Methods

This study employs an intersectional lens to interrogate the gendered nuances that are fundamental for pastoral communities in utilizing various strategies to enable them to build both immediate and future resilience to climate extreme events. It examines how gender interacts with other demographic characteristics to determine women’s and men’s access to and usage of response strategies to build their adaptative capacities. This study used a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data from both primary and secondary data sources. It also relies on some research findings from the REACH Kenya Turkana Observatory;1 See Acknowledgments section for full details of these projects. however, the key primary data for this paper is drawn from a study conducted in Loima division, Turkana County (Map 8.1) in 2019 as part of the ‘Green Futures’ project.4 A household survey was carried out with 120 respondents (50 per cent female and 50 per cent male), this was complemented by 12 focus-group discussions (FGDs) and 17 key-informant interviews (KIIs). The FGDs were homogeneous, comprised of female and male groups that were then stratified by age group (18–40, 40-60, and over 61 years). The FGDs had an average of 10 participants per group, and a total of 122 community members participated in the FGDs. The interviewees in the KIIs included traditional forecasters or Emurons and other key stakeholders – such as officials from nongovernmental organizations (NGO)s, the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), and the County Meteorological Office – that work with households in Loima to build their capacity in coping with climate extreme events.