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Waste Livelihoods Amongst the Poor – Through the Lens of Bricolage

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  • Diane Holt
  • David Littlewood

Abstract

This paper examines two social enterprises and 25+ informal economy micro‐entrepreneurs in Kenya who utilize waste materials to generate income, considered through the conceptual lens of bricolage. Waste materials can all be considered as sources of free or discounted materials that in resource‐constrained and poor communities might be leveraged to generate income in the absence of employment. This paper explores three key themes that emerge from the research findings, namely the various strategic dimensions of the cases, the networks and social capital they leverage and how these livelihood models relate to various dimensions of bricolage such as improvisation, making do and the process of ‘fiddling’ or recombining resources. The findings also suggest that differing waste livelihoods have different rates of return, or profitability, and differing input requirements of capital, skills and knowledge. The paper also stresses the role of boundary spanning organizations such as NGOs and hybrid/social enterprises. © 2016 The Authors. Business Strategy and the Environment published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Diane Holt & David Littlewood, 2017. "Waste Livelihoods Amongst the Poor – Through the Lens of Bricolage," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 253-264, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:26:y:2017:i:2:p:253-264
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.1914
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Maria Margarida Avillez & Andrew Greenman & Susan Marlow, 2020. "Ethical Judgments About Social Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Influence of Spatio-Cultural Meanings," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(4), pages 877-892, February.
    3. Jackson Musona & Kaisu Puumalainen & Helena Sjögrén & Anna Vuorio, 2021. "Sustainable Entrepreneurship at the Bottom of the Pyramid: An Identity-Based Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-37, January.
    4. María José Zapata Campos & Sebastián Carenzo & Goodluck Charles & Jutta Gutberlet & Jaan-Henrik Kain & Michael O Oloko & Jessica Pérez Reynosa & Patrik Zapata, 2023. "Grassroots innovations in ‘extreme’ urban environments. The inclusive recycling movement," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 41(2), pages 351-374, March.
    5. Manyise, Timothy & Dentoni, Domenico, 2021. "Value chain partnerships and farmer entrepreneurship as balancing ecosystem services: Implications for agri-food systems resilience," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    6. Yevheniia Varyvoda & Douglas Taren, 2022. "Considering Ecosystem Services in Food System Resilience," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-16, March.

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