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This study aims to provide information to help inform the search for landuse activities that will lead to protection of wildlife corridors and dispersal areas in the Kitengela wildlife dispersal area, whilst at the same time, maximising returns from the land. A formal household survey was carried out on a relatively small sample of 35. Detailed information was sought regarding revenues, costs, income sources and income levels under various land-use options.

Findings of the survey:

• income from livestock production was generally low and much lower in years in which the long rains failed
• net livestock income averaged around KSh 20,000 per adult equivalent (AE) per year, or roughly US$ (256), per AE per year. On a per acre basis, the average net income from livestock activities alone was KSh 1400/acre per year, or US$ 17.95
• milk revenues were important to most households and highly dependent on the timing and levels of rainfall across all clusters, and surpassed the value of reported milk consumption
• while 80% of surveyed households grew crops, for most households it is not a profitable undertaking because when crop output was valued at market prices, the costs of production generally outweighed the potential revenues
• the different types of households varied both in the importance of alternate income sources and in levels of income. The market-oriented cluster had the highest levels of annual net income (and highest off-farm income). The traditional cluster had the lowest annual net income (with 90% of total household income coming from livestock)
• one-third of the respondents had no access to off-farm income, but for the remainder, it can be a very important livelihood option, with some of the ‘wealthiest’ households deriving well over half of their income from off-farm sources
• overall net income per AE levels ranged from KSh 1772–4956/month. This places all of the Kitengela clusters above the rural poverty line (the amount of money considered by the Government of Kenya to generate inadequate income levels to feed, clothe, educate and pay for basic health care for their families)
• two groups fall under the urban poverty line (which is arguably more appropriate for households located so close to Nairobi), and the third group is barely above it
• the market-oriented group, with its smaller average family size, earns roughly twice the income per adult of the established urban poverty line
• over half of the households (54%) earned less than a dollar a day per adult equivalent. Another 26% earned less than US$ 2 per day, 14% earned between US$ 2 and US$ 4 per day and only 2 households (6%) earned over US$ 4 per day per AE

The paper concludes that some households are earning very little from livestock even in areas with relatively few wildlife. There were also areas with a lot of wildlife where households earn high livestock income. These observations do not lend support to the notion that households in the densest wildlife areas are worse off. There was no easily discernible spatial pattern to net incomes per person.

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