South Sudan: Environmentally Sound Agriculture

Piotr Barczak (Poland/Belgium/South Sudan) took several community-based adaptation courses in 2012 but was called away to South Sudan in the fall. Poitr is an environmental lobbyist in Brussels – but also has experience working in the DRC.

I was very pleasantly surprised to get this note from him a few days ago and wanted to share it with the CSDi community at large.

He has been working on a project for the past two months in South Sudan developing an ecologically sensitive agricultural program for 60 farming families. He is also said in his note that he will prepare a brief final report in English in March for those of us in the CSDi to enjoy. I will include a few photos below but I will make a link to his report in Polish so that you can look at a greater range of photographs. I will let Piotr tell his story now.

Dear Professor Magee,

I wanted to write this letter long time before. I want to thank you for your lessons and courses that I did last months.

Indeed it helped me a lot in getting into a very interesting project in South Sudan. I have been here already over 2 months and in two weeks I will finish. I will write a small report in English and I will share it with the CSDi Community.

So, I work for the Polish Humanitarian Action as an FSL Project Coordinator.  I am responsible for arranging a farmers community.

All is fine, I am amazed how much I could do here during these two months, I came in a right moment, dry season started so many people looked for work so it was easy to find subcontractors. Anyway, we are creating a nice community of farmers here. They will receive a big plot of land – 19 ha, already cleared and leveled, well drained – that was part of my job. Installation of irrigation is still pending. tomorrow we start a 3-day training on vegetable growing. All the beneficiaries (60 farmers) will receive know -how, seeds and tools to use their 40x40meters plots (more that enough to feed their families). so the farm will be provided with water during dry season, and will be drained during rainy season.

Stored Staples
	As we also do WASH programs the installation of toilets will be here as well. I have managed also to encourage local government to put one bore-hole deeper in the village so they could get clean water without walking over 45 minutes to the nearest well.

Water Pump
	An environmental approach is extremely important for me in this project. I made modifications in it in order to continue this farm without any tractor plowing, no pesticides and fertilizers. In place of that I am explaining to people here (beneficiaries, local government and even other NGOs who just think that any development is good, no matter if eco-friendly or not), that ever-green agriculture with agro-forestry and permaculture is actually a solutions for sub-saharians problems. It is not an easy job. I did not come here to lobby but to proceed! But apparently without putting all that in a good picture in the beginning the sustainable development in this country will be very difficult in the future.

Seeds
	Well, I am coming back in March to Brussels and I am very happy for that. I believe will leave the community here already well prepared and well   equipped so they could proceed on their own – their engagement is the key to all this project. So I believe I must leave, to search for another place where I could contribute. But still – almost one month to go! many challenges! The infrastructure here almost does not exist. I would say it is even worse than what I have seen in DRC.

Headquarters

Almost all the business is taken by Kenyans/Ugandans/Ethiopians and other. There is also little security here, local tribe fights for cows in Jonglei state (where I live) and of course continuous war with Sudan over the border and oil fields. But there is a light of hope! as everywhere. Those pastoralist communities are very eager to settle and start farming. They are tired of super high prices of food imported from neighboring countries.

They also understand that UN food distributions will not support them forever. So, this is where we start, and soon I finish, to check it next year how are they doing! fingers crossed!

So, After my coming back to Brussels I will continue a job as an environmental lobbyist but I wish to continue the course at CSDi online. Which one do you propose to me now?

Kind Regards

Piotr Barczak
Poland/Belgium/South Sudan

You can download his full project report here:
Piotr Barczak South Sudan Report

Would you like to learn how to develop Community Based Adaptation Projects?

A Field Guide to Community Based Adaptation
	A Field Guide to Community Based Adaptation By Tim Magee Foreword by Howard White Published December 14th, 2012 by Routledge – 248 pages Purchase at Amazon US: Now available in a Kindle editon Download a Kindle Sample Purchase at Routlege UK Read the Table of Contents and the Introduction

Go to bottom of this page to learn how to search electronically within the book.

‘Tim Magee, and his colleagues at CSDi, are to be commended for producing a book which should change the way development is practiced, and so directly contribute to the improvement of millions of lives around the world.’ – Howard White, Executive Director, 3ie, USA

‘A fascinating and informative guide to a subject of growing international importance. Tim Magee skillfully explains ways to combine external expertise and local perspectives on adaptation to climate change. This useful book should be read by development practitioners as well as students of climate change policy and international development.’ – Tim Forsyth, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK

‘This is a most-awaited book for development practitioners who are increasingly confronted with the challenge of addressing climate risks in designing and implementing programmes and projects. This book will help them to do just that in a way that places the interest of communities at the heart of the process.’ – Kareff Rafisura, Climate Risk Management Practitioner, Ghana

‘This book provides an insightful and comprehensive field guide to community-based adaptation. Magee brings together an impressive range of tools, resources and case examples in a clear and systematic step-by-step guide, while ensuring that the concerns of local people are kept at the centre of the analysis. This book is a timely and welcome addition to the literature, and will be useful to experienced practitioners as well as newcomers to CBA.’ Lars Otto Naess, Climate Change Team, Institute of Development Studies, UK

The world’s poor will be the most critically affected by a changing climate—and yet their current plight isn’t improving rapidly enough to fulfill the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. If experienced development organizations are finding it difficult to solve decades-old development problems, how will they additionally solve new challenges driven by climate change? A Field Guide to Community Based Adaptation illustrates how including community members in project design and co-management leads to long-lasting, successful achievement of development and adaptation goals.

This field guide provides a system of building block activities for staff on the ground to use in developing and implementing successful adaptation to climate change projects that can be co-managed and sustained by communities. Based on years of use in 129 different countries, the techniques illustrated in this field guide use a step-by-step progression to lead readers through problem assessment, project design, implementation, and community take over. The book equips development staff with all the tools and techniques they need to improve current project effectiveness, to introduce community based adaptation into organizational programming and to generate new projects. The techniques provided can be applied to broad range of challenges, from agriculture and soil and water challenges, to health concerns, flood defences and market development. The book is supported by a user-friendly website updated by the author, where readers can download online resources for each chapter which they can tailor to their own specific projects.

This practical guide is accessible to all levels of development staff and practitioners, as well as to students of development and environmental studies.

How to preview the electronic edition of the book—and actually search inside it.

GRENADA

Climate Smart Agriculture Training Workshop: Dual Challenge—Drought and Flooding

Gillian Primus (Grenada), Hanna Bartel (Canada), and Meredith Waters (US) have been working for the past year on a project on the island of Grenada. The team developed a project to increase crop production with highly specific activities to target specific in-field challenges. Last month they led a CSA workshop.   “The workshop introduced six different types of agricultural techniques that would be useful for the community, based on our research of results in similar contexts. As such, the materials we have gathered so far should be enough for this introductory workshop, and we are relying on the extension agent to know all the details! We have developed a lesson plan to guide the workshop.” See workshop activities and photos.

KENYA

Climate Smart Agriculture Practices for Extreme Weather Events and Changing Seasons

Joyce Onyango (Kenya), Aramide Adebola (Nigeria), and Natalie Macawaris (Philippines) have been working for the past year on a project in Kenya. Recently they conducted a participatory vulnerability and capacity assessment with the community. Extreme weather events began 30 years ago in 1980 with a major drought. The team  developed a project to increase crop production, and then identified activities to target specific agricultural challenges. They held an agricultural workshop on these activities: • Making compost for increased soil organic matter • Planting of Napier grass for conserving topsoil and water in farm fields • Seed bed establishment • Mulching for retaining soil moisture

JANUARY FIELD GUIDE

Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction

It is estimated that over 70% of all disasters are now related to extreme weather events. Developing a DRR plan can include all  the activities in the field guide—and a method for maintaining them in perpetuity. This will involve a plan for consciousness-raising among community members about DRR challenges, connecting with an early warning system, organizing teams and training them in evacuation and search and rescue, and prioritizing mitigation strategies. Frequently community members don’t have a clear picture of how and why disasters happen. They also may not know how to react when a disaster is building. Workshops and simple posters need to be developed to help them understand these concepts and to learn that there are things that they can do to reduce the risk caused by disasters, and to mitigate the severity of the disasters. Download the field guide.

BOOK LAUNCH

Routledge/Earthscan Release ‘A Field Guide To Community Based Adaptation’

‘Tim Magee, and his colleagues at CSDi, are to be commended for producing a book which should change the way development is practiced, and so directly contribute to the improvement of millions of lives around the world.’ – Howard White, Executive Director, 3ie, USA   ‘A fascinating and informative guide to a subject of growing international importance. Tim Magee skillfully explains ways to combine external expertise and local perspectives on adaptation to climate change. This useful book should be read by development practitioners as well as students of climate change policy and international development.’ – Tim Forsyth, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK   ‘This is a most-awaited book for development practitioners who are increasingly confronted with the challenge of addressing climate risks in designing and implementing programmes and projects. This book will help them to do just that in a way that places the interest of communities at the heart of the process.’ – Kareff Rafisura, Climate Risk Management Practitioner, Ghana

PROJECT RESOURCE

Best of January Project Resources for Community Based DRR

1. Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction – Good Practice. Mercy Corps Nepal. This handbook looks at 10 easy for communities to understand DRR field practices such as early warning systems, and evacuation and search and rescue teams. 2. Flash Flood Risk Management. A Training of Trainers Manual. Very well developed professional manual. Shresth, A. B., Chapagain, P. S., Thapa, R. International Center for Integrated Mountain Development. 2011

Winter Quarter	Are you interested in:
	A Diploma in Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change? A Diploma in Integrated Community Based Adaptation, DRR & Rural Development? Designing and Funding Sustainable Development Projects? Water Conservation and Management? Climate Smart Agriculture? Community Based DRR?

Would you like to learn how to develop Community Based Adaptation Projects?