On the 20^th of January 2012, I attended the launch of the book: Seasonality, Rural Livelihoods and Development, at the Institute of Development Studies of the University of Sussex. Robert Chambers, a torchbearer in the international development profession, was one of the panelists there. A copy of the book was presented to me as a gift by my MA thesis Supervisor, Richard Longhurst, one of its editors. Significantly, it was at this book launch that I developed a research interest in seasonal poverty. The discussion was so intriguing that, for my MA thesis, I decided to focus on seasonal poverty and livelihoods programming.

It was not, however, at this book launch that I first learnt about the effect of seasonality on the lives and livelihoods of people, especially those of limited means. That goes right back to my childhood.

Growing up in the rural area, herding my…