Pastoral Economy: From Core to Auxiliary Livelihood

Abstract

This chapter describes Soqotra’s contemporary pastoral economy as the legacy of a transition process engendered by a state-initiated disarticulation between the subsistence economy of the hinterland and the northern coast-based political economy of the state. This process transformed the practice of pastoralism in Soqotra from a core economy to an auxiliary livelihood. This state-initiated process suggests a contrary narrative to the conventional thesis that pastoralism is axiomatically a political strategy employed by pastoralists for resisting state encapsulation or domination. Accordingly, this chapter describes the key aspects of the current functioning of the pastoral economy of Soqotra Island. The introductory section offers a brief historical narrative of this disarticulation process through a synoptic description of the political economy of four mainland-imposed regimes on the island. The second section briefly explains the origin of the mistaken identification of Soqotran pastoralists as “Bedouins.” Subsequently, the chapter details the workings of pastoralism as an auxiliary livelihood through an analytical description of the three key spheres of activity in any system of livelihood: production, distribution, and consumption. Finally, it concludes with a brief exploration of the sustainability of pastoralism by considering the likely future scenarios about its prospects on the island.