By SLSA Team

IDS Bulletin Vol 34 No 3 2003

Rural people in southern Africa make a living in diverse ways, often in harsh physical and economic environments. Such contexts are fast-changing, requiring shifts in livelihood strategies and mixes of activities. This article explores both the vulnerability contexts and livelihood strategies found in the three study areas examined during the SLSA research programme: Zambézia province, Mozambique, Chiredzi district, Zimbabwe and South Africa’s Wild Coast. This article assesses how such livelihood strategies interact with wider institutional and governance contexts, and how such arrangements facilitate or constrain access to natural resources and the realisation of sustainable livelihoods in these areas. An examination of what people do to make a living in the case study sites demonstrates that natural resources continue to play, alongside a portfolio of other activities, a crucial part in rural people’s livelihood strategies.