PerfectSTORM team (Dr Anne van Loon, Dr Marlies Barendrecht, Ruben Weesie, Danai Kontou, Heidi Mendoza, Dini Vermaat) with Africa Wood Grow team (Daniel Muvali, Victor Ochieng, Brian), Naaman Kilonzo (research assistant), and camera crew.

Kenya, February 2025. We finally returned to Kenya to have a great two weeks of workshops! We exchanged our research results on drought & floods in Kitui, and engaged in exciting futuring excercises with agro-pastoralists, scientists, NGOs, and policy makers.

First, we ventured back to the drylands of Kitui. Here, we discussed our research findings with the agro-pastoralists whom had shared their life experiences with droughts and floods two years earlier, during our first fieldwork. It was heartening to be welcomed back so warmly. Reconnecting with these incredible individuals who have been essential to our research was truly rewarding!

During the workshops, we moved from looking to past stories into the future. We conducted imaginative drawing excercises of future farms and rivers more resilient to droughts and floods. Once again, we learned a lot from the participants!

Participants drawing and presenting their current and future imaginaries of farms and rivers in the areas they live.

After two weeks in Kitui, we returned to Nairobi. Ruben presented his research findings in science and policy workshops in Kitui and Nairobi, and Marlies presented the complex socio-hydrological model on drought-flood interactions in the Tiva River basin.

Finally, Heidi led a great interactive session in the policy workshop on drought & flood futures, which sparked much debate about the future among the Kenyan policy makers!

We would like to thank Southeast Kenya University (SEKU), Africa Wood Grow, and the National Drought Management Authority of Kenya for their great efforts in making the visit and workshops very worthwhile. We are looking forward to future collaborations!