Children and Involvement in Animal Rearing: A Traditional Occupation for Sustainability of Nomadic Culture?

Abstract

The present study was conducted to determine the nomadic children's level of involvement in animal rearing activities, the perceptions of their involvement and problems related to each of the activities in which they are involved. Discussion on sustainability of nomadic culture through children's involvement in this traditional occupation was explored. Also the relationships between the children's age, educational level, perceptions of their involvement and their level of involvement in animal rearing activities were established. A pre-tested and structured interview schedule was used to elicit information from one hundred children and one hundred parents that were randomly selected. Also, a focused group discussion forum was employed to source information from the nomadic families. Descriptive statistics such as frequency counts and percentages were used to analyse the data. Pearson's correlation analysis was used to establish the relationships between the variables tested. The studies revealed, among other factors, that the nomadic children are highly involved in animal rearing activities and they have favourable perception of their involvement. The majority of them indicated road accidents, exposure to hardship and dangers, and neck, leg and back pains as some of the problems related to their involvement. Animal rearing to nomadic families is a traditional occupation that has a great potential for sustaining the nomadic culture if children continue to be involved. However, education could be employed as a way to refine some of the unprogressive aspects of the nomadic culture.