Landscape, time and cultural resilience: a brief history of agriculture in Pokot and Marakwet, Kenya

Matthew I. J. Davies and Henrietta L. Moore

Journal of Eastern African Studies, 2016, vol. 10, issue 1, 67-87

Abstract: The Marakwet and Pokot communities of northwest Kenya are keen farmers, known notably for their creation of extensive pre-colonial irrigation networks. Over the last century both communities have been subjected to a range of external agricultural interventions but Marakwet and Pokot farming remains largely based on practices with a deeper history. We argue, however, that this continuity through time also masks smaller-scale innovations, movements and changes that attest to a dynamic, yet hidden ‘cultural resilience' spanning several centuries. We explore this deeper history through a range of archaeological, ethnographic and historical data and use this analysis to re-think the various agricultural narratives and interventions previously employed in the region.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1080/17531055.2015.1134417

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