St. Lawrence University
Kenya Semester Program

Field Components of the Core Course

The Rural Agricultural Component
After a few days of program orientation in Nairobi, students travel to a rural agricultural area in Kenya. Each student spends 6 days with his/her host family, fitting in to the work and daily routines of the family. The academic focus is on family relationships and the impact of modern education and foreign religions (aspects of culture), natural resources such as farmland, water and vegetation (aspects of the environment), and land use and subsistence strategies, handicrafts and local markets (aspects of development).

Two mid-program field components
At about the 5th week and again at about the 9th week, students participate in two field components. The first of these is one week long and focuses more on 'Culture and Development.' The other is 10 days long and focuses on the three themes of the core course: Culture, Environment and Development. In each case we strive to have students learn directly from leaders in the host communities; we ensure that these communities have a say in the design of our program and benefit economically from our component.

In the first component, students travel to Tanzania with Dorobo Safaris, spending time with Maasai pastoralist community located close to a large game preserve. Among the Maasai, students learn about the governance structure of the Vijiji (the villages set up under the Ujamaa policy) and how this contributes to or retards development. Students then spend three days with the Hadza, a hunter-gatherer group to learn about and experience their lifestyle. They explore how the Hadza's lifestyle and culture are affected by globalization, government policies, conflicts and neighboring pastoralist tribes, education and development.

In the second component, students will go on one of the following three possibilities:
Nakuru/Shompole, Nakuru/Samburu or Amboseli

This component focuses on two main themes:

• pastoralist (Maasai or Samburu) culture and livelihood. Students will examine the evolving pastoralist culture and livelihood in the face of globalization, dominance of the market economy, loss of land, hostile government policies, expanding human and livestock populations, modernization and development, and the incorporation of agriculture and tourism into the traditional pastoralist economy. Students will learn and discuss with the host communities the evolving gender roles, land tenure and land use issues, education, development, governance and management of natureal resources.
• environment and conservation

The Urban Component
During the time that students are taking classes in Nairobi, they spend 3 weeks in an urban home stay in or around Nairobi. Students commute to classes in town. Students most often are placed two to a family, and the families typically are professional, middle-class people who come from a variety of ethnic communities. This home stay allows students to see the transition of Kenyan families from an agriculture-based life to the urban culture of Nairobi. Field trips to various parts of the city focus on the environmental, social and cultural challenges facing Kenya’s rapidly-growing cities.