Quick and Dirty Livelihoods Survey, Kakuma Refugee Camp FIRST DRAFT

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE 1/1 shelterproject.org report title Quick and Dirty Livelihoods Survey, Kakuma Refugee Camp FIRST DRAFT date published July 2003 who undertook the work Jon Fowler jon@shelterproject.org shelterproject.org is associated with the University of Cambridge in undertaking two projects: (1) guidelines project to develop, with the aid community, a report (Phase 1) and field guidelines and training (Phase 2) for transitional settlement and shelter, funded by DFID; (2) shelter equipment project to develop, with the aid community, a full understanding of shelter in cold climates, funded by EPSRC. acknowledgements shelterproject.org gratefully acknowledges the assistance provided by the organisations operating in Kakuma refugee camp, particularly LWF, George Chemkang and the members of the Youth Group who carried out the survey work. www.shelterproject.org associated with the university of cambridge for research projects info@shelterproject.org

2/2 executive summary 1.1 introduction This report is based on work carried out as part of a mission carried out in partnership with UN-Habitat to: (i) compare settlement and livelihood conditions in Kakuma refugee camp, Rumbek and Bor County; (ii) consider options for the return process and re-settlement of refugees and IDPs in South Sudan; and (iii) investigate options and considerations for exit and handover of Kakuma Refugee Camp to the Kenyan Authorities This report is a detailed exploration of the findings from a livelihoods survey carried out in Kakuma over two days in June 2003 as part of objective (i). 1.2 aim The aim of this Quick and Dirty Livelihoods Survey (QDLS) was to investigate the number of Sudanese refugees with education and vocational skills that are involved in activities that support their livelihoods (over and above what is received in the ration given by agencies). 1.3 methodology A brief, two-page survey was drawn up to gather information on four areas. Individuals were asked about themselves and the other members of their household and the survey was carried out by Youth Leaders from Kakuma refugee camp. The QDLS was to be compared to the Lutherean World Federation Baseline Survey (LWFBS) conducted in 2002 in order to assess how representative the results were. 1.4 bias When compared to the results from the LWFBS it was clear that the survey contained a bias towards representing young, educated men. 1.5 findings/conclusions Most South Sudanese in Kakuma rely almost entirely on agency rations for their livelihoods. Most of those who earn cash had traditional livelihood strategies in Sudan. Young, educated men are most likely to have found alternative livelihood strategies in the camp. Those that have developed new coping strategies largely obtain cash from working for NGOs or through selling goods in shops or operating restaurants or hotels. Direct exchange appears to be a less common way of gaining additional resources than earning cash. However, the value of activities have not been quantified so no concrete conclusions on this can be drawn.

3/3 Blackmarket activities are unlikely to be reported. Brewing was mentioned as an activity, though this is often frowned upon and unlikely to be revealed in all cases. Other activities such as prostitution were extremely unlikely to have been revealed. Around one fifth of the sample reported that they received some external assistance from a relative. Those that receive external assistance are not more likely to have cash-earning activities than those who don t. However, it is suggested that they are more likely to have a business (as external assistance may provide some capital) than work for an NGO. South Sudanese businessmen reported in group discussion that they would be flexible as to where they located their businesses and felt that the process of return may mean sacrificing their capital in the form of stock, thus being unable to continue their business in South Sudan. Those shops supported by Don Bosco can generate between 3,000 and 4,000 Kenyan shillings a month with some businesses generating 10-15,000 Kenyan shillings a month by their third loans. This suggests that a small group of people may be building up a significant stock of financial capital. Those who have undertaken new livelihood strategies are likely to wish to continue these in South Sudan. It is suggested that as two-thirds of these people are originally from areas a day s walk or more from the nearest town, they are likely to migrate into more populous areas or not work from their home-base. This will be particularly true for those wishing to continue working for NGOs (who are likely to be base din more populated areas) and those who require large customer bases (e.g. bicycle repair).

4/4 contents 1 executive summary 2 table of contents 3 introduction 3.1 introduction 3.2 objective and aims of the report 4 methodology 4.1 introduction 5 bias 5.1. introduction 6 findings 7 conclusions

5/5 introduction 3.1 introduction This report is based on work carried out as part of a mission carried out in partnership with UN-Habitat to: (i) compare settlement and livelihood conditions in Kakuma refugee camp, Rumbek and Bor County; (ii) consider options for the return process and re-settlement of refugees and IDPs in South Sudan; and (iii) investigate options and considerations for exit and handover of Kakuma Refugee Camp to the Kenyan Authorities This report is a detailed exploration of the findings from a livelihoods survey carried out in Kakuma over two days in June 2003 as part of objective (i). Kakuma refugee camp is located in the desert area of Turkana in Northern Kenya and was established in 1992 in response to the arrival of the lost boys of Sudan. It expanded to cope with increased numbers of displaced and is now a strongly institutionalised camp with a well-developed education system. Kakuma refugee camp is mostly home to South Sudanese refugees who make up around 80% of the population, other refugees are mostly Somalis and then a small minority of Ethiopians, Ugandans, Congolese, Burundis and Rwandans. Most of the population is under the age of 25 and many of the younger refugees were born in the camp. There has been fighting in Sudan between the Muslim government in the North and rebel factions in the South (who have also occasionally fought each other) since independence in 1956. The latest conflict started in earnest in 1983 but there has been an official ceasefire since October 2002. Current peace talks (July 2003) offer the possibility for peace with a decision to be made in six years time on the final political structure for South Sudan. It is in this context the possibility of mass return to South Sudan following a successful peace agreement (currently scheduled for August 2003) that this investigation was made. It is thought that understanding the changed and changing livelihoods of refugees will give clues to settlement patterns on return as well as inform policies for return. 3.2 aim The aim of this Quick and Dirty Livelihoods Survey (QDLS) was to investigate the number of Sudanese refugees with education and vocational skills that are involved in activities that support their livelihoods (over and above what is received in the ration given by agencies). Broadly, livelihoods in South Sudan have remained based on agriculture and pasturalist activities. The QDLS hoped to reveal some of the new activities undertaken to maintain livelihoods in high-density Kakuma where traditional livelihood activities are virtually impossible to maintain and livelihoods are largely sustained through agency distribution. Though the QDLS is too small in sample and restricted in length to be able to draw many definitive conclusions, it was hoped that it would contribute to the information gathered through individual and group interviews also undertaken in Kakuma as part of the mission.

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7/7 methodology 4.1 methodology A brief, two-page survey was drawn up to gather information on four areas. Individuals were asked about themselves and the other members of their household. The four areas investigated were: i) personal details ii) origin in South Sudan iii) education and skills iv) ways of contributing to household livelihood Three youth leaders were selected by the LWF Youth Officer to interview 20 individuals each in the zone of the camp in which the questioner lived. The questioners were given two days to complete the surveys and were encouraged to interview as many different types of people as possible. While the survey was kept as simple as possible, there was not enough time to go through a demonstration survey with the 3 questioners and consequently some forms were confused or unclear. However, the questioners were able to interview representatives of 60 households between them, amounting to 279 individuals. The interviews were carried out over two days with interviewees selected by the questioners themselves. No control was exercised over interviewee selection or the time of day when interviews were carried out. The QDLS was to be compared to the Lutherean World Federation Baseline Survey (LWFBS) conducted in 2002 in order to assess how representative the results were.

8/8 bias 5.1 introduction Comparison of results with the LWFBS quickly revealed that the population studied by the QDLS differed in a number of ways to the representative sample of the LWFBS. This is perhaps unsurprising since the questioners were all fluent in English, male and educated to secondary level, with two of them planning to attend university in Canada in the autumn and it is assumed that they were likely to select respondents that they knew or related to (particularly as they only had a maximum of two days at short notice to carry out the work). There are four major areas where the survey is shown to be non-representative of the whole of the South-Sudanese community. a. Education and literacy - a total of 201 had had or were in some form of formal schooling and a further 6 of those without formal education had had training in English or had had experience of adult education. This suggests a literacy rate of around 74%. The LWFBS indicates a literacy rate of around 50%. b. Gender - the results contained a high gender bias, with 176 men reported against only 80 women (with 23 unclear). This shows a female population of 31% against LWFBS of 41%. c. Involvement in cash-earning activities - the QDLS found that a third of respondents over the age of 15 were involved in cash-earning activities. LWFBS, on the other hand, states that only around 6% of respondents were involved in income-generation activities. While it is not clear whether the LWFBS includes those under 15 in this figure, or how income-generation activities is defined, it would appear that those consulted in this survey are more likely to earn cash than the population in general. d. Age distribution - children under the age of ten were heavily underrepresented in this survey. However, since they will largely be consumers rather than producers, this is not necessarily a problem for this livelihood survey. The age-group of 16-25 are the most heavily represented in this survey, again perhaps unsurprising since this is the age group of the questioners, and a number of this group lived with brothers, sisters and other relations of similar ages. Results are shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 A comparison of age distribution results: LWFBS and QDLS

9/9 30 25 Percentage 20 15 10 LWFBS QDLS 5 0 0-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46-50 Over 50 Age group These four distortions, along with the fact that the families largely came from the long-established Kakuma 1 area rather than the more recently developed and rural Kakuma 2 and 3 areas, suggests that the QDLS is biased towards representing young, educated men. While not offering a balanced sample of the Kakuma population, it does offer a chance to look at what the potentially more vocal and educated members of the South Sudanese community do to expand their livelihoods beyond receiving the ration and give some indication of their expectations.

10/10 findings 6.1 earning cash Respondents were asked what they and their household members did to earn cash. I have only looked at the activities of those over the age of 15 (233 out of 279 people) in order to remove those children who (in theory) should still be in school. One 15 year old was working for an NGO, but otherwise no children under 15 were reported to be involved in any activities leading to wages or direct bartering. The vast proportion undertook no activities that earned them any cash directly. Otherwise, the main activities were running or working in a shop, restaurant or hotel or working for an NGO. Skilled activities, such as carpentry, hairdressing or bicycle repair are rare. The results are shown in Table 1. Table 1 Cash-earning activities undertaken by those over 15 years of age Number % None (140) Unclear (15) 155 66.5 NGO 26 11.2 Shop/restaurant/hotel 25 10.7 Bicycle repair 8 3.4 Business'/Trading 5 2.1 Brewing 3 1.3 Selling ration 3 1.3 Brickmaking 2 0.9 Church 2 0.9 Carpentry 1 0.4 Grinding mill 1 0.4 Hairdressing 1 0.4 Tailoring 1 0.4 Total 233 100 6.2 skills Out of those over the age of 15, 112 had undertaken no skills training in Kakuma (though it appeared that many respondents listed skills learnt outside of Kakuma) and a further 23 were unclear about skills training (58% of the sample). Table 2 lists the courses undertaken. Of the 98 (42% of the sample over 15) who were described as possessing a skill, 33 (a third of those with skills) had more than one skill and some had attended as many as 4 courses. The breakdown of skills, therefore, does not directly correspond to the number of people with skills. As can be seen in Table 2, the majority of them are not directly vocational but more educational (for example, English, Counselling, Peace Education or Adult Education courses). It is interesting to note that those with vocational skills such as carpentry, masonry, computer skills, tailoring or electrical wiring are not correspondingly represented in the list of cash-earning activities.

11/11 Table 2 Breakdown of type of skills obtained in Kakuma Skill Number English 30 Peace Education/Conflict resolution 25 Business Management 23 Counselling 15 Adult Education 10 Nursing/Health 10 Tailoring 5 Community rep/leadership 4 Carpentry 3 Teaching 3 Agriculture 2 Masonry 2 Sport 2 Computer 1 Film Aid 1 Dressmaking 1 Electrical wiring 1 Gender promotion 1 Soap-making 1 6.3 direct livelihood support activities Respondents were also asked if they or household members undertook any activities that provided extra resources but involved direct exchange, rather than earning cash. Of those over 15 years of age, 191 did not undertake any activities that resulted in direct exchange and 15 were unclear. Of the remaining 27 (12%), the majority gained extra resources through running their own shop. This is unsurprising, since this activity was one of the main cash-earning activities and offers the easiest way of participating in direct exchange. Table 3 Type of activities undertaken that allowed direct exchange for resources Activity Number Self reliance (shop) 18 Brickmaking 4 Bicycle repair 1 Bicycle taxi 1 Hairdressing 1 Keep chickens 1 self reliance (tailoring) 1 Total 27 6.4 external assistance Respondents were also asked whether they or their household members received any external assistance (always reported in the form of cash) from anywhere. 12 of the 60 households consulted reported that they received some cash from a relative either abroad in the West (Canada or USA), in Uganda or Nairobi or from another family member working in the camp who did not live in the household. This constitutes 63 people (around one fifth of the total surveyed population) who live in a household receiving external assistance.

12/12 Of these 63 people, 17 out of the 49 over 15 years of age (35%) were engaged in cash-earning activities. This suggests that receiving cash from outside of the camp does not necessarily increase the likelihood of being engaged in cash-earning activities. However, those wage-earning activities were more likely to be based on business than for the whole population. The results are expressed in Table 4. Table 4 A comparison of engagement in cash-earning activities between the population surveyed as a whole and those that received external assistance Population as a whole Those receiving external assistance Number % Number % NGO 26 33.3 5 26.3 Shop/restaurant/hotel 25 32.1 5 26.3 Bicycle repair 8 10.3 2 10.5 Business'/Trading 5 6.4 2 10.5 Brewing 3 3.8 1 5.3 Selling ration 3 3.8 1 5.3 Brickmaking 2 2.6 0 0 Church 2 2.6 0 0 Carpentry 1 1.3 1 5.3 Grinding mill 1 1.3 0 0 Hairdressing 1 1.3 1 5.3 Tailoring 1 1.3 1 5.3 Total 78 100 19 100 6.5 livelihood activities before leaving Sudan Of those that were involved in cash-earning activities, only 11 were involved in activities other than farming, fishing and herding cattle before they left Sudan (around 12%) and the majority of these people (7 out of the 11) now were involved in shops or restaurants. This means that for 88% of those earning cash new coping strategies had been developed in the camp (though many may have had little experience of traditional livelihoods in South Sudan if they had been children when they arrived in the camp). These new coping strategies may or may not be continued upon return to Sudan, but a group discussion with Sudanese traders revealed that all of those currently undertaking cash-earning activities wished to continue these activities in Sudan if they were able to return home. 6.6 distance walk from nearest town in Sudan Of those engaged in cash-earning activities, around two-thirds lived a day s walk or more from the nearest town. While it is hard to draw conclusions from this figure, those who wish to continue cash-earning activities upon return to Sudan are perhaps more likely to seek work in more populated areas to increase the possibility of finding a job or increasing a customer base. This may indicate that people may move into towns, have a work-base different to their home-base or at least spend a considerable amount of travelling in order to continue activities undertaken in Kakuma. The figure of two-thirds of those engaged in cash-earning activities living more than one day s walk from a town is the same for the population sampled as a whole. This supports the idea, expressed in section 6.5, that most of those involved in cash-earning activities are new to this form of livelihood.

13/13 Figure 2 Days walk to nearest town (those over 15 earning cash) 4 days 5% 7 days 6% 8 days 1% 1 hour 8% Half day 22% 3 days 25% 2 hours 5% 2 days 14% 1 day 14% 6.7 information from other sources 6.7.1 GTZ and kitchen gardens As Kakuma is situated in a desert, there are few opportunities for the cultivation of land. Some kitchen gardens exist, but lack of water is the main obstacle to increasing the amount of land used for growing crops and vegetables. Thus there is little chance of practising traditional cultivation activities. Agriculture is taught as a subject in school but is was noted by GTZ (the agency running the kitchen gardens programme) that those that performed best in agricultural exams had practical experience of kitchen garden cultivation. While half of the total number of households in Kakuma would like to have a kitchen garden but only 1,572 households out of roughly 14,000 have access to the kitchen garden programme (primarily to do with lack of water). Figure 3 shows the approximate distribution of kitchen gardens in Kakuma. GTZ pointed out that it was unusual for this activity not to be carried out by more women than men. They suggested that because there were so few possible income generating activities in Kakuma that men were more prepared to be involved in cultivation and had more success in gaining access to the program.

14/14 Figure 3 Kitchen garden allocation in Kakuma Male owners 8% Female owners 4% No kitchen garden 44% No kitchen garden, but would like one 44% Source: GTZ, Kakuma Half of those with kitchen gardens have a plot of 2 x 3m and half have a plot twice the size (2 x 6m). This is in contrast to the average plot size of between 4,000 and 8,000 m 2 in South Sudan. The difference in agricultural knowledge and experience between refugees and those that remained in Sudan is likely to mean that some training will need to be provided by the non-displaced for refugees on return. Without this assistance, returning to traditional livelihoods is likely to be difficult. When asked whether owning a kitchen garden would make people feel reluctant to return quickly to South Sudan, GTZ felt that this was unlikely and people would probably just crop and go. 6.7.2 Don Bosco and business support Don Bosco provides skills training in Kakuma, and there is some anecdotal evidence of those trained in Don Bosco returning to Bor to use their skills. Don Bosco also provides support for groups to run their own businesses. Each group consists of between 4 and people who are given a loan in order to set-up the business. Currently 374 groups have been supported by Don Bosco, with the businesses broken down in Figure 4 (the figures are for the whole camp and not just the Sudanese community). Overall, the scheme has focussed upon giving people the opportunity to trade goods and the Sudanese get about 80% of the loans in line with camp demography. Most of those with current business activities would definitely look to continue these upon return to Sudan. A knowledge of how loans work will help them prepare for a return and some regard business to be an easier way of making money than working in the fields. The activities supported by Don Bosco have begun to provide a way of supplementing the ration. Those with shops can generate 3,000 to 4,000 shillings per month while the older women who sell small amounts of sugar can generally make around 2,000 to 3,000 shillings per month. Those on their 2 nd or 3 rd loans are generating around 10-15000 per month and the repayment of loans is usually about 3 to 4 months

15/15 Figure 4 Businesses supported by Don Bosco Barber salons Makuti and building 1% materials 1% Video show places 1% Butchery 1% Bicycle spare parts shops and repair shops 1% Carpentry Dry fish retailers workshops 1% 1% Second hand clothing 2% Grocery 5% Shops 28% Restaurants 8% Sugar retailers 25% Bicycle taxis 25% Total number of groups: 374 Source: Don Bosco, Kakuma 6.7.3 discussion with South Sudanese businessmen A group discussion with South Sudanese businessmen, selected by the South Sudanese community leader, revealed a slightly different picture to the one revealed by the QDLS. As none of the businessmen were supported by Don Bosco they felt that their businesses were extremely fragile and provided little extra resources. They were particularly keen about continuing their businesses in South Sudan and a number had already had similar businesses in South Sudan. Their main concern that a return to South Sudan would prevent them taking any stock and thus they would be left without any capital. Furthermore, they stated that they would be flexible as to where they would carry out their business in the future. A summary of results is presented in Table 5.

16/16 Table 5 Results of discussion with South Sudanese businessmen in Kakuma Type of business Where started Previous work Bar for soda and food; sell cows; butchery Ethiopia Farmer Small shop; butchery Kakuma Farmer Butchery Rumbek, S. Sudan Farmer Clothes shop Kakuma Farmer General stores shop Wau, S. Sudan Student Small shop and small hotel Wau, S. Sudan Farmer Shop and butchery Kakuma Farmer Group responses to further questions What future work would you aim to do? Continue current business. What would you expect to happen to your stock in a return process? Take stock with them. If unable to take stock, unable to continue work in the future. Would you prefer to base your business in your home village or in a larger town? Depends on the stock one has as to where one sells. Do you receive any assistance for your business? No assistance from anyone. Applied for Don Bosco loans and failed. There are very few Sudanese businessmen due to a lack of resources.

17/17 conclusions 7.1 conclusions Most South Sudanese in Kakuma rely almost entirely on agency rations for their livelihoods. Most of those who earn cash had traditional livelihood strategies in Sudan. Young, educated men are most likely to have found alternative livelihood strategies in the camp. Those that have developed new coping strategies largely obtain cash from working for NGOs or through selling goods in shops or operating restaurants or hotels. Direct exchange appears to be a less common way of gaining additional resources than earning cash. However, the value of activities have not been quantified so no concrete conclusions on this can be drawn. Blackmarket activities are unlikely to be reported. Brewing was mentioned as an activity, though this is often frowned upon and unlikely to be revealed in all cases. Other activities such as prostitution were extremely unlikely to have been revealed. Around one fifth of the sample reported that they received some external assistance from a relative. Those that receive external assistance are not more likely to have cash-earning activities than those who don t. However, it is suggested that they are more likely to have a business (as external assistance may provide some capital) than work for an NGO. South Sudanese businessmen reported in group discussion that they would be flexible as to where they located their businesses and felt that the process of return may mean sacrificing their capital in the form of stock, thus being unable to continue their business in South Sudan. Those shops supported by Don Bosco can generate between 3,000 and 4,000 Kenyan shillings a month with some businesses generating 10-15,000 Kenyan shillings a month by their third loans. This suggests that a small group of people may be building up a significant stock of financial capital. Those who have undertaken new livelihood strategies are likely to wish to continue these in South Sudan. It is suggested that as two-thirds of these people are originally from areas a day s walk or more from the nearest town, they are likely to migrate into more populous areas or not work from their home-base. This will be particularly true for those wishing to continue working for NGOs (who are likely to be base din more populated areas) and those who require large customer bases (e.g. bicycle repair).

18/18 annexes 8.1 questionnaire SURVEY Kakuma, June 2003 How to do the survey: 1. Start with an introduction. Say you are doing some research on how people live in Kakuma on behalf of some researchers who are visiting the camp. Make it clear that the purpose of this survey is for learning only and it will not affect the distribution of any goods or services in the camp. 2. People do not have to give their full name 3. If you are talking to a family, you can ask the other family members directly. You should still start with one person who is the most important person there (mother or father). 4. If you are talking to an individual, they do not have to be the head of a household. They can be children, women, old people, an unaccompanied minor and so on. 5. It is best to try and get as many different types of people. Asking your friends or extended family is fine, but it would also be good to get information from people you don t know very well so we get a wide response. 6. If people do not want to answer all the questions or change their mind about finishing the survey that s fine. Respect their wishes, thank them and move on. If you feel that the situation is uncomfortable, do not worry about stopping the survey and moving on. 7. In part C education we want to know whether they have completed primary or secondary education. 8. In part D ways of supporting the family we want to know both how people earn money (this might be selling things they have made, doing laundry for people, repairing bicycles, selling food they grow or earning an incentive ). In the second part we are trying to find out if people have, for example, a kitchen garden where they grow food that they keep for the family, animals they keep for milk or meat or anything they directly trade with someone else without money being involved. In the third part we are just trying to identify if there is someone who provides for this group but does not live with them. You do not need to have a long discussion about this. 9. In part E the people may have been children before they left Sudan. If they were, you can find out whether they were in school or helping the family. We only need a short answer for this, not a long family history. 10. At the end of the survey, thank them for their time and assistance.

19/19 SURVEY Kakuma, June 2003 Name of interviewer: A) PERSONAL DETAILS Name: Age: Male or female Which zone in Kakuma: B) SOUTH SUDAN ORIGIN Name of place County: Nearest town: Days walk to town: Tribe: Religion: Other people you live in the same shelter with (relationship, ages, male or female): 1 THE PERSON INTERVIEWED 6 2 7 3 8 4 9 5 10 C) EDUCATION AND SKILLS What level of education do you and the people you have just named have? 1 6 2 7 3 8 4 9 5 10 Have you and the other people we are talking about received any skills training in Kakuma? 1 6 2 7 3 8 4 9 5 10 D) WAYS OF SUPPORTING THE FAMILY What activities do you and the other people we are talking about do that earn money? 1 6 2 7 3 8 4 9 5 10

20/20 Apart from the assistance from the agencies operating in camp (food, firewood and so on) what activities do you and the other people we are talking about do to gain extra amounts of these things? 1 6 2 7 3 8 4 9 5 10 Can you briefly describe some of the things you give to and receive from other family members/your community (not the ones we have been talking about) that mean that you are able to have more than just what you receive on your ration card? E) WHAT YOU DID BEFORE Before you left your home in Sudan, what was the main work that you and the people we have been talking about did? (farming, herding cattle etc.) 1 6 2 7 3 8 4 9 5 10 Thank you!

21/21 8.2 bibliography LWF (2002) Kakuma Refugee Camp Baseline Survey July 2002 SCF (1998) The Southern Sudan Vulnerability Study, The Save the Children Fund (UK) South Sudan Programme, Kenya. SCF (2000) An introduction to the Food Economy Research in Southern Sudan 1994-2000