In many ways, this book has been a collaborative project despite it being a single-author piece. Many have offered their support to me, without whom I would not have been able to carry this project through – at least, the product would have been markedly different.
I would therefore like to extent a note of gratitude to the people in Laikipia who kindly opened their homes to me and entrusted me with their stories. This project would not have been possible without your trust and generosity. To my two brilliant research assistants, ‘E’ and ‘H,’ for giving me invaluable support – helping me to make sense of the things we saw and heard. To all the colleagues with whom I shared the joys and frustrations of doing fieldwork. A special thanks to Anna for being such an inspiration with your dedication and persistence.
To my friends and colleagues at the University of Cologne for creating such a safe space in which to share and challenge each other’s ideas – a space for being colleagues rather than competitors. To Michael Bollig and David Anderson for giving me the opportunity to come under their supervision. Thank you for challenging me to think in new directions, for confronting my weaknesses, for opening doors for me and for trusting me to figure things out for myself after giving me a hint. To the University of Cologne, the a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School and the EU Commission under Framework 7 for financial support. To my colleagues in the Resilience in East African Landscapes (REAL) project for sharing the adventure with me and for making the many meetings and workshops enjoyable. Thanks for meeting our inter-disciplinary collaboration with curiosity rather than opposition. To the people at the Centre of African Studies (CAS) in Copenhagen for offering me a place to work. A special thanks to Amanda Hammar and Stig Jensen for making me feel welcome, and to Hannah and Julie for sharing the long working days along the way.
To my family for being compassionate. To my grandmother, who passed away while I was in Northern Kenya. Thank you for always being generous and kind, for believing in me even when my decisions to move in different directions have not always been understandable. To my wonderful friends in Copenhagen for reminding me where and who I ought to be when I occasionally drifted away. And lastly, to Joshua for enriching my life with so much love, joy and relentless encouragement. Thank you for inspiring me to be the best version of myself every single day.