ABSTRACT
Ariaal have survived in Kenya's arid north by a generalist pastoral strategy raising camels, cattle, goats and sheep for subsistence and trade. Ariaal forged their identity during the hardships of the late nineteenth century when immigrant families from Rendille, Samburu, Maasai, and Boran banded together to recover from drought, famine and war. The creation of livestock marketing centers has benefited local entrepreneurs and members of county councils who control trade, butcheries, and marketing at the expense of the poorer pastoralist producers. The replacement of traditional livestock practices by western commercial systems is the most prevalent form of development assistance, and is widely promoted by international development agencies including the World Bank, United States Agency for International Development, and the European Economic Community. Pastoralists are pressured from several directions. Increased population growth, particularly of neighboring agriculturalists expanding into pastoral areas but also of pastoral populations themselves, threatens the pastoralists' ability to live off their herds.
