“The value of a pastoral farmer is determined by the number of cattle in his herd. This way of life is viewed in the modern day world as backward or in some cases primitive. We look at these communities and suggest changes to their day to day lives and point out the need to invest in alternative livelihood strategies that can match up with the changing times.” No other marginal community has experienced the shocks, stresses and crises similar in magnitude than the pastoral communities. After the failed rains in 2011 in the Horn of Africa, recurring images in the daily news items got people thinking, can pastoralism be a sustainable livelihood option? The response at the time by the international, national governments and in the case of Kenya, ordinary citizens through the Kenyans4Kenya campaign initiative was an impetuous of food aid, quick fixes to the problem. Is there really a future in pastoralism? This was the focal point of the presentations and discussions during the pastoralism and rangeland parallel session at the Tropentag. The keynote presentation at this session was interesting focussing on the development work done by Vétérinaires sans Frontières Germany (VsF Germany) an international NGO working in the horn of Africa where communities have greatly benefited from knowledge exchange from researchers at Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and the funding provided through VsF Germany. The other presentations in this session highlighted in co-management approaches as the key best practice in the management of natural resources and pastoral systems in this area. The communities are no strangers to stresses, shocks and crises that threaten their survival and a great lesson learnt by Dr. Mario Younan of VsF is “Instead of inventing the the wheel, we should see what they are inventing and teach them tricks to make the wheel better.” I had the privilege to discuss some of the issues facing this marginalized community and the development work done by VsF Germany with Dr. Mario Younan. Check it out! Youtube Interview part 1 Youtube Interview part 2