The organisation formerly known as Samburu Lowlands Research Centre is now known simply as Samburu Research. This name change took effect on Friday July 12th 2019, when we terminated our agreement with a local lowlands camp site in the interests of a more flexible research model covering a wider geographic area.
Samburu Research retains the same objectives, policies and standards, and will continue its research in the County, protecting and continuing to build its record of ethical operations, shared community benefit from all locally conducted research, and open and accessible publication of its outputs. We will also continue to work with researchers to help develop bespoke research projects and assist you in finding suitable locations to base your party, as well as bringing you together with appropriate local contacts. We can advise and facilitate all kinds of projects in the County, whether for field groups from universities or other academic organisations, for private individuals with particular areas of interest, or for individual researchers. Please contact us if you require any further information. We look forward to working with you!
Samburu Research has hosted individuals and small groups of researchers at Lengusaka in the past, but we have invested significantly in recent months to upgrade facilities to host larger groups. The new larger facility officially opens in the summer of 2019 when we welcome our inaugural university group.
In the summer of 2016, William Rubel visited the Research Station to continue work with local colleagues on the Samburu Milk project, focusing in particular on the Northern Maa dictionary of milk-related terms, a major research output from the last 5 years of research visits, and a key work-in progress. He was joined by his daughter Stella, a junior researcher-in-training, who provided valuable information gathering, interviewing and documentation support. Also joining the research group was Thor Lehman, a Masters student in the Anthropology department (Masters Anthropology of Food) at SOAS (the School of Oriental & African Studies), University of London, conducting on-the-ground research for his Masters thesis on the food of the Samburu.