Uncertainty In The Drylands: Rethinking In/Formal Insurance From Pastoral East Africa

Sage Publications

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Abstract: Amidst climate and economic volatility, this research explores pastoralists' encounters with index-based livestock insurance in Northern Kenya and Southern Ethiopia. Using ethnographic, interview, and survey data, the study reveals how insurance programs are understood within pastoral moral economies and relational concepts of uncertainty. Insurance participation, purchasing decisions, and payout use are shaped by community norms and collective obligations, transforming ?formal? products into hybrid practices. These findings challenge binary models of formal/informal insurance and highlight the role of social affiliations in adapting financial tools for solidarity and resilience in the drylands.