Thirteen years ago, Billy Jones moved from United Kingdom to Baringo in northern Kenya. He spent four years there and observed how Western NGOs operated locally, implementing various projects aimed at lifting people out of poverty.
Many of the local residents are pastoralists, meaning they depend on animal husbandry, often in harsh and unforgiving environments. In recent years, their way of life has become significantly more difficult. Climate change brings severe droughts, coupled with floods and other weather events that disrupt growing seasons and access to pasture. Combined with a growing population and the pressures of modernisation – including a market economy where people must earn money to pay for schooling and healthcare – life has become increasingly challenging.
This is where development organisations come in. According to Billy Jones, Baringo has become something of a test bed for aid initiatives. Although these projects are well-intentioned, the outcomes are often disappointing. Billy Jones witnessed many of them fail; sometimes being repeated several times despite previous setbacks.
A reversed perspective is needed
‘I wondered why there wasn’t more effort to listen to the local people, and that question stayed with me into my doctoral research. I wanted to understand how these organisations operate and how we might reverse the perspective – working from the bottom up, based on the needs of the people on the ground,’ says Billy Jones.
That question became the focus of his doctoral studies at the Division of Ethnology and the university’s interdisciplinary Agenda 2030 Graduate School. Initially, the plan was for Billy Jones to return to Baringo for extensive fieldwork. But on the very day his fieldwork was approved by the university, the Covid-19 pandemic hit and all plans were derailed.
Instead of shifting his research direction, Billy Jones found a creative solution. He began collaborating with a grassroots organisation and trained two local pastoralists in filming and interview techniques. They became his voice, eyes and ears in the field – and brought with them the local knowledge and networks needed to navigate the area.
Through recorded interviews and phone calls, the fieldwork progressed with Billy Jones working remotely from his desk in Malmö. In total, 36 people – both NGO staff and pastoralists – were interviewed in Baringo.
From a grassroots perspective
‘In many ways, the outcome was actually better than if I’d done it myself. My collaborators were able to ask questions from a real grassroots perspective, and we avoided the postcolonial dynamics that would have been harder to manage with me as the interviewer.’
As the pandemic subsided, Billy Jones was eventually able to spend a few weeks in Kenya. However, he deliberately kept a low profile during the interviews for the same reasons.
What, then, were the key findings of his research? Billy Jones summarises them:
- For a very long time, pastoralists have lived within a predictable system tied to seasonal cycles. But now the conditions have changed. The weather is erratic, and they are hit hard by both drought and flooding. Planning and organising life as before is no longer possible. On top of that comes the pressure of the market economy – the need to generate income in an economically driven society.
- These new conditions demand adaptation. And people are adapting – developing a range of strategies to cope with the changing situation, such as farming grass intensively for fodder and selling livestock through local markets to earn money. But in most cases, it’s about surviving rather than thriving.
- Development projects can succeed – but only if we abandon the standard model of 3–4 year project cycles and invest in long-term infrastructure. Ideas must be rooted in and tailored to local contexts. We need to listen to local communities and build structures together that continue to evolve year after year.
Despite the widespread poverty and the failure of many projects, there were also bright spots. One example was grass cultivation. Several pastoralists interviewed confirmed that their own initiative to sow a mix of indigenous grass varieties was a turning point. The grass withstood droughts and floods better; animals got enough to eat; and some people made a living by buying underweight animals, feeding them well, and selling them on at higher value. They also began selling grass seed and hay – opening up new income opportunities, particularly for women. These results are documented in Billy Jones’ research.
Now, with a successful PhD defence behind him, Billy Jones teaches at Lund University while applying for postdoctoral positions, with hopes of staying in Malmö with his family.
‘I would like to understand more about why NGOs are so locked into rigid structures, and how global narratives shape their actions. I’d love to research the process from idea to implementation – and try to identify alternative approaches,’ he says.
Read more about Billy Jones
Read the thesis Resilient Pastoralism: A Cultural Analysis of Navigating Climate Change, Modernity and the Development Industry in Northern Kenya - Lund University Research Portal