The Future of Community-Engaged Research is Bright

This article was written by Tammara Soma, who is a former Researcher-in-Residence with SFU CERi and recipient of the Emerging Community-Engaged Researcher Award at the 2023 SFU CERi Awards. Dive in to this article to learn about Soma's recent experiences in Tanzania, and why the future of community-engaged research is promising!

Recently, I had the privilege of taking eight wonderful and bright students on a transformative international field school to Tanzania. In partnership with Aga Khan University’s Arusha Climate Environmental Research Centre, the international Climate Resilient Food Systems course provided my students with the opportunity to learn directly and collaborate with Maasai elders from the Nashipay Maasai initiative on a cultural preservation and heritage project. They listened to teachings from the Elders deeply, approached situations with humility, and spent every day critically reflecting on their experiences, positionality and worldview.  I have first-hand knowledge of the transformative impact that being a community-engaged researcher has on my heart and my mind. Little did I know how applicable CER is to almost everything I do at SFU outside of research, including how it impacts my teaching approach and why I believe it is important to introduce students to the principles of CER.

When I heard my students in Tanzania speak about the importance of building relationships, ensuring that research is meaningful and not extractive, and equitable partnerships, I know that the future of CER is in good hands. The seeds have been planted, and I am confident they will turn into good trees. I felt the same awe in my students, as I did when I first took sight of the majestic Baobab tree (also called the “Tree of Life” for its contributions to the habitat and medicinal properties) in Tarangire national park. They are resilient, strong and adaptable scholars, and CER can help equip students with those skills. When we finally left the Boma (village) that we were staying in and said our goodbyes, Mzee (Elder) Clamian Kitesho reminded my students and I that in Maasai culture, it’s not goodbye, but “it’s see you later!” Indeed, this is core approach in CER, no parachuting in and out! Instead, my students have expressed their interest in offering their research skills to support research led by the community, even after the field school was over.

At SFU, my students at the Food Systems Lab and I have had the opportunity to take part in many community-engaged research projects, several of which have been supported by CERi. From a photovoice food asset mapping project in partnership with Kitselas Nations’ Lands and Resources Department along with other partners in the City of Vancouver and Port Alberni, to working with small businesses in Metro Vancouver on sustainable adaptation during the pandemic. I am grateful that CER is such a core part of SFU as it creates an enabling environment for research and engagement that can contribute toward a more just society.

As a food systems researcher, I know how food has been weaponized in times of war and during colonization in the forms of forced starvation or land displacement. I have learned  how harmful food and nutrition research by academics at Canadian universities have been conducted on Indigenous children during residential schools without the consent or knowledge of their parents and the children. CER lays a different blueprint for engagement. In the CER garden that we are cultivating (sorry but I am a food professor after all), we build it together, we choose the plants together and we listen to people’s perspective with humility and empathy, we harvest together and distribute the harvest equitably. Then we eat in together in gratitude for all that our planet and our humanity has to offer to one another. No one is left behind.