The Mursi Encountering the Other: challenging hierarchies of knowledge and power
South Omo Zone, a lowland area of Ethiopia close to the borders with Kenya and South Sudan, has undergone rapid and unprecedented change in recent decades. Customary livelihoods have been undermined by land-grabbing for sugar plantations, national parks and hydro-electric projects. The inhabitants of South Omo are often marginalized from decision making processes that impact their land, livestock and livelihoods. Yet, far from lacking agency or knowledge, the people of the area are keen to communicate alternative narratives about development and share their aspirations and worries for the future. The richness in expertise derives from their daily experience of their localities but also deep reflection on how it is changing. A partnership between SOAS University of London, the Institute of Peace and Security Studies at Addis Ababa University, and the South Omo Theatre Company has, since 2022, supported more than fifty research projects covering a range of subjects including pro- and ante-natal health care, mobile schools, changing land use, and the impacts of climate change on customary livelihoods. These and other topics were determined, and projects led, by researchers representing the Arbore, Banna, Bodi, Daasanach, Mursi, Nyangatom and Hamer communities. Bardoley Tula, Mercy Mulugeta, Richard Axelby and Emma Crewe will reflect on their experiences of this coalition.