
CRC-TRR 228
Envisioning the Future of Rural Africa
Latest CRC News
Research Initiative 2023: Sharing a Planet In Peril
The interrelated crises associated with Global Environmental Change (GEC) – including biodiversity loss, climate change and the depletion of soils and waters – are mounting …
The Promises and Perils of Infrastructure – Envisioning Desirable Futures in the Global South: Future Rural Africa at DKG ’23
The German Geography Association “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geographie (DGfG)” and the Institutes of Physical Geography and Institute of Human Geography at Frankfurt University are conducting …
Publication: Hope and Path Development in ‘Left-Behind’ Places – a Southern Perspective
By Gideon Tups, Enock Sackala and Peter Dannenberg, Project C01 Future in Chains. AbstractDespite universalising ambition, the literature on ‘left-behind’ places is dominated by viral, …
Can Conservation and Agriculture Work together for Inclusive Regional Development in the Zambezi Region?
Blog Post by Carolin Hulke, Project C01 “Future in Chains”. Future Rural Africa Subproject C01 “Future in Chains” studies socio-ecological transformation in cross-border growth corridors, …
Publication: Bursting Pipes and Broken Dreams – On Ruination and Reappropriation of Large-Scale Water Infrastructure in Baringo County, Kenya
By David Greven, Project C02 “Energy Futures” Abstract In the course of Kenya’s Vision 2030 development plan, the Kenyan Northern Rift Valley recently became the …
Publication: Suspending Ruination – Preserving the Ambiguous Potentials of a Kenyan Flower Farm
By Anna Lisa Ramella, Mario Schmidt (Poject C06 “Testing Futures”) and Megan A. Styles (University of Illinois Springfield) Abstract This article focuses on the financial …
[DE] Boas Blog: “Content Warning? Kritische und sensible Wissensvermittlung in der ethnologischen Lehre”
In dieser Ausgabe der “Contested Knowledge” Serie der Boasblogs befassen sich Hauke-Peter Vehrs (Future Rural Africa Projekt A04 “Future Conservation”), Lamine Doumbia (Universität Bayreuth) Katrin …
Publication: In the Ruins of Past Lives – Remembering, Belonging and Claiming in Katimok, Highland Rural Kenya
By Léa Lacan, Project A04 “Future Conservation” Abstract This article explores how local inhabitants living near the Katimok Forest in Baringo County, Kenya, engage with …
CRC-TRR 228 Future Rural Africa Researcher Evelyne Owino at the Conference on Natural Resource Management and Conflict in Africa
TUE I June 27, 2023 I Copenhagen, Denmark Evelyne Owino, researcher from Project B03 “Violent Futures” gave a presentation at the Conference on Natural Resource …
Video Lecture: Women Missionaries and Colonial Silences in Kenya’s Female “Circumcision” Controversy, 1906-30 – David Anderson
David Anderson, Project A02 “Past Futures” gave a presentation as part of the Faculty Lecture Series on 26 November 2022. Find the full video lecture …
Workshop: Imposter Syndrome – A Mindful Approach to Imposter Experiences
On Monday, the 19th of June, 2023, CRC female researchers met in a workshop on “Imposter Syndrome: A Mindful Approach to Imposter Experiences” initiated by …
Cologne International Forum: Project Interview ERC Rewilding
The Cologne International Forum met with Léa Lacan, who is a researcher in the ERC Rewilding project and an associate team member of CRC-TRR 228 …
Future Rural Africa Researcher Fenny Ndapewa Nakanyete Panelist at ECAS 2023 Opening Roundtable: Is there a Future for African Studies In Europe?
CRC-TRR 228 Future Rural Africa researcher Fenny Ndapewa Nakanyete (Project C01 Future in Chains; middle) was part of the panel of the opening day roundtable …
Online Lecture: The Contest for Caprivi: Tshekedi Khama & Bechuanaland’s Bid for Control – David Anderson
Wed | June 21, 2023 | 17:30 CEST Join us for 9th episode of Ko Isong public lecture organised by The Botswana Society: Click here …
New Publication: Large Infrastructure Projects and Cascading Land Grabs – The Case of Northern Kenya
By Evelyne Owino (Project B03 Violent Futures), Kennedy Mkutu (Project B03 Violent Futures) and Charis Enns. Abstract From around the beginning of the current millennium, …
Picture: Nairobi, Kenya © wollwerth, Envato Elements
Our Projects
Exploring Future Making and Social-Ecological Transformation in Rural Africa
The CRC is structured in three project groups, each organized around a bridging concept that addresses specific aspects of SET and future-making. Project group A (‘coupling’) studies the articulation between social and ecological subsystems, B (‘boundaries’) looks at the shifting zones of interaction and confrontation, and C (‘linkages’) explores cross-scalar drivers, connections and causations. Empirical research focusses on development hubs in the Kenyan Rift Valley (KRV), the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT), and the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA). The CRC builds upon profound research experience from the applicants and African partners, amplifies the unique combination of expertise at the universities of Bonn and Cologne, fosters partnerships with scholars and scientific institutions in Africa, and aims at making Bonn-Cologne one of the leading centres of innovative research in the emerging field of futures studies and social ecology in Africa.
CRC Events
The CRC Hosts a Variety of Events
We regularly organise a variety of events bringing together academics, experts, the general public and other stakeholders to discuss the results of research conducted within the CRC. The goal is to to explore innovative approaches to future-making in rural Africa and to address some of the challenges arising in the context of our research. Events include the CRC Public Lecture Series, various exhibitions aimed at transfering our research results to a wider audience and internal events such as summer schools, workshops, booklaunches, research-retreats and more.
Our Partners
CRC Members
Our Team of Experts
We are proud to have a talented and dedicated team of researchers and coordinating staff who are working together to achieve our mission. Our team of researchers is made up of individuals from a wide range of disciplines including geography, anthropology, political science, agroeconomics and soil science. The CRC emphasizes international collaboration and the contributions of team members from our African partner institutions are critical for our success.