Reports
︎︎︎ Lamu Food: A Story of Oscillating Relationships between Bodies, Spaces and Time
Our research traces the stories of food on Lamu Island, where different actors use food as a method to navigate daily challenges, leverage their status, and highlight gender advantages and social connections, hence exploring new business opportunities. Food has become a new technology to access earning opportunities, hence reimagining and recreating urban spaces. Conversely, we examine how this access shapes the uniqueness of Lamu's food culture, fostering value exchange both materially and culturally. This sustains a connection to traditions while providing hope for a future that may or may not be tied to the food business.
Everyday life, sensory ethnography, urban foodscapes, domestic space
︎︎︎ The Lifecycle of Disposability: Perspectives from Lamu
What is truly disposable? This seemingly simple question reveals more than meets the eye. It is a question that relates to what we consider less important, less valuable, and less necessary. It encourages us to reflect on the ease with which we grant both material and immaterial things worthlessness. How is it that we view certain objects and even people as disposable, and what are the wider consequences of this disposability?
Waste, Waste Pickers, Stigmatization, Colonialism, Environmental Injustice
︎︎︎ Of Jinns, Relations and Archipelagos: Relationality and Spiritual Practices on Lamu Island, Kenya.
This paper presents an examination of spirituality on Lamu Island, Kenya through a relational lens. It considers relationality the starting point of connections across space. It situates Lamu at the nexus of studies on spirituality and urban maritime literature, which establishes novel interconnections between maritime literature, relationality, and spirituality. By exploring the role of jinns (spirits) and spiritual practices on the island, it reveals the role of spirituality in Lamu as a means of cultural and historical relationality to the wider Indian Ocean world, where multiple spiritual practices intersect. Some of these spiritual practices are surrounded by water and made possible through embodiment, while others are pulled ashore, fostering relationality in both particular spaces on the fringes of water and land and in a broader scope of translocal connectivities or brought into being and adapted by the currents of modernity. Together they create an archipelagic space of connections between Lamu and distant urban locals that are both geographical, bodily and more-than-material, which demonstrates that spirituality circulates through numerous spaces in Lamu and across the Indian Ocean as process and result of many relations at a time.
Spirituality, relationality, jinns, spiritual practices, Indian Ocean, embodiment, water, land, translocal connectivities, archipelagic space
︎︎︎ Complexity and Contradiction in Ecology
This project explores ethical perspectives on environmentalism in Lamu, Kenya, through an interview with an Ustadh and a community organizer. Islamic teachings emphasize balance and responsibility toward nature, yet in practice, economic and survival needs shape interactions with the environment. The discussion reveals a hierarchy of beings, where nature has rights but is used for productivity. The ethical tension between religious doctrine, local livelihoods, and environmental activism highlights differing views on nature’s rights.
Environmentalism, ethics, Islam, livelihoods, activism, conservation, sustainability, community.
︎︎︎ Mangroves nursery-raising under Lamu’s urban culture
In 2001, Lamu was listed as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations for its unique culture. The locals have well-preserved coral stone buildings, and the wood used to build the houses are mostly mangroves. As an important source of economy, mangrove forests are very fantastic tourist attractions. They support many kinds of
fish and other marine lives, and also have a very good effect on protecting the local natural environment. So for the locals, mangroves are the basis of their survival and also part of their culture. However, Kenya is currently vigorously developing industry and building various infrastructure. For example, Lamu Port, Lamu’s population is growing rapidly and the level of urbanization is also increasing. Mangroves are facing threats such as over-logging and climate change, so how to protect mangroves and preserve local culture is very important and necessary. By exploring the “nursery-raising” of mangroves in collaboration with different institutions, the writer tries to explain how people can establish a relationship with mangroves and enhance awareness of protecting nature and culture in this way.
fish and other marine lives, and also have a very good effect on protecting the local natural environment. So for the locals, mangroves are the basis of their survival and also part of their culture. However, Kenya is currently vigorously developing industry and building various infrastructure. For example, Lamu Port, Lamu’s population is growing rapidly and the level of urbanization is also increasing. Mangroves are facing threats such as over-logging and climate change, so how to protect mangroves and preserve local culture is very important and necessary. By exploring the “nursery-raising” of mangroves in collaboration with different institutions, the writer tries to explain how people can establish a relationship with mangroves and enhance awareness of protecting nature and culture in this way.
World Heritage Site, coral stone, mangroves, infrastructure development, urbanization, climate change, culture.
︎︎︎ Conflicting Scales and Ambitions:
Kenyas Blue Economy in times environmental decline
Kenyas Blue Economy in times environmental decline
In recent years the Kenyan government has used the term Blue Economy while strengthening the formerly weak governance of its coast and maritime domain. Harriet Mboce and Robert McCabe (2021) describe the developments as turning from a ‘sea blind’ nation into one with a ‘sea vision’. While Mboce and McCabe focus on security politics, I look more into the different ideas, ambitions and challenges related to Blue Economy within the domain of fisheries. Through interviews with county government representatives, fisheries officers as well as fishermen and representatives of NGOs, I found a divergence between the aspired outcomes of several recent foreign funded projects and the in-situ observed accounts of the current challenges in the fisheries. Achieving the ambitions formulated within the Blue Economy strategies becomes more urgent as the costal ecosystem experiences stress from various sides.
Blue Economy, fisheries, governance, security politics, foreign-funded projects, coastal ecosystems
︎︎︎ Sustainable Futures:
Mama na Bahari at the Intersection of Gender Justice and Climate Action in Lamu, Kenya
Mama na Bahari at the Intersection of Gender Justice and Climate Action in Lamu, Kenya
This paper investigates the intersection of Islamic feminism, decolonial feminism, and environmental justice in Lamu, Kenya, focusing on women's roles, opportunities, challenges, and contributions to environmental conservation and social justice. Through an intersectional approach, this paper highlights the experiences and perspectives of women engaged in the fishing industry. This focus is significant given that women bear the brunt of climate disasters, such as droughts and floods, as highlighted during field immersion and in scientific literature. The exhibition "Mama na Bahari" (Mother and the Sea) is a foundational element, demonstrating the impact of women's efforts in the fishing industry and their broader social and environmental influences. Fieldwork in Lamu reveals that sustainability is linked to environmental justice, which is unachievable without ensuring gender justice. This study employs qualitative methods, including interviews, literature review, and participatory observation, to explore how decolonial and ecofeminist principles manifest in Lamu, mainly through the voices and initiatives of local women. The findings underscore the interconnected nature of gender, environment, and power and advocate for integrating gender justice with environmental sustainability for sustainable and equitable development.
Ecofeminism, fishing industry, environemental justice, gender justice
︎︎︎ Mama na Bahari: An analysis of the involvement of women in the fishing industry in Lamu, Kenya
The research project Mama na Bahari deals with the involvement of women in the fishing industry in Lamu, Kenya. Men dominate the fishing industry, while women are mainly involved in processing or specialize in squid fishing. These women encounter traditional barriers through their entry into this industry. Nevertheless, they operate within the traditional structures where women and men take on separate areas of responsibility, while continuing to take on the traditional role of housework and childcare.
Women, fishing industry, octopus fishing, Islam
︎︎︎ Tides of Change
Archipelagic mobility is central to local livelihoods in Lamu, as fishing and mangrove harvesting rely on an ability to move freely across the watery spaces of the region. The paper investigates the implications of LAPSSET on these mobility patterns and current livelihoods, shedding light on infrastructural violence and market-driven resource exploitation.
Infrastructure, mobility, archipelago, mapping, livelihoods, restrictions, Mkanda
Amidst the ongoing construction of the port, this paper offers an impressionistic reflection on its impact within diverse social groups. It delves into infrastructure and development on an aesthetic plane of conception, dwelling on imaginaries and the connotative baggage of the project.
Infrastructure, ethnography, imaginaries, livelihoods
Securitisation efforts are focused not only on LAPSSET infrastructure and construction sites but also on tourist areas and everyday spaces.
This study explores everyday perceptions of security and how it impacts property relations, social inequality, and urban development in the context of state-sanctioned securitisation.
Securitisation, everyday life, property, social inequality, urban development, Lamu, Shela
Maweni stands at the intersection of coral stone exploitation and potential urban and industrial development spurred by LAPSSET. The paper examines how race impacts the dynamics of stone extraction and access to land, revealing the anti-blackness that perpetuates marginalisation in Manda Maweni.
Blackness, identity, ethnic marginalisation, land, material, territoriality, livelihood, Manda
︎︎︎Fixators of Oppression in Space
This paper delves into the links between property, belonging, and power dynamics in Lamu; exploring historical, emotional, and spatial dimensions to better comprehend the forces that shape social hierarchies and cultural identity.
Property, belonging, power, identity, heirarchy, land, territoriality
"Nymbani ni Nymbani" (Home is Home) is a short film based on a series of life story interviews and urban walks with IDPs who fled the mainland during the Shifta War, aiming to uncover how their memories of displacement and hopes of return are shared in Lamu and how they impact political claims to address historical and ongoing injustices.
Displacement, belonging, IDP, Bajuni, Shifta, Violence, LAPSSET, Memories, Archipelago, Ethnic identity, Kenya
︎︎︎ Where is Home? Displacement and Belonging in Lamu’s Archipelago
This study analyses the sense of belonging among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Lamu’s urban archipelago. Through interviews and city walks, it uncovers the complex relationship between displacement, belonging, identity, LAPSSET and the archipelagic social dynamics.
Displacement, belonging, IDP, Bajuni, Shifta, Violence, LAPSSET, Memories, Archipelago, Ethnic identity, Kenya
︎︎︎ Dwelling in Transition
This paper is an investigation into evolving domestic culture in Lamu. The study delves into women's perspectives, experiences, and negotiations with builders concerning their domestic spaces.
Domestic culture, gender, dwelling, population growth, tradition, transition