A tree at the meeting table

The REFOOTURE project of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) aims to create win-win-win situations for nature, power holders and the communities who live in and depend on these landscapes for their livelihoods or survival. To achieve this, the team uses distinctive methods. Instead of talking about the future only in abstract terms, participants draw it out visually in so-called vision journeys. Creative expression also plays a role, through singing, drama and sayings.

Researcher Thies Reemer works to promote social justice within food systems. In REFOOTURE, he collaborates with WUR colleagues and East African partner institutes to form an interdisciplinary team. In the Menengai area of Kenya, not far from Nairobi, he collaborates with Egerton University to introduce a regenerative approach for community forest management. 

“In this part of the country there are many small forest areas. People living close to the forest are allowed to use it. They collect firewood, graze livestock, grow potatoes and maize on young forest plots and help prevent forest fires by caring for the area together. Yet too many trees were being cut, too many animals were entering the forest and materials belonging to an energy company were being stolen. The government planned to establish an electric fence around the forest. A small delegation from the community was involved in this. They kept it quiet from the rest of the population because money could be made. The construction and maintenance of the fence would provide paid work, and unemployment is high in the area. The fence was doomed to fail: the population depending on the forest would most likely demolish it.

Thies continues: “Many of these people can read or write only to a limited extent and institutions look down on them. To ensure they can still take part, we develop the “Collaborate to Regenerate” approach that guides them in stages to draw the future of the area. We call this vision journeys: the step-by-step development of a landscape vision on paper, supported by all stakeholders. This way of working is surprisingly effective. It helps to make clear what the current situation is, what is going wrong and how we can improve it. It also exposes painful power relations that can then change almost playfully, without causing the powerful to lose face”, he says.

The REFOOTURE Collaborate to Regenerate approach provides a way forward. Communities in Kenya organised themselves into interest groups and created vision journeys with matching songs and a renewed understanding of what nature means to them. They can now take their place at the decision-making table together with ‘Mama Menengai’, a metaphor for the forest’s unheard voice. Agreements have been made with the government on access, use and protection of the forest, which ultimately benefits everyone.

Not only the local population, but the forest itself is given a voice. “At the meeting table we literally place a chair for a sapling from the forest. This creates space for nature’s perspective. The plant receives a glass of water just like anyone else and fully takes part. The facilitator asks the plant questions, turns it into a little play and invites participants to imagine themselves as the tree. This leads to unexpected insights and helps participants see and include the interests of nature. It is truly unique to this project and helps keep the value of nature sharply in focus. It encourages people not to see nature as something that can be endlessly exploited, but as an ally. In this way we work towards an inclusive and therefore future-proof food system”, Thies says.

Alongside Kenya, REFOOTURE is active in Ethiopia and Uganda. “Each community faces different challenges. We try to draw on local cultures and traditions. In Uganda we work in the Arilo community in Yumbe District, where people maintain a strong spiritual connection with their ancestors. We may invite them to hold an imagined conversation with their ancestors about nature, or even with the next, unborn generation. We also speak directly with a tree or the river through role play. Participants had to imagine themselves as ‘the river’ or ‘the shea tree’ and hold a conversation with others about their interests. This is how we bring nature into the change process.”

WUR works with Muni University in Uganda, Egerton University in Kenya and Jimma University and the Wageningen Research Ethiopia Foundation (SWR-E) in Ethiopia. Sandra Langi, a researcher from Uganda at Muni University, says: “It is wonderful to bring people together. We work out how to encourage and strengthen their confidence so they can voice their wishes for the future. We contribute to a shared aim of building a healthier ecosystem and a stronger community. In Uganda we focused on protecting indigenous trees and on reusing waste and composting. It has worked very well and I am really proud of that.”

In Ethiopia, the researchers work in the Wanja Kerssa community in the Oromia region. Small factories for processing harvested coffee stand in the middle of the forest. Generally, almost ninety percent of coffee beans becomes waste. The process releases many chemicals and factories use treatments to reduce odour in wastewater. This leads to pollution, with harmful effects on people and wildlife. “It is a problem that affects everyone. We work together to find practical solutions: separating waste streams and preventing chemicals from entering the water. We explore producing briquettes from the coffee waste. People can use these briquettes as fuel, which reduces the need to cut trees. The company can dispose of its waste cheaply, disease risks fall and people gain employment by producing the briquettes.”

“A real win-win-win for everyone”, Thies says with a smile. “Through REFOOTURE, WUR is bringing people and nature together in a unique way for a better future.”

Muni University Oeganda, Egerton University Kenia, Jimma University and Stichting Wageningen Research Ethiopia (SWR-E).