Simple solutions to complex problems

Conflicts between moving populations with livestock and settled farmers groups are common in many parts of the world.

Practical Action Sudan has developed and tested an approach to mark the pastoralist routes more clearly and have negotiated this with the farmers around the routes.

This involved complex negotiations but led to something simple, which works. The routes are marked with colored poles and provides a visible mark for all the parties involved. This approach has great potential to reduce conflicts.

Blue Nile, Sudan on-going violence

Margaret Gardner
May 3rd, 2012

Barnaby Peacocke, one of my colleagues, is just back from Sudan and gave an update at our ‘stand up’, staff meeting yesterday.

The fighting along the border between Sudan and Southern Sudan continues. This is impacting our work in the Blue Nile and the EU funded project is temporarily on hold. The likelihood is that this state of armed unrest will sadly continue.

We need to work out how in this new reality our work can continue. Our commitment is undiminished.

Listening to Barney I felt particularly moved as when I visited the Blue Nile area, two years ago now, people were talking about their hope following the end of the conflict with the South, they talked of the impact of the war, how some had been forced to fight, others had lost family members, all had struggled to get food, vital medicine, etc. Life had been very, very tough but now there was the hope of a better life and they were ambitious for peace and development.

Now things have changed and we have to continue, increase our work but do things differently.

Thankfully we have a ‘model’, ie.development speak for experience that shows us how it can be done.

In Darfur we’ve worked throughout the conflict; improving peoples farming techniques and yields, access to and quality of water, improving stoves so that they used less fuel – requiring women to make fewer dangerous journeys in search of wood or other fuel, helped people market their crops so that they had money for vital items such as medicine, helped communities preserve foods through techniques such as pickling etc.

After the kidnap of several of our staff and the attempted kidnap of others (thankfully eventually everyone was freed safely, but scared and their vehicles stolen or burned), we decided we had to find a different way of working. All our staff are local and so know the situation in detail – where ever it was reasonable safe for us and the communities we would continue our work directly (sometimes this changed day by day). Where it wasn’t safe for Practical Action people to travel or community gatherings could attract violence we worked with a brave group of people who so valued Practical Actions support they were willing to take extraordinary action.

Village Development Committees and the Women’s Development Associations. Networks we helped established to expand and continue our work. From each village one or two people travelling together, often using unusual paths or routes could get safely through to places no-one else could.

How it worked was that people from these groups would travel to a safe point, coming together they would meet with Practical Action staff. They would be trained in stove making, learn how to grow a new crop, receive seeds, be trained in water conservation, or other support. Help that on a day to day basis would improve their and their communities lives. They would then travel back to their villages and share their learning and/or support with their family, friends and community. Through these networks we were able to continue our work, throughout the conflict, even in some of the most difficult to reach parts of Darfur.

We worked with hugely courageous, brave people in Darfur – speaking to them when I visited their villages I was moved particularly the bravery of the women.

Having met the communities we’ve been working with in the Blue Nile, I believe we will find brave people there, too.

The conflict in the Blue Nile is dire and needs to be stopped. But, if as news reports say, it’s likely to continue for at least the next two years – we have to do all we can to help people caught up in this continue to build their lives.

Our commitment remains undiminished.

Im sorry for the ramble – Ive just dashed this off – but I didnt want to forget how moved I was by Barneys words thinking about the people I met and shared with in Sudan.

Joy in People

One of the greatest joys of working in fundraising is meeting lots of amazing people who want to do  something to change the world – whether that’s donating loose change, or running 10km and asking for sponsorship, or organising a cake sale, or setting up a charitable trust to give away larger sums of money, or climbing mountains , as some of our student supporters are doing.

Last night I was very honoured to be a guest speaker at a women only fundraising dinner in Yorkshire which was both celebrating women, and raising money for Practical Action’s work in Sudan. The room was full of over 200 women, all intelligent, funny, charming, wonderful people. Last night alone raised in excess of £7,000! And it’s all going towards a food project in rural Kassala which is helping nearly 100,000 people – some of the poorest on the planet – to make a better living from farming by giving them the tools, knowledge and skills they need to move to a life beyond poverty .  The generosity in that room was tangible. And it’s amazing to experience it. All too often it seems we’re living in the worst of times – great economic austerity, a seemingly endless war against terrorism, a government that cuts benefits from the most vulnerable while simultaneously allowing the rich to prosper. It can easy to be cynical, unmotivated, to think the worst and do absolutely nothing about it.

But the dinner last night was a perfect reminder that people are, for the most part, pretty wonderful. Tell a room of women that there are 4.2 million people in Sudan starving, and they will dig deep and donate, in the hope of making tomorrow brighter than today.

Today is also Sport Relief – and I know that millions of people up and down the country will be compelled to do something about the injustice of global poverty – whether that’s texting a donation while watching tonight’s TV show, or running the Sport Relief mile on Sunday.

Gandhi once said “be the change you wish to see in the world.” Thank God there are so many wonderful people who live their lives true to that mantra. Today my heart is full of joy because of them – thank you.  Happy Friday everyone!

Women making lives better for their families

Julie Brown
Bourton on Dunsmore, Warwickshire CV23 9, UK, Bourton on Dunsmore
March 2nd, 2012

When I go home one of the first things I will do is start getting the dinner ready.  After a bit of veg chopping I will be able to just flick the oven on and start cooking.  I’m sure that like me many women will be doing exactly the same, but not all women have that luxury.

It’s hard to image what it must be like to spend a large part of your day collecting firewood just to have enough to be able to cook supper for your family.  And can you even begin to image what it would be like if that stove produced so much smoke that it was made your children ill? Yet this is the norm for many women. At least 1/3 of women around the world don’t have decent cooking facilities.

With the help of Practical Action however many women in developing countries  are now able to make lives better for themselves and their families by learning how to make fuel efficient stoves.   These simple stoves:

• use less fuel women so don’t have to spend so much time collecting firewood
• produce less smoke, improving the health of the family
• are better for the environment

On 8^th March, International Women’s Day, spare a thought for women like 32 year old Zienab, a mother of two who lives in Kassala, Sudan  who helped  lift herself and her family out of poverty by building her own stove.

”I gained great benefit from attending a three-day improved stove training course. We discussed issues such as the disadvantages of using firewood and its negative impact on the environment and forests and how it leads to food insecurity. We learnt how to construct an improved stove from mud and cow dung. I made my own stove and took it home.

If you want to find out how to support women like Zienab please visit our website .

Dams for drought-ridden Sudan

Paul Smith Lomas
February 15th, 2011

I was in Sudan last week, when the final result of the referendum on the future of the South came in. An overwhelming 99% of people voted in favour of secession, which means that we’ll see a new country created some time in July. 

 While the big question has been answered, there are a lot of details to be worked out. Critically, there are three ‘transition zones’ and details of the boundaries have yet to be worked out, never mind issues about financing, debt, and revenue sharing. 

 I visited Darfur, where low-level conflict continues and there are few signs of peace on the horizon. While I was there, bombing close El Fashir town (the provincial capital of North Darfur) prevented me from visiting our projects in locations outside the town.

Despite this conflict, our important development work continues to help people make a living.  We have some really exciting work building simple, but unique dam structures which ‘harvest’ the limited rain water in this drought-ridden area. This enables people to grow crops where it would otherwise be impossible. 

Other work, like helping farmers to choose early maturing crop varieties and supporting community-based forestry is helping to ‘Green Darfur’ (ie change a desert into a green and productive land). If you’d ever been to Darfur, you’d understand how amazing this concept is, and like me even more amazed at the results we’re achieving with our local partners on the ground.

 Later this month we’re hosting a conference with a variety of local organisations (United Nations, Government, other Non-government organisations, local communities, academics) to share what we’ve done, and what we’ve learnt.  We hope that this will help us to continue to improve our work but also improve the efforts of others too.

Sudan: referendum and recovery

Mohamed Majzoub
Khartoum, Sudan, Khartoum
January 13th, 2011

The initial results of the referendum have been announced and it looks like Southern Sudan will gain secession (separation).

However, poverty across Sudan will not disappear and it is important that our work here continues says Mohamed Majzoub Fidiel, Country Director, Practical Action Sudan.

Historically, Practical Action was the first NGO that came to Sudan in 1976 and started work in Juba-South Sudan. Practical Action now works in eastern Sudan in Kassala State, western Sudan in North Darfur State, and in the Blue Nile State.

Unlike other countries, Sudan has much less colonial influence. Private sector development by colonial settlers did not take place to any significant extent which resulted in little agricultural or industrial development. Also, the volume of region trade has not been high and the flow of international development assistance has been reduced recently for political reasons.

The prolonged civil war in the south was a drain human and financial resources. As a result, small scale producers have flourished making use of the restrictions brought by modern development and trade. The small scale producers have and continue to provide the majority of the basic needs (food, shelter and production tools) of the people of Sudan.

Traditional skills have passed down and developed to meet the changing conditions through innovation and adaptation.

There are also very few NGOs working in the field of development in Sudan. Their development assistance remained very low so, there is a role for Practical Action to foster greater communication between those organisations to enhance their impacts.

After the referendum, the needs of the south will be immense. The demand for Practical Action work will increase in terms of infrastructure services, especially shelter, energy and transport. Other means of livelihoods also rank as priority as people in the south live at subsistence level and lots of them live as ‘hunters and gatherers’.

We will observe improvements in the security situation in the south and get involved where we can.

Practical Action may be impacted negatively by the referendum. If the south is separated, donors will increase funds to rebuild the south. Lots of this money will come from the amounts initially allocated for the ‘one country’. Donor countries may go for sanctions against North Sudan as there are some signs of that already. If this happens, donors will fund only emergency relief and maybe some basic services in war affected zones. Opportunities for development will be eliminated and we will have to depend on non-institutional donors again.

The housewives of Sudan

Simon Trace
October 22nd, 2010

Women in Sudan cook food to sustain their families using inefficient open fires which produce potentially deadly smoke. These fires require fuel which must be gathered and collected daily. To add to the already existing dangers, women must risk physical harm every day in order to complete this task.

The truth of it is horrifying. Women are being attacked, raped and even killed by local militia, whilst out on their dutiful daily trips for fire wood to feed their families. Plus, children accompany their mothers on this dangerous journey, not only being put at serious risk but also missing out on time at school and gaining a valuable education.

Practical Action has the answer. We are contending with this issue by means of more fuel efficient, simple to produce and less problematic to use woodstoves. By the nature of the design, the high sides assist in heat transfer and subsequently the stoves need less fuel to function.

For these women, this not only cuts down the amount of potentially life threatening trips for firewood but it subsequently provides them with more free time to devote to their loved ones, allowing their children to attend lessons. Having the opportunity to fulfil a role as mother and carer is something every woman deserves.

Therefore, women in Sudan are paying it forward by teaching other members of their communities how to create these more fuel effective wood.

Fundraiser seeks funds!

Hello there!

Shamefully this is my first ever blog for Practical Action, even though I have been working here for over a year now! I work as the Fundraising Research Officer within the Fundraising team, although this is a new role which I have only taken on in the last few months. Since joining Fundraising, I have been inspired to actually get up and take some practical action for Practical Action… so in light of this I have signed up to run the Royal Parks Half Marathon through the beautiful parks of London on Sunday 10^th October 2010!

I am somewhat astonished I have done this, because for most of my life I have cultivated a pure hate/hate relationship with physical activity. As a child I much preferred the more motionless pursuits of reading Roald Dahl books, or sharing my impressive Barbie collection with my sister, or drawing endless ‘princess’ dresses, or escaping to a perfect Disney world at the cinema. During PE lessons at school, I strived to adopt the positions which required least movement – bowler in rounders, or goal defender in netball, or goal keeper in hockey. Inevitably there would be some horrendous occasions where endlessly enthusiastic games teachers would spot me dawdling reluctantly to the sports field, and attempt to perk me up with the cry of “you can be winger today Ella!”

I hated those days. Chasing an unfriendly ball across a frozen slither of grass, the bite of an icy morning slicing at my throat and a vicious wind whining until my ears were raw, all I would feel was the sheer and utter pointlessness of ‘exercise’.

In fact, I rather enjoyed my stationary self. I didn’t want to be one of those sporty girls with long shiny hair and healthy cheeks. I much preferred being an indoorsy, arty type, with pale skin and a solemn spirit, who sat reading poetry and thinking. I am now somewhat ashamed to admit that at certain points I entertained the arrogant assumption that these intellectual activities were somehow more worthy than physical ones.

This continued throughout my three years studying English Literature at university, where the most exercise I gained was meandering around the streets of Liverpool whilst pretending to be in Paris, or occasionally whiling away a sweaty night in a grubby club dancing to the strains of soul or indie or drum and bass. The drinking and smoking that accompanied such pastimes ensured that the only attitude I had towards my body was one of complete carelessness.

My first job after university involved lots of train travel across the UK, and in an average week I would travel up to 800 miles. This constant movement of my body was punishing; the hours I spent in drizzly train stations waiting for delayed trains simply exhausting. In one three month period I found my tonsils swelling up, reliable as autumnal rain, every four weeks. So in January 2009 I made a promise to myself. This would be my year to ‘get healthy’.

Seeing as I was a vegetarian who drank at least 8 glasses of water every day and enjoyed 7 hours of sleep every night, and I had already given up cigarettes and alcohol after graduation; the only path to a healthier lifestyle seemed to be one of exercise.

So I ventured into a previously unknown place: the gym. I remember feeling as alien here as I did when I travelled in Moscow. People spoke a different language, mostly comprised of scary acronyms: BMI, BIA, PAR-Q, VO2. It took courage to weight my newly trainer-ed feet to the treadmill and not run (or walk) in the other direction.

I was determined not to give up on this embryonic relationship. And over time, I detected small but empowering changes. In aerobics, I learnt the art of a grapevine, box step, squat, lunge, jumping jack, burpee, and relished the magically fast-paced steps my feet could trace. During weights sessions, I discovered that it is in fact possible to tone muscles in your shoulders and back. Before this, ‘muscles’ were something in your biceps, and you only had them if you were an oily beefcake sort of a person.  My lovely and wonderfully patient yoga teacher coaxed my ill-used body into strange and exotic positions. Eagle anyone? Downwards facing dog? Lotus? Full bridge? I can do all these and more now. In pilates classes I learnt about the body’s ‘core’, and the unusual stretches necessary to strengthen it. I love the idea that these movements fortify what lies at the very heart of my body.

Nearly two years after I embarked on this relationship, it continues to be one of the most positive things in my life. My favourite thing: a lightness of body and soul that was previously unimaginable to me. When I think back to the sluggishness of my old life I often wonder how I survived. My entire existence was tinged with a sort of lethargy which affected everything. I have now learned how to enjoy my body: the little muscles pushing out the old squidge of fat, the deep clean breaths during meditation or a dance class, the power in my legs after a sequence of sun salutations.

So although I have not yet run anywhere near a half-marathon, it is a physical activity from which I am not shying away. In fact, I am very excited about the challenge I face. It is now just under a month (26 days) until I have to move my body through those 13 miles. Last week I thought it was high time to begin my training officially. I managed to quite happily run 3 miles in 26 minutes, so if I continue at this pace, the full run will take me just under 2 hours. This does seem like a hell of a long time to keep running – the most I usually do is 60 minutes – but I hope that continued dedication and hard work over the next 4 weeks will pay off, and result in a shorter running time.

I plan to keep a brief training diary – so do keep checking back for updates!

One final thought – in Sudan some women walk up to 6 miles to collect water for their families, trudging another 6 miles back through the heat to quench the thirst of their families. In places like Darfur – where conflict is still present – these walking women are vulnerable to mugging and rape. This happens today, and will continue to happen tomorrow and the next day, and the day after, unless we take practical action.

Every mile I run I will think of a woman in Sudan. I will run those 13 miles so she no longer has to walk 12 for water.

Please click here if you would like to read more about Practical Action’s work to improve people’s access to water.

Practical Action and I would all very much appreciate your support – both financially and emotionally! – so if you do feel like making a donation after rummaging around in your heart and your wallet, you can do so by visiting my JustGiving site here. 

Thank you!

Alien nation

Margaret Gardner
May 18th, 2010

Practical Action is renowned for our work on stoves. Our stove work has improved the lives of millions of people across Kenya, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and beyond. Now our stove work is Sudan is being recognised as part of an exhibition at the prestigious Smithsonian Museum.

But why are stoves important? There are lots of reasons: 

• Improved stoves use less wood and so ease the burden on women who are the main fuel collectors. Women can walk up to 12Km a day to find wood – not only a back breaking task but they may also face attack and rape as they look for fuel.
• The stoves reduce the amount of killer smoke. Unbelievably indoor air pollution, as it’s officially called, kills 1.6 million people a year – mainly mums and their kids
• It’s better for the environment  – improved stoves emit less CO2
• Women need to cook food – I have seen a stat that says that 90% of the food we eat needs to be cooked.

Why are our stoves so good? Surprisingly maybe I am not going to argue they are the best – there are lots of options and designs out there, some commercially manufactured. I honestly have no idea which is the best – of course I think ours. The big difference with our stoves is that they are low cost and appropriate. They are made out of materials communities can access easily and we train women’s groups to make them and where appropriate set up small businesses to sell.

 I am not an expert but some time ago now a guy I knew said that imported metal stove worked better in Sudan. I was wary of ‘imported’ but even so spoke with our energy expert. He explained that while metal stoves had some advantages the big problem was cost – it was outside the budget of the women we work with and so unsustainable. Our stoves are made by local women out of locally accessible clay so can be used by anyone.  Our stoves are local and affordable. A simple idea that works.

 We also help the women to use the stove in a way that further reduces fuel use for example burning dry wood can save an extra 25%, simmering rather than boiling also takes less fuel; also simple advice such as cutting food into small pieces etc.

I will argue for our stove any day – its making a real difference in the lives of women in Sudan.  

So if you do happen to be in New York – go and see the stove in the ‘Why Design Now‘ exhibition which runs until 9^th January 2011.

Influencing government policies on climate change adaptation

Rachel Berger
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Dar es Salaam
February 26th, 2010

This is the fifth full day of the conference on Community Based Adaptation in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, and my head is full of the experiences that people have presented, and of the plans people have developed in small groups meeting late at night or over breakfast for working together on particular topics. I have agreed to coordinate a group looking at how to ensure that right from the local level, people whose livelihoods are being affected by climate change can be involved in decision making and budget allocation on adaptation. My colleagues are also getting involved – several of them in a group on sharing knowledge about technologies that help people adapt.

All five of us from Practical Action have now given presentations to the conference. Mohamed Siddig from Sudan, the only delegate from his country, gave a really brilliant talk this morning on our work under the Greening Darfur programme, showing how even with very low rainfall, people can have successful harvests and trees can thrive.

It is not often that field-based staff get the opportunity to travel internationally to meet colleagues doing similar work, and over lunch today it was great to hear my colleagues talking about information they plan to share. Besides our work at the local level, it is clear that in several countries we are having significant influence and involvement in government planning for coping with climate change.
This is so important, because ultimately if people are to adapt successfully to living with climate change, it will have to be government policies and planning that enable this to happen.

The conference will conclude tomorrow morning with a clear plan for the next steps on community level adaptation; this plan will be developed over dinner and later tonight by a small group including myself, based on ideas which many people have put forward. After that – it is back to work, and remembering to keep up the contacts and learning!