Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Goshu Worku (Ethiopia) and James Yasona (South Sudan) are working on an urban agriculture project with 270 children from five schools and 150 women in Ethiopia. These community members are suffering from annual food shortages caused by a lack of adequate and safe irrigation water and a low awareness of urban agricultural techniques—combined with climate change related unpredictable onset and offset of the rainy season—and drought. A large percentage of these community members are living with HIV/AIDS (especially OVCs (orphans and vulnerable children) and women).

Woman Voting During Needs Assessment Process
	Goshu and James are developing a project that includes: 1. Water use management plan 2. Climate smart agricultural practices program 3. Family garden and nutrition program 4. Community youth activity program

Water Use Management Plan [Solution to underlying causes: Lack of adequate and safe water supply for irrigation.]
[Activity 1]. Community-based workshop and survey with community members to identify their knowledge of water use.
[Activity 2]. Consultation with water management expert to develop a participatory process and training program
[Activity 3]. Facilitate the Organization of a community based Water Use Management Committee
[Activity 4]. Community workshop on participatory mapping of water resources and uses (consciousness raising)
[Activity 5]. Prioritize water springs, rivulets, ravines and man-made waterways for protection/restoration  
[Activity 6]. Committee participatory workshop on developing a community based Water Use Management Plan
[Activity 7]. Investigate and develop water sourcing alternatives for the community
[Activity 8]: Investigate and develop an installation and maintenance program
[Activity 9]: Data collection to identify scientific baseline data and facilitate the organization of a community based M&E Committee

Urban Agriculture Workshop with Women and Children

Some of the background challenges this project faces are that people living with HIV are marginalized, frequently weak and are likely to be destitute. They aren’t able to earn enough income to provide sufficient food for their families. Without school fees — and with the need to help provide family income—many children drop out of school. Without skills and education, they will remain in the cycle of poverty.

Climate Smart Agricultural Practices Programme [Solution to underlying causes: Unpredictable onset and offset of the rainy season and unusual dry periods.]:
[Activity 1]: Identify expert specialist/extension agent in soil, water and agriculture to design and facilitate participatory workshops
[Activity 2]. Participatory mapping and identification of local crop and buffering challenges
[Activity 3]. Farmer workshop and follow-up on early maturing and/or drought resistant crops/varieties for adapting to climate variability
[Activity 4]. Farmer workshop and follow-up on buffering against the late arrival of rain and/or an early end to the rainy season

Goshu’s organization has decided to develop this project as continuation of their urban gardening program—with an increased focus on food security, health, hygiene and nutrition in order to tackle the overarching challenge of low income and poor livelihood for people who are affected and infected by HIV/AIDS.

But to fulfill these project programs—they need water—water for irrigation of their urban gardens, and safe water to prevent illness due to waterborne disease. People living with HIV are particularly susceptible to infection. Clean water and nutritious meals can give them the health and strength they need to increase income generation. Urban gardens can give them something to sell.

James and Goshu have done their research. Researchers have shown that proper use and management of water for irrigation improved vegetable production nearly 100%—and the application of water through drip irrigation increases performance by 90%—allowing gardeners produce more vegetables. James and Goshu are also investigating properly filtered household gray water which will not only provide water for the gardens but reduce fees paid for water.

Download his report and needs assessment:
Needs assessment workshop
Initial project outline

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Masaka District, Southwest Uganda
Over the past six months Elijah Kajubi (Uganda), Siobhan Girling (UK), Jeff DeBlieu (US) and Alba Perez (Spain/Vietnam) have been developing a project with 300 families in five villages in the Masaka District of southwest Uganda. These agricultural families are suffering from widespread malnutrition caused by water scarcity due to climate variability—including extreme drought reducing crop yields, causing crop failure and negatively impacting livestock.

Challenges with water scarcity for farms and homes

The solutions that they have been developing and their project are to develop a community-based water use management plan which will combine local knowledge with scientific knowledge. Community members will first develop a participatory mapping of water resources and uses, and then consult with a water management expert to develop a participatory process and training program for developing the water use management plan.

Water Use Management Plan [Solution to underlying causes: Water scarcity.]
[Activity 1]. Community-based workshop and survey with community members to identify their knowledge of water use
[Activity 2]. Facilitate the Organization of a community based Water Use Management Committee
[Activity 3]. Community workshop on participatory mapping of water resources and uses (consciousness raising)
[Activity 4]. Consultation with water management expert to develop a participatory process and training program
[Activity 5]. Committee participatory workshop on developing a community based Water Use Management Plan
[Activity 6]. Development of simple irrigation system adapted to local conditions in terms of local capacity and knowledge, and risk to landslides.
[Activity 7]. Development of simple water purification systems.

Extreme drought is reducing crop yields, causing crop failure and negatively impacting livestock.
	They are also developing an improved agricultural practices program which includes farmer workshops on soil and water conservation and management techniques.

Improved Agricultural Practices Program [Solution to underlying cause: Climate variability has reduced crop harvests; Inappropriate agricultural practices]:
[Activity 1]: Surveys and interviews to collect traditional knowledge on agriculture, changes in agricultural cycles, vulnerabilities and coping strategies
[Activity 2]: Develop plan that combines resilient and improved agricultural techniques with traditional knowledge for an overall improvement in productivity
[Activity 3]: Establish pilot plots demonstrating better cultivation practices
[Activity 4]: Farmer workshops on soil restoration and conservation techniques
[Activity 5]: Farmer workshops on water conservation and management techniques
[Activity 6]: Promotion of high yielding varieties/crops according to the changes in temperature.

Mulching
One of the soil and water conservation techniques which they’re using is to incorporate mulch into farmer’s fields and onto the beds of home gardens as a method of reducing evaporation. They have developed a consciousness raising workshop for the communities demonstrating how mulching can reduce evaporation.

The technique is quite simple.
1. Till and lightly moistened a small area of soil exposed to direct sunlight.
2. Mark off four small plots no more than half a meter square each.
3. Cover the first plot with a pane of glass raised about 10 cm above the soil surface.
4. Carefully and completely cover the second plot with chopped vegetation (straw, leaves, grass).
5. Loosely cover the third plot with chopped vegetation.
6. Leave the fourth plot uncovered.

Return to the test plots after one hour. Moisture should have begun to collect on the underside of the glass pane. Have the participants discuss where the moisture came from. This would be a good place to talk about soil evaporation and its effect on soils—and plants. Remove the glass and have the participants feel the soil beneath—it should still be moist.

Then have participants remove the mulch from test plots two and three. The soil should still be moist and plot two but less moist in plot three. Plot four, which was left uncovered should be even less moist and perhaps completely dry.

Scientific Knowledge
Recently, as part of project development, team Uganda researched scientific information on climate change and discovered that Uganda is experiencing unusual drought, storms, floods, high temperatures, pests and disease epidemics, heavy rains and landslides. Mean annual temperature is projected to increase by between 1°C and 3°C by 2060, and heavy rainfall is predicted to increase by 15% in the 90s. These challenges will lead to a reduction in crop yields which will translate into low incomes, food insecurity, pollutions of water sources, impacts on human health and land degradation.

Local Knowledge
Just this month Team Uganda led a participatory workshop in assessing community vulnerability and adaptation capacity. Workshop results showed that the community’s perspective is that there has been a change in the timing of the growing season, drought combined with increased heat waves, and unpredictable rainfall during the rainy season. These hazards are increasing the community’s vulnerability in the areas of water resources, income generation, and food security.

Coping Strategies
In interviewing community members, Elijah asked about their coping strategies and discovered that they have improvised some successful ones. The community’s watershed has gradually turned into a resource conflict area due to the receding water table caused by the drought and by the demand placed on it by different users. This has reduced their ability to grow traditional crops. Needing income generation activity, many of the farmers have resorted to growing vegetables such as cabbages, tomatoes, carrots and others which are readily sold on the roadside from kiosks do to interested travelers. Similarly, the farmers are harvesting rainwater from road runoff by channeling the water for storage into pits which they’ve dug adjacent to their vegetable gardens.

Access to water at the household level has also been a challenge. One solution has been to use a huge plastic polishing sheet, one end laid in a pre-dug pit, with the other and suspended underneath the eve of the roof to harvest roof water during rain. Using this technique is much less expensive than having to raise money to purchase tanks and tubing.

Download their report and needs assessment:
Vulnerability assessment workshop – with photos
Vulnerability assessment results and project outline

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January Newsletter: Special Nutrition and Home Gardening Issue

Malnutrition is one of the most serious challenges in development today. Tonight, over one billion people will go to bed hungry—up from 800 million in 2009.  Scientific studies have shown that home gardens can provide 60% of leafy vegetables, and between 20% and 50% of all fruits and vegetables consumed by households. Home vegetable gardens have shown evidence of significantly reducing the number of malnourished children in impoverished communities; Improved nutrition boosts the body’s immune system protecting children against infection.Many home gardeners are also able to sell surplus fruits and vegetables and increase family income.

Resources for Nutrition and Home Gardening Projects

Links To Documents And Sites Specific To This Course: OL 303: Food Security, Nutrition, and Home Gardens.   Healthy Harvest: A training manual for community workers in good nutrition, and the growing, preparing and processing of healthy food. Zimbabwe. Low Input Food and Nutrition Security: There is a very good information in this book that connects nutrition to the practicalities of home gardening. Malawi.

Victory Gardens in England: See photos and  lists of vegetables grown in an English garden.
	Family vegetable garden allotments have been being used in England since the 1700s. During WW II Victory Garden days, families were given a 10 yard by 30 yard (today they are measured in meters) standard plot: large enough to provide vegetables for a family of 4. Tim Magee has been able to visit two allotments in England over the past 10 days—one in Manchester—and one in Coventry.

August Project of the Month: Sustainable Food Security through a Farmer Field School and Home Gardens in Kenya
	120 families from three villages in Kenya suffer from food insecurity caused by dated farming skills & malnutrition due to a lack of knowledge of nutrition & of home gardens in providing food diversity. These challenges reduce the ability for 300 children to attend school & for adults to lead productive lives.    CSDi  Kenyan partner John Odongo launched a project designed to increase food security for these families through a Farmer Field School, and a Nutrition and Home Garden Program.
Read John’s report on conducting a nutrition survey in his community. Read John’s report on a raised bed workshop with photos. Read John’s report on vegetable garden successes and challenges.

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