Les données d'une étude en cours furent rassemblées dans trois conditions d'échantillonna... more Les données d'une étude en cours furent rassemblées dans trois conditions d'échantillonnage variées afin d'examiner si des cadres hommes et femmes, observés par leurs évaluateurs directs, avaient le même style de commandement. L'étude en cours se démarque d'une recherche beaucoup plus ancienne sur les différences entre hommes et femmes en leadership, en ceci que nous y avons examiné des différences dans les deux styles de leadership transformationnel et transactionnel, en utilisant le Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Dans les trois échantillons, les cadres féminins furent reconnues par des évaluateurs à la fois féminins et masculins comme manifestant des aspects‐clés fondamentaux du leadership transformationnel (p. ex. charisme, considération individualisée) plus fréquemment que les hommes. Bien que la taille des échantillons fut généralement petites, les données de ces études suggèrent que les femmes ne sont pas moins transformationnelles que leurs homologu...
To better understand the impacts of climate variability, including spatiotemporal variations in m... more To better understand the impacts of climate variability, including spatiotemporal variations in mean rainfall, temperature, and other climatic elements, it is imperative to analyze the dynamics of these elements. Despite the high vulnerability of the Tharaka South Subcounty, Kenya, to the impacts of climate change and variability, no studies have analyzed the local climatic trends and variability to inform response strategies. In this study, we analyzed rainfall and temperature trends and variability in Tharaka South Subcounty using gridded rainfall and temperature data sourced from CHIRPS and CHIRTS. Variability analysis employed descriptive statistics, coefficients of variation, standardized anomalies, and the precipitation concentration index. Trends were analyzed using a Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimator. The study area is characterized by low rainfall that shows a decreasing trend. Local rainfall is generally marked by high and increasing variability, high and increas...
Climate variability is variation of climate elements from the longterm mean state on all spatiote... more Climate variability is variation of climate elements from the longterm mean state on all spatiotemporal scales. Climate variability affects microfinance institutions directly and indirectly through physical and transition risks. However, no studies have analyzed the effects of climate variability in relation to informal microfinance institutions. The study, therefore, analyzed the effects of climate variability in relation to informal microfinance institutions. It used a descriptive study design and multi-stage sampling design. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis, descriptive analysis, and Kendall's tau-b correlation analysis. The study found a positive trend in climate variability (τ b = 0.174, α > 0.05). Local people are highly vulnerable to climate variability as confirmed by 98.7% of the respondents who observed that climate variability affects their livelihoods. This vulnerability stems from the effect of climate variability on access to capital assets and livelihood strategies. Vulnerability to climate variability has a significant negative effect on loan repayment performance, loan access and sustainability, and hence on informal microfinance performance (τ b = −0.109 * * , P < 0.01). Nevertheless, climate variability increases participation in informal microfinance institutions as shown by the positive relationship with the number of people who joined informal microfinance institutions (τ b = 0.239 * * , P < 0.01) and the number formed per year (τ b = 0.137, P < 0.01) from 1981 to 2018. This is because informal microfinance institutions help vulnerable households in building resilience to climate variability as observed by 80.8% of the respondents. The characteristics of informal microfinance institutions have positive or negative relationships with vulnerability to climate variability. These relationships are and could be further leveraged upon to address effects of climate variability on informal microfinance institutions. Detailed contextual analysis of informal microfinance institutions in the nexus of climate variability is thus imperative to inform actions aimed at cushioning the groups and their members against the impacts.
Kong’ani LNS, Mutune JM, Thenya T. 2018. Analysis of climate change knowledge and its implication... more Kong’ani LNS, Mutune JM, Thenya T. 2018. Analysis of climate change knowledge and its implications on livelihood options in Naituyupaki Location, Maasai Mau Forest, Narok County, Kenya. Asian J For 2: 62-66. Climate change knowledge among rural forest adjacent communities influences responsive dynamics towards rural livelihood in terms of mitigations and adaptations. Rural households are highly dependent on natural resources, whose base is highly indisputably threatened by the changing climate. Some of the responses towards climate change dynamics exert increased pressure on Maasai Mau forest resources for sustenance. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between forest based livelihood dynamics and climate change knowledge. Results indicate that 93% of the respondents were aware of climate change through life experiences. The cited primary causes of climate change by 72% of the respondents included natural causes (26%), human activities (2%) and punishment from gods...
East African Journal of Science, Technology and Innovation, 2022
Rainwater harvesting technology is among the oldest methods of fetching water among households. T... more Rainwater harvesting technology is among the oldest methods of fetching water among households. The demand for water use has grown globally outpacing population growth, and increasingly, many regions are currently reaching levels which water services are unsustainable, especially in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) regions. Inadequate water for domestic and agricultural use has had negative impacts on households in ASAL areas. There has been however introduction of rainwater harvesting technologies that seeks to solve the effects of water scarcity in these areas. Adoption of these technologies depend on factors that hinder/encourage households to adopt them. Matungulu Sub-County is such area that requires adoption of these technologies. Focus group discussions, interviews with key informants, and structured questionnaires were used to collect data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analysis. This involved calculation of arithmetic mean, standard deviation, perc...
Fuel wood is the main source of cooking and heating energy in developing countries. However, it i... more Fuel wood is the main source of cooking and heating energy in developing countries. However, it is combusted in inefficient cookstoves, leading to more fuel use and human health problems resulting from exposure to smoke. Thus new, efficient cooking systems that can address some of these problems are required. This study examined gasifier cookstove use in Kwale County, Kenya, and factors influencing adoption. Gasifier stoves were issued for free to 50 households, which were surveyed after 2-3 months of use. The results showed that the stove was used by 96% of the households at varying frequencies, 40% of them used it almost every day with 4% switching to only using the new stove. All the users appreciated it because it saved fuel, produced less smoke, and produced charcoal to use for either cooking or soil amendment. Compared with the traditional three-stone open fire, the gasifier stove was reported to be easier to clean (98% of respondents), easier to adjust the heat (88%), easier to handle (58%), caused less exposure to heat (96%) and was cleaner for pots and the kitchen (98%). Another reported benefit of the gasifier stove was that it needed no tending (i.e., adjusting wood and blowing to keep the flames burning). The gasifier stove was mainly used to cook foods that required a short cooking time and many preferred to use it to cook dinner. However, the households encountered some challenges with using the gasifier stoves. For example, fuel preparation, reloading, and lighting were reported as challenges by 42%, 77% and 19%, respectively, of the 83% of households who reported challenges. These challenges could be overcome by improving stove design and by devising innovative ways of cutting fuel into small pieces.
International Journal of African and Asian Studies, 2015
Participation of local communities in the management and utilization of state-owned forest resour... more Participation of local communities in the management and utilization of state-owned forest resources has become widely recognized in contrast to centralised forms of forest governance. This paper examined the extent of inclusiveness and household participation in community forest associations (CFAs) adjacent to Sururu and Eburu forests in Kenya. The probit model was used to assess the socio-economic factors determining participation in the CFAs. The study established that gender (P<0.05), group membership (P<0.0001), ownership of tree nursery (P<0.0001), wealth status (P<0.0001), percentage share of wage income (P<0.05), and farm size allocated to trees (P<0.05) significantly influenced CFA participation. However, because of high opportunity participation costs some poor (68%) and rich (65%) households did not participate in CFA activities. Since households participated in CFAs to derive livelihood gains, unclear participation benefits offered little incentive to g...
Semi-arid areas in developing countries continue to depend on rain-fed agriculture which is exace... more Semi-arid areas in developing countries continue to depend on rain-fed agriculture which is exacerbated by climate change and poor governance. Despite efforts and investments by governmental and non-governmental organizations to address the issue of food insecurity in the semi-arid areas of Kenya, the problem still persists. The communities have designed themselves to be resource poor whereas they are not. This paper argues that the communities have accepted their incapability to utilize their naturally occurring resources and foot their own development. Yet, there exist transformational models that have involved empowering communities to realize and reframe opportunities. The purpose of this paper was to document outcomes of transformational leadership model and its effectiveness on community participation and engagement in improving food security and climate change adaptation outcomes. The study involved key informant interviews and showed that the community Christian Impact Missi...
A majority of households in developing countries use biomass energy for cooking and heating due t... more A majority of households in developing countries use biomass energy for cooking and heating due to its affordability and accessibility. However, unsustainable biomass use leads to deforestation, environmental degradation and climate change. The pollution from open burning of biomass is a major health concern especially for women and children as they spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Biochar-producing gasifier cookstoves offer an opportunity to address many of these problems, while also producing biochar, which can be used as a soil amendment. A study was carried out in order to investigate factors influencing the adoption of these cookstoves in three sites in Kenya (Kwale, Embu and Siaya). After an introductory training, 150 households received cookstoves and were asked to use them to produce biochar for upcoming field experiments. User experiences were collected throughsurveys after 2-3 months and about 2 years, and at workshops. The main benefits of the cookstove identified by t...
Key Messages Revitalize the sisal and cotton industry to provide eco- friendly alternatives and c... more Key Messages Revitalize the sisal and cotton industry to provide eco- friendly alternatives and create employment. NEMA should provide sound waste management strategies that promote a circular model of economy which encourages waste recovery. Reduction/removal of taxes on all imports that are aimed at providing healthy and eco- friendly alternatives to the plastics. Integrate public awareness and sensitization sustainable and responsibly consumption through environmental education in national and county development plans.
Food insecurity remains a problem in developing countries yet more than 40 million Kenyans live i... more Food insecurity remains a problem in developing countries yet more than 40 million Kenyans live in dry lands, particularly and undertake agriculture as the prime livelihood activity. However, little is known about gender and generational sustainable intensification. This paper synthesised the available empirical evidence and nuanced the socio-economic dimensions of smallholder farmers, in Kenya, and reproduced the information to support policies and improve practices for sustainable agriculture. The government of Kenya has designed various policies for youth and women empowerment and entrepreneurship. However, there was found to be systematic under-representation of women and youth in policy making process that leads to perpetuation of food insecurity. Furthermore, the policies face challenges of political management, policy pluralism and sometimes lack of policy enforcement plan. Review of literature revealed that the participation of youth in the agriculture sector was low due to ...
Les données d'une étude en cours furent rassemblées dans trois conditions d'échantillonna... more Les données d'une étude en cours furent rassemblées dans trois conditions d'échantillonnage variées afin d'examiner si des cadres hommes et femmes, observés par leurs évaluateurs directs, avaient le même style de commandement. L'étude en cours se démarque d'une recherche beaucoup plus ancienne sur les différences entre hommes et femmes en leadership, en ceci que nous y avons examiné des différences dans les deux styles de leadership transformationnel et transactionnel, en utilisant le Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Dans les trois échantillons, les cadres féminins furent reconnues par des évaluateurs à la fois féminins et masculins comme manifestant des aspects‐clés fondamentaux du leadership transformationnel (p. ex. charisme, considération individualisée) plus fréquemment que les hommes. Bien que la taille des échantillons fut généralement petites, les données de ces études suggèrent que les femmes ne sont pas moins transformationnelles que leurs homologu...
To better understand the impacts of climate variability, including spatiotemporal variations in m... more To better understand the impacts of climate variability, including spatiotemporal variations in mean rainfall, temperature, and other climatic elements, it is imperative to analyze the dynamics of these elements. Despite the high vulnerability of the Tharaka South Subcounty, Kenya, to the impacts of climate change and variability, no studies have analyzed the local climatic trends and variability to inform response strategies. In this study, we analyzed rainfall and temperature trends and variability in Tharaka South Subcounty using gridded rainfall and temperature data sourced from CHIRPS and CHIRTS. Variability analysis employed descriptive statistics, coefficients of variation, standardized anomalies, and the precipitation concentration index. Trends were analyzed using a Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimator. The study area is characterized by low rainfall that shows a decreasing trend. Local rainfall is generally marked by high and increasing variability, high and increas...
Climate variability is variation of climate elements from the longterm mean state on all spatiote... more Climate variability is variation of climate elements from the longterm mean state on all spatiotemporal scales. Climate variability affects microfinance institutions directly and indirectly through physical and transition risks. However, no studies have analyzed the effects of climate variability in relation to informal microfinance institutions. The study, therefore, analyzed the effects of climate variability in relation to informal microfinance institutions. It used a descriptive study design and multi-stage sampling design. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis, descriptive analysis, and Kendall's tau-b correlation analysis. The study found a positive trend in climate variability (τ b = 0.174, α > 0.05). Local people are highly vulnerable to climate variability as confirmed by 98.7% of the respondents who observed that climate variability affects their livelihoods. This vulnerability stems from the effect of climate variability on access to capital assets and livelihood strategies. Vulnerability to climate variability has a significant negative effect on loan repayment performance, loan access and sustainability, and hence on informal microfinance performance (τ b = −0.109 * * , P < 0.01). Nevertheless, climate variability increases participation in informal microfinance institutions as shown by the positive relationship with the number of people who joined informal microfinance institutions (τ b = 0.239 * * , P < 0.01) and the number formed per year (τ b = 0.137, P < 0.01) from 1981 to 2018. This is because informal microfinance institutions help vulnerable households in building resilience to climate variability as observed by 80.8% of the respondents. The characteristics of informal microfinance institutions have positive or negative relationships with vulnerability to climate variability. These relationships are and could be further leveraged upon to address effects of climate variability on informal microfinance institutions. Detailed contextual analysis of informal microfinance institutions in the nexus of climate variability is thus imperative to inform actions aimed at cushioning the groups and their members against the impacts.
Kong’ani LNS, Mutune JM, Thenya T. 2018. Analysis of climate change knowledge and its implication... more Kong’ani LNS, Mutune JM, Thenya T. 2018. Analysis of climate change knowledge and its implications on livelihood options in Naituyupaki Location, Maasai Mau Forest, Narok County, Kenya. Asian J For 2: 62-66. Climate change knowledge among rural forest adjacent communities influences responsive dynamics towards rural livelihood in terms of mitigations and adaptations. Rural households are highly dependent on natural resources, whose base is highly indisputably threatened by the changing climate. Some of the responses towards climate change dynamics exert increased pressure on Maasai Mau forest resources for sustenance. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between forest based livelihood dynamics and climate change knowledge. Results indicate that 93% of the respondents were aware of climate change through life experiences. The cited primary causes of climate change by 72% of the respondents included natural causes (26%), human activities (2%) and punishment from gods...
East African Journal of Science, Technology and Innovation, 2022
Rainwater harvesting technology is among the oldest methods of fetching water among households. T... more Rainwater harvesting technology is among the oldest methods of fetching water among households. The demand for water use has grown globally outpacing population growth, and increasingly, many regions are currently reaching levels which water services are unsustainable, especially in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) regions. Inadequate water for domestic and agricultural use has had negative impacts on households in ASAL areas. There has been however introduction of rainwater harvesting technologies that seeks to solve the effects of water scarcity in these areas. Adoption of these technologies depend on factors that hinder/encourage households to adopt them. Matungulu Sub-County is such area that requires adoption of these technologies. Focus group discussions, interviews with key informants, and structured questionnaires were used to collect data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analysis. This involved calculation of arithmetic mean, standard deviation, perc...
Fuel wood is the main source of cooking and heating energy in developing countries. However, it i... more Fuel wood is the main source of cooking and heating energy in developing countries. However, it is combusted in inefficient cookstoves, leading to more fuel use and human health problems resulting from exposure to smoke. Thus new, efficient cooking systems that can address some of these problems are required. This study examined gasifier cookstove use in Kwale County, Kenya, and factors influencing adoption. Gasifier stoves were issued for free to 50 households, which were surveyed after 2-3 months of use. The results showed that the stove was used by 96% of the households at varying frequencies, 40% of them used it almost every day with 4% switching to only using the new stove. All the users appreciated it because it saved fuel, produced less smoke, and produced charcoal to use for either cooking or soil amendment. Compared with the traditional three-stone open fire, the gasifier stove was reported to be easier to clean (98% of respondents), easier to adjust the heat (88%), easier to handle (58%), caused less exposure to heat (96%) and was cleaner for pots and the kitchen (98%). Another reported benefit of the gasifier stove was that it needed no tending (i.e., adjusting wood and blowing to keep the flames burning). The gasifier stove was mainly used to cook foods that required a short cooking time and many preferred to use it to cook dinner. However, the households encountered some challenges with using the gasifier stoves. For example, fuel preparation, reloading, and lighting were reported as challenges by 42%, 77% and 19%, respectively, of the 83% of households who reported challenges. These challenges could be overcome by improving stove design and by devising innovative ways of cutting fuel into small pieces.
International Journal of African and Asian Studies, 2015
Participation of local communities in the management and utilization of state-owned forest resour... more Participation of local communities in the management and utilization of state-owned forest resources has become widely recognized in contrast to centralised forms of forest governance. This paper examined the extent of inclusiveness and household participation in community forest associations (CFAs) adjacent to Sururu and Eburu forests in Kenya. The probit model was used to assess the socio-economic factors determining participation in the CFAs. The study established that gender (P<0.05), group membership (P<0.0001), ownership of tree nursery (P<0.0001), wealth status (P<0.0001), percentage share of wage income (P<0.05), and farm size allocated to trees (P<0.05) significantly influenced CFA participation. However, because of high opportunity participation costs some poor (68%) and rich (65%) households did not participate in CFA activities. Since households participated in CFAs to derive livelihood gains, unclear participation benefits offered little incentive to g...
Semi-arid areas in developing countries continue to depend on rain-fed agriculture which is exace... more Semi-arid areas in developing countries continue to depend on rain-fed agriculture which is exacerbated by climate change and poor governance. Despite efforts and investments by governmental and non-governmental organizations to address the issue of food insecurity in the semi-arid areas of Kenya, the problem still persists. The communities have designed themselves to be resource poor whereas they are not. This paper argues that the communities have accepted their incapability to utilize their naturally occurring resources and foot their own development. Yet, there exist transformational models that have involved empowering communities to realize and reframe opportunities. The purpose of this paper was to document outcomes of transformational leadership model and its effectiveness on community participation and engagement in improving food security and climate change adaptation outcomes. The study involved key informant interviews and showed that the community Christian Impact Missi...
A majority of households in developing countries use biomass energy for cooking and heating due t... more A majority of households in developing countries use biomass energy for cooking and heating due to its affordability and accessibility. However, unsustainable biomass use leads to deforestation, environmental degradation and climate change. The pollution from open burning of biomass is a major health concern especially for women and children as they spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Biochar-producing gasifier cookstoves offer an opportunity to address many of these problems, while also producing biochar, which can be used as a soil amendment. A study was carried out in order to investigate factors influencing the adoption of these cookstoves in three sites in Kenya (Kwale, Embu and Siaya). After an introductory training, 150 households received cookstoves and were asked to use them to produce biochar for upcoming field experiments. User experiences were collected throughsurveys after 2-3 months and about 2 years, and at workshops. The main benefits of the cookstove identified by t...
Key Messages Revitalize the sisal and cotton industry to provide eco- friendly alternatives and c... more Key Messages Revitalize the sisal and cotton industry to provide eco- friendly alternatives and create employment. NEMA should provide sound waste management strategies that promote a circular model of economy which encourages waste recovery. Reduction/removal of taxes on all imports that are aimed at providing healthy and eco- friendly alternatives to the plastics. Integrate public awareness and sensitization sustainable and responsibly consumption through environmental education in national and county development plans.
Food insecurity remains a problem in developing countries yet more than 40 million Kenyans live i... more Food insecurity remains a problem in developing countries yet more than 40 million Kenyans live in dry lands, particularly and undertake agriculture as the prime livelihood activity. However, little is known about gender and generational sustainable intensification. This paper synthesised the available empirical evidence and nuanced the socio-economic dimensions of smallholder farmers, in Kenya, and reproduced the information to support policies and improve practices for sustainable agriculture. The government of Kenya has designed various policies for youth and women empowerment and entrepreneurship. However, there was found to be systematic under-representation of women and youth in policy making process that leads to perpetuation of food insecurity. Furthermore, the policies face challenges of political management, policy pluralism and sometimes lack of policy enforcement plan. Review of literature revealed that the participation of youth in the agriculture sector was low due to ...
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