Hiv Land Rights in Kenya

7 Research findings –

Bondo District

7.1 Background on Bondo District

Population and economy

Bondo District is one of the 11 districts in Nyanza Province. It is a relatively new district,

having been created from the southern part of Siaya District as recently as 1998. It has a

population of about 238 780 living in 56 607 households. The population is extremely

young: 47% of the population is 14 years old and younger, and 58% is 19 years and

younger. Bondo District has five divisions, each of which borders Lake Victoria.

The headquarters of the district are in Bondo town. According to the 1999 census, the

�core urban’ population in and around Bondo town is 12 202, comprising a mere 5% of

the total district population. On the other hand, the rural population density of Bondo

District is high at around 230 people/km2, though not as high as that for Nyanza Province

as a whole.

The economy of Bondo District is dominated by fishing, small-scale cropping, and animal

husbandry. The district has approximately 175 kilometres of shoreline along the eastern

part of Lake Victoria; however, the economic potential of the artisanal fishing industry is

limited by the lack of refrigeration facilities. Crop production is dominated by maize,

followed by other large grains and some tubers. As elsewhere in Nyanza Province, tsetse

fly constrains livestock production.1 According to some observers this has been growing