ZIMSEC O Level Geography Notes:Agriculture:Farming types in Africa: Subsistence farming:Nomadic way of life
- Nomads are always on the move and their way of life is quite tough due to the harsh environment.
- Nomads move following traditional routes and following rainbelt zones.
- They travel light to enable them to quickly break camp and move on.
- As they get to an area, they set up camp.
- Men move out herding the livestock while women and children grow crops.
- As pastures run out and water run dry, the whole group,usually a clan, break camp,pack up and move.
- In West Africa, they are forced to move north by the approach of testse flies from the south.
- Their whole life depends on livestock for meat, blood, skins for clothing and making tents, bones needles and for manure.
- Nomadic tribes are war-like, occasionally clashing with sedentary farmer over land rights or invading settled farmers or urban settlements to get food.
- They are very proud and brave people, using to warding off predators to their livestock using bare hands, spears, arrows, knobkerries or machetes.
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