What We Do

Since its founding in 2019, the Centre for Research and Development in Drylands (CRDD) has become a recognized leader in community-centered research, knowledge co-production, and policy influence across Kenya's drylands and the wider Horn of Africa.

CRDD supports dryland communities, local institutions, and emerging scholars through participatory research, capacity strengthening, and locally driven development. Our programming reflects a commitment to grounded, inclusive approaches that amplify indigenous knowledge systems, pastoralist innovation, and community governance mechanisms.

We work across key thematic areas:

Research and Evidence Co-Production

CRDD conducts policy-oriented, transdisciplinary research that brings together scientific and indigenous knowledge systems. Our areas of inquiry include:

Rangeland governance and mobility
Dryland climate resilience and uncertainty
Conflict transformation and peace systems
Gendered adaptation and women's agency
Early warning, food security, and local institutions

We engage communities throughout the research cycle—from framing questions to sharing and applying findings.

Capacity Development and Learning

CRDD trains and supports a wide spectrum of dryland actors through:

The Drylands Summer School, focused on resilience from below
Junior Fellowship Programs for emerging dryland researchers
Community-based training in participatory mapping, early warning, and institutional strengthening
Technical training for county governments, CBOs, and traditional authorities

We emphasize peer learning, grounded facilitation, and applied methodologies, ensuring that capacity building contributes directly to locally led development.

Policy Engagement and Influence

CRDD works to ensure that the knowledge, voices, and priorities of dryland communities inform:

County development planning and resource allocation
National policies on livestock, climate change, food systems, and mobility
Regional and international frameworks on resilience and humanitarian action

Through policy dialogues, briefs, and collaborative platforms, CRDD acts as a bridge between the local and the global.

Innovation and Knowledge Mobilization

We co-create and test new tools, approaches, and narratives for:

Mobile-based early warning and grazing planning
Community-designed climate adaptation strategies
Storytelling, blogs, and visual knowledge sharing
Participatory digital mapping and planning platforms

Innovation at CRDD is community-rooted, not technology-led—our priority is accessibility, relevance, and local ownership.

CRDD's work is shaped by a simple but powerful belief: pastoralists are not vulnerable recipients of aid—they are active agents of adaptation, knowledge, and governance.