99,000 reasons to smile

Making even a basic living in Kassala State in Eastern Sudan is extremely challenging. Most of the population, many of whom have been displaced during the recent conflicts, are dependent on agriculture to survive. Drought, exacerbated by climate change, is making livelihoods more and more precarious.  Fierce competition between pastoralists and farmers can flare up over limited land and water  resources.

Practical Action has been working with local communities to address some of their problems. Our three year project ‘Increasing resilience to poverty in Kassala’ has already helped to improve the livelihoods of nearly 80,000 people living in 28 villages in the area.

To continue this work we sent in a project proposal to the European Commission on the 31st July – and were delighted to hear back within just a few days that they would fund a new project with a grant of 1.2million Euros. This will enable us to extend our work to a further 99,000 people.

The new project will help local producers get a more secure income, help people cope with drought through harvesting water and develop conflict resolution skills amongst farmers, pastoralists and government officials.

We will be working with our local partners, Farmers' Association "Al Gandoul Network" and the Kassala Women Development Association Network, to build on our previous successes. These have included:

Water conservation - The Ridge Maker
Traditionally, farmers in semi-arid areas in Eastern Sudan save water for agriculture by building terraces by hand - arduous and time consuming work. The ridge maker has been introduced to enable cheap, fast terrace construction.

It is usually pulled by a tractor to make the ridges that form the terrace. It is fast and can complete 100 meters of terrace in one minute. This means it takes just four minutes to construct a crescent shaped terrace spanning five feddans (just over five acres). This has been used successfully for both the reconstruction of old terraces and building new ones.

More than 2,000 terraces have now been formed, including over 800 for the poorest farmers, who are mainly widows, divorced women and the elderly.

Reduced soil erosion - The Donkey Plough
Several years ago, Practical Action developed an improved donkey plough for use in North Darfur, Sudan. It is more effective than hand tools and reduces soil erosion, leading to improved yields. This technology has been successfully introduced to Kassala by the project. Training given to local blacksmiths has made it possible for these ploughs to be made locally. Some 200 of them have been distributed by Practical Action to the poorest households in the region.

Demonstration farms
Demonstration farms have been set up to show traditional farmers of the benefits of adopting improved agricultural techniques. A variety of methods of land preparation, sowing, weeding, spacing, thinning, and time of harvest were trialled at six locations. Farmers were able to benefit from the results of this research in their local area without running the risks.

Animal health
Animals are very important to the livelihoods of rural people in Kassala. An innovation, which has been introduced in the region, is the community paravet. Some 30 local people have been trained to treat common animal diseases and to administer vaccines. They charge a small fee for their services so they can earn a living from this work.

More than one hundred sessions have been held to raise awareness amongst communities of simple measures they can take to improve animal health.

Protecting the environment and resolving conflict
Deforestation and soil erosion considerably reduce the viability of farming. An area of four feddans (just over four acres) was planted with more than 5,000 acacia seedlings to address this problem and to demonstrate to communities the value of investing in forestry.

Promoting the use of LPG as an alternative to wood or charcoal for cooking helps to preserve the little wood that remains. In addition, 100 women have been trained to make and use more efficient, wood cooking stoves, which use less fuel and they will pass on this knowledge to others.

The Girgir Dam
The Girgir Dam is located 30 km north of Kassala, near Haboba. It serves a population of more than 12,000 in seven villages. The construction of this dam will have a major beneficial impact on the livelihoods of small scale farming communities in this severely drought affected area.

Mohammed Ali, leader of the local community association, recounts some of the comments from his community members on the changes this dam has brought to them:

“The project was completed in September so the rainy season was nearly over. We see the potential for cultivation in the coming year. We used to try and cultivate this area and, now the project is working, we will benefit.”

“I am a farmer here. I grow sorghum. I am looking at the demonstration farm and am interested. I might grow another type of cereal or sorghum. I am hoping to grow more. The community was involved in the creation of the dam as casual workers, handling materials, etc. Before this system, water was an issue for farmers. When the rains came and the stream flooded, everyone would try and divert the water to the land he was farming. Sometimes, the government or an NGO might try to make a temporary intervention. Now work will be more systematic, more people will benefit.”

Thanks to the support from the European Commission Practical Action will be able to continue this work with others in this desolate part of Sudan.