Our Approach
n’ninkie aims to reimagine development from within, fostering a future where African solutions shape the continent’s growth. Our work, centers around three main focus areas:
Community-Driven Change: We spotlight community actors and grassroots organizations driving social, environmental, and cultural transformation from within, strengthening community led solutions.
Practice-Based Research: We validate and integrate indigenous knowledge into development processes through research partnerships that bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Evidence-to-Policy-Engagement: We create spaces where communities, policymakers, and scholars engage in inclusive collaboration to co-create development approaches.
Bridging the gap
between theory and practice
Historically, the African Continent’s development narrative has been shaped by external perspectives, often neglecting the immense knowledge and expertise within local communities. n’ninkie seeks to flip the narrative by empowering African scholars, especially Social Workers and Community Development Workers, to draw upon Indigenous Knowledge and local experiences, creating solutions grounded in their own distinct and complex social realities. Up until today, training remains largely based on Western literature, which often is ill-suited to and contradicts social realities faced by practitioners in the field.
Through a dual approach, the n’ninkie Research Lab and the n’ninkie Office equip students with the essential skills and tools to conduct meaningful research while fostering innovative, locally-rooted solutions for sustainable development.
The n’ninkie Research Lab operates across two key locations:
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Serving as the central hub for planning and coordination, the n’ninkie office at AIM ensures practical insights and data from ongoing projects are shared with students. This integration enriches their research experience and strengthens collaboration with ongoing community development efforts.
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The n’ninkie Research Lab is a space for young African scholars designed to promote knowledge production from an African perspective.
The Lab offers a dedicated space for scholars and academics to come together, analyze data, and produce research that addresses social, economic, and environmental challenges within the community.
Our projects
In collaboration with the Sierra Leonean Non-Governmental Organization Amazonian Initiative Movement (AIM) and Port Loko University College (PLUC), n’ninkie focuses on Community-Led projects to serve as role models for sustainable development, demonstrating the potential for independence from foreign aid. Students and lecturers from PLUC work hand in hand with AIM field experts, conducting research that assesses the impact of these projects and their integration of Indigenous Knowledge and local data.
By collecting evidence-based insights into how these projects function, n’ninkie works towards the development of literature and publication from an African perspective. Such work is crucial for the Global North to recognize and understand the existing social support systems in the Global South.
The Neneh Strategy
The Mathaska Agricultural Project
Village & Saving Loans Association
The Rothumba Project
