Sri Lankan livelihoods after the tsunami: searching for entrepreneurs, unveiling relations of power

Abstract

This paper analyses the performance of aid-funded livelihoods recovery efforts in Sri Lanka following the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004, with special attention paid to the effects on the rural poor. It argues that successful livelihoods recovery was hampered by an excessive focus by aid agencies on entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship, and by the lack of a politically informed understanding of the economy. Based on ethnographic and survey-based research, the study demonstrates that the category of 'entrepreneur' is misleading for large parts of the economy. Indeed, the desire to build an entrepreneurial economy actually hampered successful livelihoods recovery in Sri Lanka and, in some cases, reinforced inequitable relations of power. The paper concludes that for livelihoods recovery programmes to be effective, they must be founded on an understanding of the relations of power that constitute the economy; these relations operate across scales, and are historically and geographically specific.

Household migration as a livelihood adaptation in response to a natural disaster: Nicaragua and Hurricane Mitch

“…Christoplos et al's (2010) case study of Hurricane Mitch impacted Nicaraguan municipalities finds aid agencies picked business owners and entrepreneurs to be the recipients of livelihood assistance. Similar preferential aid disbursal practices that favor the recovery of business owners have been observed in other post-disaster contexts (De Mel et al 2012;Kampadia 2015).…”

How “Sustainable” are Post-disaster Measures? Lessons to Be Learned a Decade After the 2004 Tsunami in the Indian Ocean

“…The analysis of the current state of vulnerability of the local population in regions affected by the 2004 tsunami does not lead to a homogenous picture. Various authors (Larsen et al 2010;Frankenberg et al 2013;Kapadia 2014;Løvholt et al 2014;Siagian et al 2014) indicate that data generation, monitoring, and access to information is still a major task at national as well as at international levels.…”

“…While political processes of peace-building in conflict regions can enhance recovery efforts, as examples from Aceh in Indonesia have shown (Gaillard et al 2008), the effective organization of aid can also be hindered by power relations within societies (Scheper et al 2006). As examples from Sri Lanka show, relations of inequality between different social groups can substantially influence the access to support from recovery programs (Kapadia 2014). Besides challenges faced by humanitarian actors in affected countries, an important lesson to be learned by the organizations is the need to overcome disparities between ''the stated policies of international humanitarian actors and the operational realities'' (Kapadia 2014, p. 41).…”

From goods to goats: examining post-disaster livelihood recovery in the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake 2015

“…The SL approach can also be appreciated for putting people at the centre of development, considering the circumstances of their vulnerability, and taking a holistic approach to improving people’s livelihood and wellbeing. However, some scholars are critical of the livelihoods approach for lacking appraisal of (or not being explicit about) power and politics in its framework while designing and implementing community development or disaster recovery programmes (Kapadia 2014 ; Scoones 2009 ).…”