Author: Kira Enriquez (MS IDEC ’26)
I graduated with a degree in Economics and minors in sociology and analytics from Chapman University. Chapman is where I fell in love with economics as a study of people, decision-making, and the mechanisms that affect us behind the scenes. While pursuing my undergraduate degree, I had the opportunity to spend a semester studying at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. This was one of the most fulfilling experiences and solidified my interest in a development focus.
Nairobi.
Cows!
This summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Nairobi, Kenya, to work with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) consortium. ILRI’s focus is on bettering lives through livestock, given the importance of livestock for livelihood and food security in Kenya, as well as across the developing world. During my time at ILRI, I was able to explore data from the KAZNET project focused on the effect of increased access to livestock market information on livestock keepers and pastoralists. This data has been collected weekly at the household and market level since 2021. I spent my time looking at how livestock herd deaths affect households differently.
I also had the opportunity to engage in fieldwork training in Isiolo, a city in Northern Kenya. There, I participated in and supported the training of ILRI facilitators who were getting ready to implement interventions and collect data in the field. It was really great to be a part of this collaborative process with facilitators.
Fieldwork training in Isiolo.
In addition to engaging in work with ILRI and having the opportunity to meet many interesting and impressive people, I also got to explore other parts of Kenya during my time there. While staying in Nairobi, I was able to hike in beautiful nature like Mt. Longonot, Karura forest, Ngong hills, and even Mt. Kenya. Additionally, I visited Lake Naivasha and spent time on the coast. Kenya is such a beautiful country, and I’m so grateful I was able to explore some of it as well as meet so many wonderful people.
Kira in front of Shipton’s Camp.
