Pentagon or Hexagon? Cultural Capital in the Sustainable Rural Livelihood Framework

Department for International Development (DFID) presented the different type of assets on the form of Pentagon which consists five capital assets; natural capital, social capital, human capital, physical capital, and financial capital (Carney, 1998). My critical thought about this pentagon of capital assets is: where is the cultural capital? Why doesn’t it count by DFID? Is cultural capital not a type of assets? I believe that culture is one of the essential parts of a social and ecological system, particularly for rural livelihood, poverty reduction, and sustainable development. Culture is something embedded in the community and individuals that transferred among generations and shaping their continuous-identity (beliefs, values, norms, religion, traditions, etc.). When this inter-generations history and identity connected to the material resources, it may provide essential livelihood option and create human activities in the specific areas for a long period.