Soqotra's pastoral economy: from core to auxiliary livelihood

Abstract

This article describes the current functioning of the pastoral economy of Soqotra Island, a sub-national entity of the Republic of Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula, located in the Indian Ocean at the entrance of the Red Sea. Soqotra's contemporary pastoral economy is the legacy of a transition process engendered by a state-initiated disarticulation from the subsistence economy of the hinterland with the political economy of the state. This process transformed the practice of pastoralism in Soqotra from a core economy to an auxiliary livelihood. The introductory section offers an historical synopsis of this disarticulation process through a description of the political economy of four mainland-imposed regimes on the island. The second section undertakes a brief explication of the mistaken identification of Soqotran pastoralists as bedouins. Subsequently, the article 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 briefly explores the sustainability of pastoralism in Soqotra by considering future scenarios about its prospects on the island.