The research approach is designed to achieve the objectives while maximizing the educational experience for Purdue and Egerton students. The abattoir survey will be carried out by a scries of three veterinary students on six to 10 week "externships". Rangeland management, beef marketing and alternative livelihoods objectives will achieved through Master of Science (MS) thesis research by Purdue and Egerton agriculture students. One Purdue student and one Egerton student will work on related topics for each objectives. A total of six MS students are expected to be involved. KARI researchers will supervise the MS students when their expertise is appropriate. For the service learning component, two Purdue students and two Egerton students will be involved each year of the project.

Purdue veterinary students will examine cattle before slaughter and carcasses after slaughter, as well as collecting blood and tissue samples at the 0l Pejeta and other abattoirs. On the Purdue side students will be supervised by Dr. Simon Kenyon. He will spend two weeks in Kenya at the beginning of the first student externship to launch the data collection. The students will work under the supervision of the Kenya Wildlife Service veterinarian that is being seconded to Lewa Conservancy. Samples will be analyzed at the Kenya Veterinary Service laboratory at Kebeta, near Nairobi.

The veterinary externships at 0l Pejeta would start in the spring of 2007. The results will be documented by each student in a report on his or her externship, and summarized in a final report.

For the range management objective, the plan is to identify student from the II Ngwesi area who speaks either Maasai or Samburu (ie. a "Mar" speaking student) to focus on the indigenous land management practices. Documenting these practices will require interviewing community elders and other residents, and would benefit from an in depth knowledge of the culture. The Purdue student will document what the II Ngwesi grazing committee is doing and the effect on pasture condition, including quantity of forage available, quality of that forage, changes in species composition. Key research methods and tools include pasture transects and geographic information systems (GIS) maps of the II Ngwesi pastures. It may be necessary to hire part time a local English speaking person in II Ngwesi to translate, and to help in transects and other data gathering. Faculty supervisors for the Purdue and Egerton students will be identified in the two months.

The division of labor for the beef marketing study discussed at the Ngare Niting meeting had the Egerton student focusing on the first point of sale, and the Purdue student working on the remainder of the marketing chain. A "Mar" speaking student will have an advantage in gathering information in the communities and local markets in Northern Kenya. English is the medium of instruction for most primary schools in Kenya, so many of the "downsteam" market participants speak some English, but it would be useful for the Egerton and Purdue students to collaborate in some parts of the "downstream" data collection to ensure that the viewpoints expressed in Swahili are heard. Key research tools include: budgets to estimate marketing margins, statistical analysis to measure preferences of market chain participants, and a linear programming transportation/marketing model to help show the effect of infrastructure and other constraints (e.g. road, cold chain, credit availability). Dr. Ken Foster, Purdue Department of Agricultural Economics, will supervise the Purdue student and Dr. Margaret Ngigi, Egerton Department of Agricultural Economics will supervise the beef marketing study.

The top priority identified by NRT for the alternative livelihoods question is a baseline survey. This will be implemented by an Egerton student and a Purdue student working together, supervised by Dr. Ngigi, Egerton, and Dr. Maria Marshall, Purdue Agricultural Economics, respectively. The students will interview all adults in a stratified random sample of households in II Ngwesi. The students will divide the task of statistical analysis of the survey data. For example, one student might focus on linking risk and return preferences to household resource endowments, while the other works on how family dynamics (ie. relationships between men, their multiple wives, young adults and others in the household) affect investment, consumption and work decisions.

For each of the MS student projects, the Purdue student is expected to spend at least six months in Kenya collecting data, the Purdue faculty member will spend one to two weeks in Kenya at the beginning of the study helping to launch data collection and the Egerton faculty member and/or a KARI researcher will serve as the on site supervisor in Kenya. The timeline depends in part on student recruitment. If students already in the Egerton or Purdue programs are recruited they may be able to start their thesis research as early as the fall of 2006. New students would have to complete at least two semesters of course work before thesis research; at the earliest newly recruited students could start research in May, 2007. The course work period would be used to review previous research on the thesis topic and develop the analytical tools to be used.

The service learning projects will be supervised by Purdue and Egerton faculty members. Each faculty member will spend one to two weeks in Kenya at the beginning of the service learning project. Top undergraduate students with an interest in wildlife management will be identified to participate.