Seeds of Hope: Farming, Religion and Climate Change in Western Kenya

• Applicant: Dr. Julian Sommerschuh
• Subject Area: Social and Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 565499937

How is it possible to have hope in the face of climate change? For smallholder farmers in western Kenya, climate change is an existential threat. But rather than expressing fear or despair, the farmers I spoke to expressed hope. Emphasising their own agency as well as the importance of trusting in God, the farmers suggested that they and their children would be able to continue farming. This project aims to understand the conditions of their hope. To do this, I will examine the interplay between farmers' religion and their agricultural way of life in the face of environmental challenges. By focusing on local conceptions of hope and the practices through which hope is cultivated, the project offers a counterpoint to the widespread focus on negative climate emotions such as fear and anxiety. The theoretical aim of the project is to theorise the emergence of hope from a phenomenological perspective.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants