservation (rainfall harvesting); investment in irrigation schemes and other smart technologies that integrate indigenous knowledge systems and modern scientific knowledge to enhance crop production. / NRF