Household Adaptive Strategies: Shaping Livelihood Security in the Western Himalaya

This research investigates the livelihood systems of two mountain villages in the northwest Himalaya, focussing on household strategies of diversification as a means of maintaining livelihood security Field research was carried out with women of different age and caste from 32 households. Eight strategies were found to be of particular importance: (1) the diversification of activities and household inputs, (2) the maintenance of crop biodiversity and landscape diversity in the agricultural system, (3) the increased negotiations with the market, (4) the reliance on agricultural wage labour, (5) the building up and drawing down of household inventories, (6) the reliance on common property resources, (7) the development of social networks, and (8) the formation of community groups. Policy for sustainable livelihoods in mountain ecosystems must be firmly rooted in an understanding of these complex strategies and the knowledge of women's own efforts to ensure that their households are secure and resilient.