Lodging Household Dynamics and Livelihoods

In this chapter we explore the considerable variation in types and sizes of lodging households from nuclear to extended to single to mixed. We note the translocality of many households, as children, unemployed young adults and wives move to the rural home where it is cheaper to live, schools are cheaper, and wives can farm. We note the changes in household types and sizes over the 3-year period, especially given the impact of structural adjustment and of HIV/AIDS. We then examine lodging household livelihoods and note the initial heavy dependence on wage employment. We trace strategies of vulnerable and resilient households as the economic landscape worsens, with the result that some households abandon their urban dreams and retreat to their rural homes.