Our Projects
CREATES conducts action-research projects covering food systems, agroecological transition, urban nutrition, and digital innovation serving Sahelian communities.
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Bey Diiwaan
Cultivating Territories
Bey Diiwaan strengthens sustainable food systems in Senegal by scaling agroecological approaches across three regions: Petite Côte, Saloum, and Casamance. The project addresses distinct local challenges while promoting inclusive governance, agroecological innovations, and producer-market connections to build resilience and food sovereignty.
Petite Côte, Saloum, Casamance (Senegal)
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NICE
Nutrition in City Ecosystems
Expansion into Senegal of the NICE project (Phase 2), aiming to transform urban food systems in the secondary cities of Bambilor and Kaffrine. The project promotes multisectoral approaches to address chronic malnutrition by reinvigorating local food system platforms, strengthening nutrition governance, and connecting producers, markets, and urban consumers.
Bambilor, Kaffrine (Senegal)
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AI and Agroecology
Artificial intelligence serving agroecological knowledge
Participatory development of an AI-powered chatbot to facilitate knowledge dissemination among agroecological practitioners in Casamance. Unlike conventional AI systems designed for industrial farming, this project co-designs the tool with farmers, extension officers, and agroecology experts. The model integrates global scientific knowledge with indigenous local practices, providing contextually relevant, multilingual guidance.
Casamance (Senegal)
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AgroWork
Agricultural labor and agroecological transition
AgroWork examines agricultural workers' realities in Senegal and explores agroecology's potential to improve their working conditions and livelihoods. The project documents power relations in agri-food value chains and analyzes how the agroecological transition can redistribute benefits toward the most precarious workers in the sector.
Senegal
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AgroVoiceS
Voices for agroecological transition
AgroVoiceS uses participatory science communication tools to amplify perspectives of marginalized groups in rural development. The project co-produces narratives and multimedia materials with communities, making visible the expertise of actors often excluded from decision-making processes on food systems.
Senegal
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PRATAM
Resilience and self-determination in Casamance
PRATAM documents the resilience and self-determination of Diola communities in Basse-Casamance, highlighting their sustainable agroecological traditions supported by customary institutions and ancestral knowledge systems. The project analyzes how these centuries-old practices constitute relevant sustainability models for contemporary challenges.
Basse-Casamance (Senegal)
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Ethnobiology in Rural Senegal
Ethnobotanical knowledge of the Sáfene people
This project catalogs the ethnobotanical knowledge of the Sáfene people, documenting plant species, their food and medicinal uses, and community-driven biodiversity conservation strategies. It contributes to preserving a biocultural heritage threatened by intergenerational knowledge erosion.
Petite Côte (Senegal)
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