My research of the livelihood activities and assets of the community of Ayakomaso is underway. I am very happy with the response I have had from community leaders and village residents.

To date we have had a semi-structured interview with the chief and later the village Assemblyman. The purpose of these interviews was to gain an understanding of local indicators of poverty, to describe the greater environment in which households make their living, and to get a sense of the general changes in livelihood activities over the past two decades. I regard the chief and the Assemblyman as experts of their community. These two also serve as village gatekeepers. Fortunately for me they have been more than helpful in leading me to particular household types for my research activities.

The Assemblyman drew together a cross-section of village men for a focus group discussion Oct 9, 2009. The following week we had a similar discussion with a cross section of women in the community. I was interested to meet with a mix of people from different wealth levels, and ages. The focus group discussion had similar objectives to the interviews with the chief and the Assemblyman. This time, however, I wanted the perceptions of the local people on wealth and well-being, the environment within which they make their living, and the changes livelihood activities over the past twenty years.

I can’t thank the chief, Assemblyman, community members, and my research team enough. We start household interviews on Friday, and I am eager review the results.

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