Shocks, strategies and socio-economic determinants of rural households coping mechanisms: Case study of Kakamega Forest, Kenya

Ibrahim Osewe; Claudiu Coman; Aureliu-Florin Hălălișan; Erick Osewe; Ioan Vasile Abrudan; Bogdan Popa

doi:10.15287/afr.2026.4277

Authors

Ibrahim Osewe 1 Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, Brasov, Romania
Claudiu Coman 2 Faculty of Sociology and Communication, Transilvania University of Brașov, Brașov, Romania
Aureliu-Florin Hălălișan 1 Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, Brasov, Romania
Erick Osewe 1 Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, Brasov, Romania
Ioan Vasile Abrudan 1 Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, Brasov, Romania
Bogdan Popa 1 Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, Brasov, Romania

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15287/afr.2026.4277

Keywords:

forest-dependent communities, coping strategies, socio-economic vulnerability, multiple shocks, ecosystems

Abstract

Rural forest communities in developing countries face multiple and compounding shocks that increase their vulnerability and reliance on limited coping options. While many studies have examined how socio-economic factors shape coping strategies, few have explored the combined and interacting effects of these factors on strategy selection across diverse shock types. This study investigates the types of shocks experienced by communities surrounding the Kakamega Forest Ecosystem (KFE) in western Kenya, the coping strategies employed, and how socio-economic characteristics and their interactions influence these responses. Using participatory approaches, primary data were collected from 453 households through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and a structured household survey. Data were analysed using Chi-square tests, ANOVA, poisson, and negative binomial regression models. Economic distress and illness emerged as the most widely acknowledged shocks. Significant differences were found across wealth categories and Community Forest Association (CFA) membership for illness, unemployment, animal disease outbreaks, and economic shocks. Only animal disease shocks varied significantly by gender of household head. Forest harvesting was the most frequently adopted coping strategy, used in response to 78% of shocks, underscoring the forest’s buffering role. Consumption reduction was common among poor households during unemployment and economic distress, while productive asset sales were triggered by economic and health-related shocks. Rich CFA members and male headed households were less likely to adopt costly or asset-depleting strategies. The paper demonstrates that forest resources serve primarily as short-term safety nets, underscoring the importance of reducing socio-economic disparities and enhancing forest governance to avoid poverty traps and foster resilient, context-specific policies.

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