A livelihood is a means of support, something that provides income to live on, especially paid work to secure the necessities of life. Livelihood activities are economic activities that people know, own and undertake to earn income today and into the future. A sustainable livelihood is one which can cope with, and recover from, stresses and shocks and maintain or enhance its assets and capabilities while not undermining the existing resource base (University of Sussex, used by DFID and the World Bank).