ABSTRACT

This study considers temporal aspects of livelihood adaptation in times of turmoil by drawing on interviews with informal street vendors in Facatativá, Colombia. By engaging a ‘time stories’ perspective, this article aims to provide a better understanding of how livelihood responses to shocks emerge from (and are constrained by) individuals’ initial and changing assumptions about the continued onset of a crisis. We found that livelihood adaptation to shock, in some cases, involves adopting a new livelihood that appears more durable. In other cases, adaptation is temporary with individuals returning to prior livelihoods when conditions allow. Many individuals had limited livelihood options. In such cases adaptation was more precarious generally, implying drastic consumption cuts or relying on neighborly networks. Also, changing one’s livelihood is a high-risk decision for people who are often already struggling to survive in a context of declining overall demand and falling incomes as a crisis hits.

摘要

本研究通过对哥伦比亚法卡塔蒂瓦非正式街头小贩的采访，探讨了动荡时期生计适应的时间方面。通过采用“时间故事”的视角，本文旨在更好地理解生计对冲击的反应如何产生于（并受制于）个人对危机持续发生的最初和不断变化的假设。我们发现，在某些情况下，适应冲击的生计需要采取一种看起来更持久的新生计。在其他情况下，适应是暂时的，当条件允许时，个人会恢复以前的生计。许多人的生计选择有限。在这种情况下，适应通常更加不稳定，这意味着大幅削减消费或依赖邻里网络。还，