Abstract
AbstractThis paper examines two social enterprises and 25+ informal economy micro‐entrepreneurs in Kenya who utilize waste materials to generate income, considered through the conceptual lens of bricolage. Waste materials can all be considered as sources of free or discounted materials that in resource‐constrained and poor communities might be leveraged to generate income in the absence of employment. This paper explores three key themes that emerge from the research findings, namely the various strategic dimensions of the cases, the networks and social capital they leverage and how these livelihood models relate to various dimensions of bricolage such as improvisation, making do and the process of ‘fiddling’ or recombining resources. The findings also suggest that differing waste livelihoods have different rates of return, or profitability, and differing input requirements of capital, skills and knowledge. The paper also stresses the role of boundary spanning organizations such as NGOs and hybrid/social enterprises. © 2016 The Authors. Business Strategy and the Environment published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Highlights
I N THE ABSENCE OF FORMAL EMPLOYMENT OR STATE SUPPORT THE VERY POOR IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD OFTEN TURN TO selling goods and services informally – this may be their bodies, their labour or the things that they grow or make
The main organizational case study we explore in this paper is Ecofinder Kenya, which is a hybrid social enterprise and non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Kisumu
We present a small number of the innovative and creative ways in which individuals and organizations are earning an income from waste seen during our fieldwork in Sub-Saharan Africa
Summary
I N THE ABSENCE OF FORMAL EMPLOYMENT OR STATE SUPPORT THE VERY POOR IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD OFTEN TURN TO selling goods and services informally – this may be their bodies (e.g. prostitution), their labour (e.g. sweat equity) or the things that they grow or make. Raw materials if ‘free’ or at a discounted price – for instance waste materials – may offer the very poor opportunities for income generation. Waste picking is a significant income stream for many across the developing world, with informal economy workers playing an integral part in municipal waste management. In Delhi alone up to 100 000 workers earn their living in this sector (Talyan et al, 2008.) In this paper we consider how in resource constrained environments ‘free’ or discounted resources associated with waste materials are used to create livelihood income models by individual entrepreneurs and social enterprises. We adopt the conceptual framing of bricolage, which is suggested by Linna (2013) as a suitable lens through which to consider market-based innovations in developing country environments. Exploratory approach (after Stebbins, 2001) and a purposive, snowball sample of cases, we explore the business models associated with waste materials such as flip-flops, plastic bags, advertising flyers, human waste and eggshells through this conceptual framing
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