Grade 7 Social Studies RESOURCES AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES – ECONOMIC ORGANISATION OF THE SELECTED AFRICAN COMMUNITIES UP TO 1900 Notes

Social Studies — Resources & Economic Activities

Subtopic: Economic organisation of selected African communities up to 1900 (Kenyan examples)

These notes explain how people in different Kenyan communities got food, made things, and organised work before 1900. Read the parts about resources, work, trade and who made decisions about land and cattle.

1. Important resources (what people used)

• Land — for growing crops and grazing animals. Land belonged to families or clans and was used by members.
• Animals — cattle, goats, sheep and chickens. Cattle were very important for the Maasai and some highland groups.
• Water and fish — lakes and rivers were vital for the Luo around Lake Victoria (fishing was a main activity).
• Forests and trees — provided wood for building, wild fruits, honey, and tools. Iron ore and salt were used locally in some areas.
• Coast resources — fish, coconut, mangrove wood and easy access to Indian Ocean trade for Swahili towns like Mombasa and Lamu.

2. Main economic activities

3. Craft skills and small industries

• Blacksmithing — making iron tools and arrowheads (important for farming and hunting).
• Weaving and basketry — women often made mats, baskets and cloth for home use and trade.
• Boat building — coastal and lakeshore communities built canoes for fishing and trade.

4. How work and resources were organised

• Family and clan system — land and tools were shared within families and clans. Elders and family heads made important decisions.
• Age-sets and communal labour — young people often worked together in groups (age-sets) to build, raid or herd, while communal work parties helped with big tasks like harvests.
• Gender roles — women usually took care of planting, food processing and crafts; men often herded and protected livestock, but this varied by community.
• Barter and local markets — people traded goods (e.g., grain for fish or baskets) in local markets without money or with items like cloth or cowrie shells as currency.

5. Trade and markets (local and long distance)

Communities traded different things depending on where they lived:

• Local markets — weekly markets where farmers, fishers and craftspersons exchanged goods.
• Regional trade — highland groups traded foodstuffs for cattle, iron tools or salt from other regions.
• Coastal and Indian Ocean trade — Swahili towns dealt with Arab and Persian traders. Coastal trade connected Kenya to Zanzibar, Oman, India and beyond. Goods included spices, cloth, ivory and sometimes slaves (a sad part of history).

6. Rules about land and resources

• Land was not usually owned by individuals alone; chiefs or elders held land in trust for the community.
• Access to grazing areas and water was managed so animals and crops could survive during dry seasons.
• Disputes were settled by elders, councils or community meetings — they decided who could use what land or water.

7. Contact with outsiders and changes before 1900

• Arab and Swahili traders on the coast brought new goods (glass beads, cloth) and connected Kenya to the wider Indian Ocean trade networks.
• Ivory and some slaves were taken from the interior to the coast for trade — this affected communities and sometimes caused raids and conflicts.
• New crops and tools spread across regions, changing farming methods slowly over time.

8. Key vocabulary (easy)

• Pastoralism — keeping and moving animals to find grazing.
• Subsistence farming — growing food mainly to feed the family, not sell.
• Barter — trading goods without money (e.g., fish for grain).
• Clan — a large family group with shared ancestors and rights to land.

9. Activities for class or home

1. Make a small poster showing one community (e.g., Maasai or Luo): list their main resources and economic activities with drawings.
2. Role-play a market: some students are farmers, some are fishers, some are craftspersons. Try trading without money.
3. Discuss: How would a drought affect each community (farmers, herders, fishers)? What solutions could they use?

Remember: Different communities used different ways to survive and work. Respecting these systems helps us understand history and how people lived.