On 13 May 2017 the Alliance Francaise in Nairobi, in collaboration with IFRA, the REAL ITN, CNRS and the French Embassy, organized a mini film festival to explore the diversity of scientific documentary films. Part of the film screening was a preview of parts of the REAL web documentary that traces different ways of exploring […]
PAGES open science meeting
Colin Courtney Mustaphi attended the PAGES Past Global Changes open science meeting in Zaragoza, Spain, May 9-13. This included giving a talk on the LandCover6k project efforts to bring together palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data from the East Africa region. A poster on the collaboration of multiple ESRs and project partners was also presented that shows […]
Fighting for land in Laikipia
Newspaper article by Marie Gravesen For those of you who master a Scandinavian language: REAL project member Marie Gravesen has recently published a background article in the Danish newspaper ‘information’ on the current situation in Laikipia, Kenya, where land invasions and uncertainty have been building up before the election. You can find the article on […]
New article on conflict resolution and crime surveillance in Kenya by REAL researcher Eric Kioko
REAL project member Eric Kioko published an article on “Conflict Resolution and Crime Surveillance in Kenya: Local Peace Committees and Nyumba Kumi” in Africa Spectrum. The article describes local peace committees and Nyumba Kumi institutional innovations for conflict resolution and crime surveillance in the Kenyan context and questions the effectiveness of hybrid governance arrangements. Finding reveal […]
New collaborative paper on charcoal studies
A new collaborative paper is out about the need to develop a database of modern charcoal deposition from wildfires in sediments and soils has been published in the journal Quaternary International. Three members of the REAL project: Colin Mustaphi, Esther Githumbi and Rob Marchant, as well as Rebecca Muthoni from the National Museums of Kenya, […]
Turning Conflict into Coexistence
PhD Thesis by REAL ESR Eric Kioko Published Online How do formerly violent conflicts develop into peaceful relations? How does competition turn into cooperation, facilitating changing land use? In his recently published PhD thesis REAL researcher Eric Kioko investigates these questions for the Maasai/Kikuyu agro-pastoral borderlands of Maiella and Enoosupukia in Kenya’s Rift Valley. Despite […]
Call for Applications Scientific Video Training
REAL ITN co-hosts practice based video training for scientists 8-13 May 2017, deadline for applications 10 April 2017 Together with the French Institute for Research in Africa (IFRA) and the French Embassy in Nairobi, REAL is hosting a training session on how to produce scientific movies. In collaboration with the Africa Digital Media Institute in […]
Large Scale ‘Green’ Investments in Tanzania
New Publication by REAL Researcher Mats Widgren in The Journal of Peasant Studies In the latest issue of The Journal of Peasant Studies, Mikael Bergius, Tor A. Benjaminsen and REAL researcher Mats Widgren explore how the green economy mights materialize in Africa by discussing the case of the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT). […]
Field Diary Issue 2
The Challenges Undisclosed reflecting on the invisible experiences of doctoral fieldwork This special issue of Field Diary, guest edited by Liz Storer and Anna Shoemaker, is the second online publication in the Field Diary series produced by the REAL project. The mere invocation of ‘the field’ conjures up representations of adventure, understanding, challenges, deep connection and loneliness. […]
Results published on crowd-sourcing priority research questions for historical ecology
How can archaeology contribute to an ecologically sustainable future? In a paper published in the open access journal PLOS ONE titled Anthropological contributions to historical ecology: 50 questions, infinite prospects REAL project members Anna Shoemaker, Nik Petek and Paul Lane explore this issue. The paper presents the result of crowd-sourcing hundreds of key questions for historical ecology from researchers […]
Congratulations!
REAL proudly presents its two new PhDs, Eric Mutisya Kioko and Maxmillian Chuhila Both Eric Mutisya Kioko and Maxmillian Chuhila had their PhD defence in late 2016. Congratulations, well done!
Ethnogenesis and Surplus Food Production
New Article by Nik Petek and Paul Lane REAL researchers Nik Petek and Paul Lane have recently published an article on the ethnogenesis of the Ilchamus and the food production capacity of the irrigation system in Baringo. Have a look: http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/2Xs9p5pQFKSrMS5Y3tEu/full