“This is a most important and much-needed contribution to the literature on applied anthropology. Its most valuable quality is braiding first-hand experience of an immense number of international locations, ethnic groups, social classes, and political circumstances with a chronological account of her own growth as a person and as an anthropologist.” • Megan Biesele, Director Emerita, Kalahari Peoples Fund.

“This book is a nuanced example of ethnography and how it can be practiced. It makes a powerful argument for socially committed social science.” • Robert Fisher, University of Sydney

Carol J. Pierce Colfer is semi-retired from the Center for International Forestry Research in Bogor, Indonesia, where she worked from 1994 until 2009 as Principal Researcher and Program Leader. In 2009, she chose a loose affiliation as a Senior Associate and moved to Ithaca, New York. In 2024, she received the prestigious Scientific Achievement Award from the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations in Sweden. Between 2009 and 2024, she was also affiliated with Cornell University. She has authored and co-edited numerous books, her most recent being two collections are Adaptive Collaborative Management in Forest Landscapes (Taylor & Francis 2022) and Responding to Environmental Issues through Adaptive Collaborative Management (Taylor & Francis 2023).

List of Illustrations
Narratives
Acknowledgments

Introduction: Where We Are Headed

Part I: Awakening

Case 1. Ankara, Türkiye (1955–1961): A Little Girl’s Perspective on Global Inequity
Case 2. Leaderlong Indian School (1971): Colonialism in the USA
Case 3. Iran and Inequality (1972): More Homegrown Colonialism 
Case 4. Bushler Bay, Washington (1973–1977): “Class,” Women, and Seeds of American Political Polarization
Case 5. Family Planning Goes International (1975–1976): Stepping into the Multicultural and International Worlds of Wealth
Case 6. East-West Center Workshop on Family Planning (1978): Further Inklings of the Power of Quantification in American Colonialism
Case 7. Family Planning in Bali (1979): Encountering the International Donor World and Balinese Masculinities
Case 8. East Kalimantan (): Defined as Elite and Reaping the Benefits

Part II: Gathering

Case 9. Women in Development at the University of Hawaii (1980–1982): Scientists in an American University Caught Up in Colonialism
Case 10. Sitiung, West Sumatra, Indonesia (1983–1986): A Sifting of Colonial Detritus
Case 11. The Consulting Experience, USAID (1983–1990): An Introduction to the World of Consulting
Case 12. The Sultanate of Oman (1986–1990): Coping with Dismissal as a Woman in an Arab World
Case 13. Consulting with International Organizations (1990–): Enduring Disillusionment
Case 14. Danau Sentarum, West Kalimantan, Indonesia (1992–1993): Life and a Year of Negotiation

Part III: Crafting

Case 15. Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management (1994–1995): Exposure to New Worlds, Confronting Linguistic Incompetence
Case 16. The Social Science Methods Tests (1996–1998): External Actors, Voice, and “Development” in Action
Case 17. Headquarters, Center for International Forestry Research (1995–2009): In the Belly of the Beast—Striving to Improve
Case 18. Adaptive Collaborative Management in Concept (1998–1999): Aiming for a Decolonizing Concept
Case 19. Putting ACM into Practice: Our Shortcomings on the Road to Decolonization
Case 20. Expanding ACM’s Scope in Central Sumatra (2002–2006): Coping with Finance, Authority, and Cultural Difference
Case 21. Colonialism in Switzerland, Madagascar, Tanzania, and Laos

Part IV: Reflection

Case 22. On : Into an Elite Stronghold
Case 23. Revisiting Adaptive Collaborative Management (2020–2023): Broader-Scale
Case 24. “Town” vs. “Gown” (2020–2025): Is This Really a Matter of Class?

Conclusion

Call to Action! What We Do and Don’t Do Matters!

Appendices
Glossary
Index