Table 3 Qualitative information on resources shared in marro

Food

Milk, butter, yoghurt

Commonly shared in bonding and bridging, especially in bridging women in pastoral livelihood share with agro-pastoral women

Meat and bones

Household slaughters animal share meat and bones. Women in the household are responsible to share these with her marro women. The bone sharing is very common during drought crises where well-to-do households are expected to share with poor households to ensure survival.

Cooked food

Mostly shared in bonding, women share with neighbouring households in most cases. This can be given as immediate support to households. Any person coming across cooked food has full right to eat, even if not a member of the family. It is also shared within bridging marro rarely.

Salt, sugar, tea leaves and tobacco

These are commonly shared in bonding marro. Neighbouring households share these resources more frequently.

Labour

Firewood, water

Women collect firewood for each other in marro. Commonly shared in bonding relation can also be shared in bridging during ceremonies. Common to bring for sick women and new mothers.

Fodder

Increasingly shared than ever before. Women collect fodder in collective through marro, becoming very popular with increases in drought leading to animal feed shortage.

Going to market

Women also combine their activities to overcome labour shortage through marro. A woman going to market buys the things needed by neighbouring households while the one at home undertakes household activities.

Preparing food

Other important activity for which women use bonding marro. It is common to prepare food for households when woman in the household is sick, gave birth or has some special programmes.

Hut-making

Hut-making is usually undertaken by marro. Hut-making in the face of drought for a single woman is very hard. That is why women use their relation to make huts for each other.

Farming activities

Women are undertaking farming activities such as land-clearing, weeding, harvesting and transporting in marro. During drought when men move with animals, women do many of the farming activities through marro relation.

Cash

Loan

Cash loan is newly introduced resources in marro and increasing these days. Women give each other loans for purchase of foodstuffs or for undertaking business. Most of the loans are simple and easy to pay has no interest.

Gift

Women also give to each other in their relation a cash gift. This is not in the form of a loan but as a gift from marro woman.