Intertwined lives: household dependence and the livelihood strategies of morning glory (Ipomoea aquatica Forskal) producers in desakota areas in mainland Southeast Asia

Abstract

This paper describes a livelihood – the production of morning glory (aka rau muong, kangkong or pak bung) ‐ popularly practiced in the desakota regions of mainland Southeast Asia. This paper shows that the interaction between spaces and livelihoods produces different livelihood strategies, which are in turn circumscribed within the social, economic and spatial contexts of each city. The tangible imprint of these strategies is on the degree of dependence of households on a particular livelihood. Using the livelihood framework as a basis for variable selection and data from household surveys, the key factors that explain the household’s livelihood strategies are teased out with degree of dependence on this vegetable for income as the dependent variable. The results showed that a key livelihood strategy among the morning glory producers in Bangkok is the direct involvement of the wife in the production system. In Hanoi, the key livelihood strategy is the dual deployment of both the husband and the wife in the production system but such dependence decreases when the wife’s age increases and attained higher education. In Phnom Penh, the involvement of the husband in the production system is the most important livelihood strategy of the households. In other words, the stock of human capital (particularly in terms of the direct involvement of the wife, husband or both) in the household has primary importance in understanding how households strategise to maintain or heighten the levels of benefits morning glory production.