In several parts of Kenya, land scarcity has emerged as a serious problem severely limiting the agricultural productivity of small-farm households. This study considers one such area, a region in southwestern Kakamega District known as Bunyore.

Situated on the equator, to the north of Lake Victoria's Winam Gulf, Bunyore is a part of what is certainly one of the most densely populated farming regions in all of Africa. With rainfall that is abundant and generally quite reliable, the area is considered a zone of high agricultural potential. The predominant crop is the subsistence staple, maize, which is planted twice each year.

This research has focused on the economic and social adaptations that the Abanyole have made in response to conditions of acute land scarcity. In the study area, which was limited to a single village community of about 200 households, the average holding size per household of 6+ members was one acre.

Subsistence production generally falls well below the demands of the household. A few individuals have attempted to overcome the constraints of land scarcity by expanding their holdings or adopting innovations that increase agricultural productivity. Most, however, have solved the problem of subsistence shortfalls through their participation as workers in the cash economy. Overall, this economic strategy has been quite successful.

Despite high rates of unemployment nationally, men from the sample community have done remarkably well in finding jobs. Part of this success can be attributed to the maintenance of a strong kinship network which extends throughout Kenya and beyond. These kinsmen provide new job seekers with information about employment possibilities and often give substantial material assistance to those coming from Bunyore.

With the impact of colonialism and the increasing pressure of land scarcity, Abanyole society has changed tremendously. More recently, we now see the emergence of a process of socio-economic stratification related to education and employment. Yet, as the Abanyole change, kinship, land, and the sense of community are identified as fundamental values or moral foundations which have played a very important role in determining the kind of economic choices the Abanyole have made as they have adapted to land scarcity

Source: PATERSON, DOUGLAS BRIAN; PHD Thesis, University of Washington, USA, 1984
KINSHIP, LAND, AND COMMUNITY: THE MORAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE ABALUHYA OF EAST BUNYORE (KENYA) (MIGRATION, SOCIAL CHANGE, ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY)

The landscape of Bunyore and neighbouring Maragoli is littered with these rocky boulders.