Projects
Land rights advocacy by NGOs and community members in Kenya: a comic
Project
This comic illustrates the interplay between NGOs, communities and community leaders in advocating for land rights in Kenya. Research was conducted in the Mui Basin of Kenya between 2018-2022. The Mui Basin is located in a semi-arid area where most inhabitants engage in subsistence farming. There are few business opportunities due to the isolated location, the absence of infrastructure, and the lack of markets and fair prices for agricultural products. A plan for coal mining in Mui was initiated in 2010 and formally announced in 2013, but has thus far not materialized. Inhabitants fear forced displacement and pollution of their environment.
The community has repeatedly complained about the lack of information from the investors and the government. A number of NGOs have been visiting the Mui Basin to assist the population. This comic focuses on a local NGO that has long been active in the region and has sought to mobilise people against the mining plans, and its interaction with community members and representatives. The comics form part a project on community-based legitimacy funded by NWO-WOTRO Science for Global Development in the Netherlands.
Client
Maaike has an interdisciplinary background in social sciences with a focus on anthropology, human rights and rights-based development.
Her research focuses on social and political activism at various levels: community, regional and (trans)national. She particularly looks at issues of voice, representation and legitimacy within rights-based advocacy.
Maaike Matelski
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Vrije Universiteit
It was a pleasure to collaborate with RIVA Illustrations. Fiammetta and Till were very helpful in guiding the project and provided generous input and suggestions. The comics were shared with the depicted NGO and community members in draft form and in the final printed version, and they were very pleased with the result.
Artist
Till was born on Valentines Day 1991 in Berlin, Germany. Since then he spent a lot of time drawing comics and studied first at the University of Arts in Berlin, then at the University of the West of England in Bristol. He is the author of 4 books which have been translated into a number of different languages. My first two books Tuff Ladies: 24 Remarkable Women of History and Dur*e*s à cuire present the lives of 110 interesting historical figures whilst his second book “Something in the Water” is a scientific adventure story that he wrote and drew for ERC Comics. The story deals with crystallography and the origins of life. His fourth book is a coming of age story capturing the everyday life of a German teenager. He won the first prize at the Ligatura Pitching and the second prize at the Fumetto Comics competition.
