International Population Series, Volume 1 EPSTEIN & JACKSON the Feasibility of Fertility Planning Other Titles of Interest A
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International Population Series, Volume 1 EPSTEIN & JACKSON The Feasibility of Fertility Planning Other Titles of Interest ABDULLAH and ZEIDENSTEIN Village Women of Bangladesh: Prospects for Change EPSTEIN and WATTS The Endless Day: Some Case Material on Asian Rural Women GULATI Profiles in Female Poverty: A Study of Five Poor Working Women in Kerala NELSON Why has Development Neglected Rural Women? SEARLE-CHATTERJEE Reversible Sex-Roles: The Special Case of Benares Sweepers Related Journal WORLD DEVELOPMENT* The multidisciplinary journal devoted to the study and promotion of world development Chairman of the Editorial Board: Dr Paul Streeten, Center for Asian Development Studies, Boston University, 264 Bay State Rd., Boston, MA 02215, USA *Free specimen copy available on request The Social Cost of Small Families and Land Reform A Case Study of the Wataita of Kenya by GEORGE C. MKANGI University of Nairobi, Kenya with special assistance from Gwen Jones With a foreword by DAVID PARKIN University of London PERGAMON PRESS OXFORD NEW YORK TORONTO SYDNEY PARIS FRANKFURT U.K. Pergamon Press Ltd., Headington Hill Hall, Oxford OX3 OBW, England U.S.A. Pergamon Press Inc., Maxwell House, Fairview Park, Elmsford, New York 10523, U.S.A. CANADA Pergamon Press Canada Ltd., Suite 104, 150 Consumers Rd., Willowdale, Ontario M2J 1P9, Canada AUSTRALIA Pergamon Press (Aust.) Pty. Ltd., P.Ο Box 544, Potts Point, NSW. 2011, Australia FRANCE Pergamon Press SARL, 24 rue des Ecoles, 75240 Paris, Cedex 05, France FEDERAL REPUBLIC Pergamon Press GmbH, Hammerweg 6, OF GERMANY D-6242 Kronberg-Taunus, Federal Republic of Germany Copyright ©1983 George C. Mkangi All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the publishers. First edition 1983 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Mkangi. George C. The social cost of small families and land reform. (International population series; 2) 1. Taita (African people)—Economic conditions. 2. Taita (African people)—Social conditions. 3. Land tenure—Kenya. 4. Kenya—Population policy. 5. Birth control—Kenya. 6. Family size—Kenya. 7. Kenya—Economic conditions—1963- . 8. Kenya- Social conditions. I. Jones, Gwen. II. Title. III. Series. DT433.545.T34M58 1983 330.9676'204'089963 82-16618 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Mkangi, George C. The social cost of small families and land reform. —(International population series; 2) 1. Taita (Bantu tribe) —Population 2. Land reform—Kenya I. Title II. Series 304.6'2Ό96762 DT433.542 ISBN 0-08-028952-5 In order to make this volume available as economically and as rapidly as possible the authors' typescripts have been reproduced in their original forms. This method unfor- tunately has its typographical limitations but it is hoped that they in no way distract the reader. Printed and bound in Great Britain by William Clowes Limited, Beccles and London To Scarlett for adopting and having confidence in me Foreword We have recently been made familiar with the distinction between economic growth and development. The former is assessed by the level of GNP and by no means necessarily entails the development of equal social opportunities and a humane society. Because the latter can only be measured by subjective criteria, it is no less important. Indeed, one would expect it to be primary. Yet, even nowadays, international aid agencies frequently emphasize economic expansion as a precondition of, and sometimes as equivalent to, development in Third World countries. Dr. Mkangi1s book is a caustic reminder of the error of such thinking. He pulls no punches. We recognize the caricature of the international aid expatriate gathering his findings from the confines and luxury of the capital city. We are forced to acknow- ledge some of the inadequacies of a Western life-style that often leads us to value nuclear family privacy over care for the aged, pets over children, or children1s play with dolls as a substitute for interaction with people. In particular, the book sets out to show how development policies based on a Western model do not achieve what is necessarily in the interests of the mass of rural folk. Dr. MkangiTs data are taken from a small number of rural households in Taita district, Kenya, in which he lived on a number of occasions for over a year. He questions the assumption that land reform and family planning will reduce poverty. On the contrary, he argues, the drive to adjudicate, register, consolidate, and enclose land, has created strong barriers between family households whose networks of relations were traditionally able to absorb and disperse inequalities of wealth and production. The resultant enduring inequalities in land holding and production have benefited only a few, while the majority hopelessly seek security in wage jobs and education for their children. For this majority, the more children the better. At least one son or daughter, it is supposed, will one day be able to subsidize the rest of the family. It is an illusion, and more children become more mouths to feed out of a diminishing budget. But, says Dr. Mkangi, under the changed conditions how can we expect people to think otherwise? He recognizes full well that the rate of population growth in Kenya is colossal. He also notes that Taita women themselves would welcome family planning under circumstances in which their families could be guaranteed a secure living standard and meaningful existence. Dr. Mkangi1s recipe is disarmingly simple but dramatic in its vii viii Foreword implications: stop or reverse land reform and eliminate the emerging inequalities, steer peasant production more in the direction of at least partial self-sufficiency, and, then and only then, we should be able to see the 'problem' of population growth in its proper perspective. The argument is convincing. We may also learn from the method. The micro- sociological study of a small culturally distinct group of ordinary people should surely precede, not follow, analysis of statistics lodged in city capitals. For how else shall we discover what the people themselves really think about the policies made for them by others? How else will such people as the Taita be able to say which parts of their rich culture, well documented elsewhere (e.g. G. Harris, 1978), should be preserved? Dr. Mkangi's book is therefore one of a growing number of intensive investi- gations in the field of so-called development studies that challenge entrenched thought and practice. University of London DAVID PARKIN Acknowledgements It is without doubt that but for Professor T. Scarlett Epstein, this study would not have been carried out at all. For it was she, who as Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, conceived, did the ground-work and then directed the Project entitled A Cross-cultural Study of Population Growth and Rural Poverty. It was a four-year Project running from October 1973 to the autumn of 1977, involving eight students including myself, who conducted field research in India, Kenya, Nigeria and Sri Lanka. Throughout this period, Professor Epstein has been my academic supervisor and guru. She has also been the means of my financial sustenance and, with her maternal caring, a major influence on my social - and in some cases, moral - health. I owe much to her and the completion of this study symbolizes my greatest gratitude. The funds which enabled me to finish this manuscript and obtain my doctorate from the University of Sussex were contributed by the Population Council and the World Bank. I wish to express my sincere gratitude for this help and hope that this book will provide justification for their support. It must have been stated many times before, but repeating it will not turn the feelings into a cliche: for the fact is that successful completion of an exercise of this kind is not one man's lone endeavour. Hence I feel bound to acknowledge the comradely support, advice and criticism I received from the other members of the Project, namely: Monica Das Gupta, Mukul Dube, Newton Gunasinghe, Vinod Jairath, Sammy N. Onwuazor, Joseph Ssennyonga and W. M. Tilakaratne. In addition I should mention Darrell Jackson, Tim Dyson, Rosemary Watts, Mariette Grange and Pam Smith. In Taita where I did my fieldwork, I received every encouragement and help from the Taita/Taveta District Administration, starting with the District Commissioner, Mr. King'uru, and going right through the Administration. Worthy of mention are Chief Kubo of Werugha Location and Sub-Chiefs Moses Washo of Shigaro/Sungululu Sub-location and Samuel Mnjama Kiongo of Werugha Sub-location. In addition I cannot forget my host Noel Mwazera and his family; George Ndegwa, my brother-in-law, who was then the District Magistrate; Mr, Geoffrey Mjomba, Clerk to the County Council; Mgosi Jamiel; the late Rev. Jeremiah Kiwinda and the heads of the sixteen households with whom I worked very closely. These are Samuel Mnjama, Moses Mugho, Failstone ix χ Acknowledgement s Kinyavura, Jonathan Kiongo, Mama Mary G. Mwamdondo, Augustine N. Shako, Mama Charlotte Fridah M. Mwakio, Mama Jaridine Mlolwa, Benstone Dishon Kalaghe, Kirigha Ngali, Mzee Ngali, Mama Sophy Mwangemi, Godiffrey Mwanyama and Noel Mwazera. Also I should mention my helpers Basil Mwakulegwa, Mary Mwanyumba, Mary Mjomba and Miss Mwangemi from Shigaro. Teachers and pupils from the following schools gave me invaluable assistance: Shigaro, Sungululu, Werugha, Mwakishimba, Ngulu-Kiweto and Mdondonyi Primary Schools and Aggrey and Mwangeka High Schools. I have to mention the special and understanding help from Mary Kidelo Righa and the stimulating and fruitful company of Lydia Mrunde Kubo. In addition to sharing Wambugha-Chizi, the latter gave me some useful insights into traditional Taita society.