Please sponsor my Masters/PhD action research project to investigate how human-nature-culture relationships influence adaptive capacity and resilience in a Luo village of Siaya, Africa. 

Why?

Emerging research suggests that global socio-ecological crises are, at their core, crises of relationship ; resulting in fundamental disconnections from self, others, and the broader ecological and social systems in which we are embedded .

This disconnection, arguably rooted in modern societies' individualistic and extractive mindsets which are enduring habits and legacies of industrialisation and colonisation  (Dennis & Bell, 2020; Hill et al., 2024; Orlove et al., 2023) , contributes to the rising crisis of physiological and mental health, social fragmentation, and unsustainable behaviours that undermine collective resilience and sustainability efforts at the individual, communal, and systemic scales (Bentz et al., 2022; Figueres & Rivett-Carnac, 2020; Ives et al., 2018; Ives et al., 2017; Wamsler & Bristow, 2022; Wamsler et al., 2024; Wamsler et al., 2021; Woiwode et al., 2021). Concurrently, a growing body of research highlights that humans possess intrinsic capacities for connection that can be cultivated and strengthened through targeted interventions which harness deep leverage points for transforming human-nature paradigms from separation to connection (Harry et al., 2024; Wamsler et al., 2023; West et al., 2020) .

That's the super-referenced 'academic speak'.

The question: What can we learn about relationships and resilience in this Luo community?

Basically we are exploring how relationships between humans, culture and nature shape a community's ability to adapt in the face of change; resulting in community-led adaptations rooted in ancestral values, ecological knowledges and intergenerational hope. 

In a decolonised, co-generative, and emergent research methodology, we examine how ontology/cosmology, cultural practices, and embodied ways of knowing inform relationships and resilience. Futures tools empower local participants to reimagine and co-create preferred futures.

Findings from this pilot project can inform policy and practice that so far have been predominately top-down, technocratic and euro-centred. 

Help us to decolonise the present and empower preferred futures by donating to this action research project. 

Impact so far:

Adopted through family connections I am a daughter of the village and have been visiting for over 13 years. 

We have fundraised in the past and contributed to positive change such as;

• Providing mosquito nets - saving lives from deadly malaria
• Planting trees - providing food, fuel, shade and eco-system support
• Sponsoring education - cultural, music, the arts and academia
• Women's empowerment - sponsoring a sewing machine and providing reusable sanitary pads and period underwear
• Permaculture education: training, PDCs and organic farming support

My Luo husband Samoko and our 6 children (one born at home recently in Kenya) are here in Africa for 1 year, reconnecting with family while I complete my Masters/PhD studies. 

Funding:

I am grateful to have received a scholarship that includes my tuition fees and a stipend. So far I have used the living allowance stipend to self-fund this research. Totalling over $9,000 AUD so far and comprising over 50% of the total budget.

I am reaching out to our communities and networks, friends and colleagues, near and far to help with the second half of the budget. We want to continue the work and develop strong partnerships through this pilot project that can be upscaled to other villages and regions.

Collaborations include;

• Partnership with the Siaya County Community Library and the creation of a Culture and Heritage Hub.
• Kochieng Cultural School - Teaching village kids music, piano, guitar, handpan, with a focus on traditional songs and dance. 
• Partnerships with the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST).

Breakdown of Budget Items still to cover:

• Kenya National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI) Research license

• Symbolic contributions to support customary permissions, dialogue, and relationship-building with chiefs, elders, and local authorities in accordance with Luo cultural protocols. (Food, Rice, beans, seeds, financial support)

• Portable printer and printing supplies (ink, paper) are necessary for the production of research materials on-site during fieldwork

• Portable wifi device and solar charger for fieldwork

• Training sessions for community participant researchers - education and empowerment

• Art and participatory creative tools

• Community cultural celebration event (venue, food, transport stipends, local musicians, printing of visual materials): To support ethical closure, shared ownership of findings, and community-led celebration of the research journey

• Participant recruitment (surveys and interviews)
• Local transport costs for Community co-researchers

• Photography and videography

• Audio recording microphones and software

• Community Futures Workshop

• Knowledge sharing: conference attendance
• Seed fund to support community-led action emerging from the research

The benefits of this case study include ethical scholarship contributing to participatory, decolonising research that values Indigenous African voices and cosmologies; theoretical innovation offering alternative ontologies to expand the conceptual scope of resilience thinking; practical relevance that provides grounded examples of how adaptive capacity is cultivated through kinship, culture, and nature-based connections; and global insight to illuminate how place-based resilience in an African village can inform global resilience thinking in the *hopeful* Anthropocene-Symbioscene transition (Albrecht, 2015; Hochachka 2022).

Together we are reconnecting culture, valuing diverse ways of knowing, growing resilience and empowering eco-cultural community change.

But we need your help... 

So please support our fundraiser by contributing a donation, commenting your encouragement and sharing the campaign.