The Borana are a subethnic section of the Oromo people who live in southern Ethiopia (Oromia) and northern Kenya.
The Borana people are notable for practicing Gadaa system without interruption. They are predominantly Waaqeffataa
Gadaa is an Indigenous democratic political system used by the Oromo in which leaders are elected and their term in office is strictly fixed. The Borana have three gadaa councils at two levels: one at the center for the entire Borana and two named after two Borana clans. This structure has been serving as a means of managing conflict, maintaining internal unity, and ensuring better governance and power devolution.
Pastoralist societies, including Borana, are known for their strong social networks, which provide social- and livelihood-related functions.
The role of marro – women’s social security network in accessing resources to overcome household food security in Borana, southern Ethiopia.
The study employed individual interviews, group interviews, focus group discussions and field observations to generate data among two communities engaged in pastoral and agro-pastoral production systems.
Results show marro is a voluntary social support network between friends, neighbours and families in which all women participate, regardless of livelihood bases, economic status and age differences.
The majority of women use marro when need arises, while a significant number of poor and elderly women depend on it for daily survival.
Marro relations resemble both bonding and bridging networks in which resources are mobilized and shared between neighbouring and far-distant households respectively.
In both bonding and bridging marro, women share resources such as food items, labour and cash on the basis of trust and solidarity.
The primary aim of the shared resources is to overcome household food shortages that increase during drought.
However, increases in drought combined with lack of proper external support are limiting the scope of marro in building household food security by limiting the availability of resources and increasing the number of poor people demanding help that need serious attention.
The findings of this study add knowledge on the role of social security networks in improving household food security that must be taken into consideration for designing responsive and sustainable food security programmes and projects in pastoral areas in general and Borana in particular.
The people who form the subject of the study are usually know as the Waso Borana.
This distinguishes them from other sections of the Borana pastoralists who have dominated the grazing lands of southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya for several centuries.
The appellation, “Waso” derives from the seasonal river around which they have settled, the Ewaso Nyiro, sometimes spelled Waso Ngiro.
The Borana have only moved into this area during the last 60 years since it was officially assigned to them by the British Colonial Administration in 1933.
This is within the memory of some of the oldest members who can tell graphic accounts of the struggles that have brought them to their present highly prized grazing lands.
ORIGIN OF BORANA PEOPLE
The Borana were the most southerly extension of the Oromo peoples who comprise a large proportion of the population of Ethiopia – variously assessed as one third to one half.
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