PARTICIPATORY 3D MODELLING Information Development (ISSN 0266-6669) Copyright © 2007 SAGE Publications. Vol. 23, Nos 2/3, DOI: 10.1177/0266666907078592 113 village of Nessuit is located on the slopes of the Mau Forest Complex and is mainly inhabited by Ogiek people who, traditionally, used to be one of the larger hunter-gatherer communities in Eastern Africa. The Ogiek have used other participatory mapping methods before, including working with aerial photographs. This was their first opportunity to work on model building using a fully participatory method. Within the context of the mapping exercise this paper focuses on the course of action and related human dynamics which led to the production of the map legend through a participatory process. Though community mapping processes have many interesting components, it can be argued that the collaborative development of the map legend is the key process on which the quality of a participatory mapping exercise and its outputs depend. It is a community-developed and universally understood map legend that allows local spatial knowledge to be expressed in an objective and efficient manner which may contrast with the dominant intellectual framework which is usually presented on ‘official’ maps. When a map is used to support dialogue or negotiations, it is particularly important that its graphic vocabulary is fully understood by all parties involved and each displayed feature has a key to be objectively interpreted (Rambaldi, 2005). BACKGROUND The Mau Complex The Mau Forest Complex forms the largest forest block in Kenya, and the largest single block of closed-canopy forest in Eastern Africa (Nkako et al., 2005). The Mau Forest Complex is one of the five water towers in the country, providing the upper catchments of major watercourses, including the Nzoia, Yala, Nyando, Sondu, Mara, Kerio, Molo, Ewaso Ngiro, Njoro, Nderit, Makalia, and Naishi Rivers. In turn these rivers feed major lakes, including Natron, Victoria, Turkana, Baringo and Nakuru (Nkako, 2005). The boundaries of the Maasai Mau Forest were agreed upon in 1987, based on the work of the Ntutu Commission. Since the Through the Eyes of Hunter-Gatherers: participatory 3D modelling among Ogiek indigenous peoples in Kenya The participatory mapping of their ancestral territories stimulated community cohesion among the Ogiek indigenous people of Kenya and helped them to appreciate their unique cultural identity and indigenous knowledge system. Giacomo Rambaldi, Julius Muchemi, Nigel Crawhall and Laura Monaci INTRODUCTION The participatory three-dimensional modelling (P3DM) exercise discussed in this paper is part of a 2006–2008 project aimed at ‘Strengthening the East African Regional Mapping and Information Systems Network’. The project was implemented by the NGO Environmental Research Mapping and Information Systems in Africa (ERMIS-Africa), and technically and financially supported by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC). In parallel to fulfilling its main objective, the initiative provided the Ogiek indigenous people with an opportunity to apply P3DM to their situation of vulnerability, land and natural resource loss. The Ogiek application of the participatory methodology whilst mapping out their ancestral territories served as a training ground for representatives from non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and indigenous peoples 1 , community-based organizations (CBOs) from ten African countries in practicing participatory GIS (PGIS) methods and specifically P3DM in the contexts of collaborative natural resource management, customary resource tenure, and safeguarding cultural identities. The exercise took place in the village of Nessuit, Nakuru District, Kenya during the month of August 2006 after a 10-month preparation period. It has been the first of its kind in Africa and has drawn from P3DM experience in other regions of the world, in particular, Southeast Asia and the Pacific (Rambaldi and Callosa- Tarr, 2002; Rambaldi, Tuivanuavou et al., 2006). The