Achieving self-reliance among refugees is favoured by many international organisations, though hardly achieved for refugee camps. In many cases, deprived of their human rights, located in remote areas and without access to the local labour market, encamped refugees have no other opportunity than turning to negative coping mechanisms to survive, including sex work, child labour, crime and dangerous work in the informal sector. This book concentrates on measuring self-reliance and identifying factors influencing it in camp settings.

Anna-Mara Schön has recently finished her Phd at the University of Kassel, Germany. Her research interests are human rights, self-reliance, refugees, gender equality, power dynamics, but also local organic agriculture.