Centre for Action-Research on Ecological and Social Transformations
CREATES
Research. Action. Transformation.
The context
The Sahel is at a turning point.
Land degradation, food insecurity, rural exodus. Top-down solutions have failed. Yet Sahelian communities hold knowledge, practices, and resilience that remain largely invisible to mainstream approaches. CREATES was born from this conviction: lasting change must emerge from the territories themselves.
65%
of Sahel land degraded
300M
people affected
70%
of population under 30
CREATES
Our response
CREATES brings together researchers, communities, and practitioners around action-research rooted in the territories. We don't design solutions for communities. We design them with them. Our approach bridges natural and social sciences, local knowledge and innovation, art and data - because the Sahel's challenges don't respect disciplinary boundaries.
Learn MoreTransformation Pathways
Our work is structured around five transformation pathways, from food to governance, from energy to knowledge.
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Resilient and Healthy Food Systems
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Governance of Land and Natural Resources
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Social and Solidarity Economy
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Renewable Energy and Sustainable Infrastructures
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Politics of Knowledge Production and the Arts
In the field
Our projects
7 ongoing projects
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2025 - 2027
Bey Diiwaan
Petite Côte, Saloum, Casamance (Senegal)
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2026 - 2029
NICE
Bambilor, Kaffrine (Senegal)
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2026 - 2027
TERAL
Thiafoura, Mbour - Petite Côte (Senegal)
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2025 - 2026
AI and Agroecology
Casamance (Senegal)
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2024 - 2026
AgroVoiceS
Senegal
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2023 - ongoing
PRATAM
Basse-Casamance (Senegal)
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2023 - ongoing
Ethnobiology in Rural Senegal
Petite Côte (Senegal)
- All projects
Living lab · TERAL and Bey Diiwaan
The Thiafoura living lab
With the village of Thiafoura, in the municipality of Sindia, we are building a local food system: producing, processing, selling.
Where the system stands
- Produce (In progress)
- Process (In progress)
- Store (Planned)
- Deliver (Planned)
- Sell (In progress)
- Decide together (In progress)
- Train and show (In progress)
Productions
Publications, interactive maps, a film, field videos and a podcast: what our action research produces.
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Reports, articles, books
Publications
The results of our research: reports, scientific articles, book chapters and books.
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Mapping
Platforms
The Mbour Department Geoportal and the atlas of agroecological initiatives: field data as interactive maps.
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Documentary
Films
White Forest: in Bandia, limestone extraction has covered the forest in dust. A beekeeper refuses to leave.
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Videos
Media
Field reports, testimonies and participatory mapping, on screen.
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Cultiver les Territoires
Podcast
Giving the floor to those who cultivate change.
Discover
News
All news
Event6 Oct 2026
AgroVoices contest: the call for short film projects is open until 26 October
A short film contest about what is changing in farming, food and the environment in Mbour and Lower Casamance. Ten projects will be supported and funded.
Thiafoura: a food system diagnostic with local stakeholders
On 30 September 2026, farmers, community organisations, elected officials and technical services met at Sindia town hall to map who produces, processes and sells food around Thiafoura.
CREATES launches its podcast, Cultiver les Territoires
First episode with Mariam Sow: for a political agroecology in Senegal. A podcast giving a voice to those who think about, live in and transform territories.
Sessène: the Mbour Petite Côte DyTAEL trains farmers in agroecology and organic fertilisers
On 24 September 2026, at Sessène town hall, the Mbour Petite Côte DyTAEL brought together farmers from Sessène and Fissel, technical services and local elected officials around agroecological practices and the use of organic fertilisers.
Our partners
