CRDP – NON-FORMAL EDUCATION AND PROJECT MONITORING AND EVALUATION

The Non-Formal component of the Central Rangelands Development Project (CRDP) helped pastoralists understand the principles and practices of range management, identify traditional grazing areas and practices, reveal their needs, and establish range and livestock associations. They also established demonstration plots and developed educational materials regarding the methods and benefits of rangeland management. The latter, some of which appear below, were distributed to schools and interested individuals. (Note: Please notify me if I didn’t get the Somali titles right.)

Non-Formal Education staff member meeting with pastoralists at Ceel Dhere.

As project staff accumulated on-the-ground knowledge, periodic reviews over the CRDP’s 10-year program led to major adjustments in its approach. A major lesson was the need for a two-phase project, the first to gather specific environmental, social, and economic data on which to base appropriate development interventions, and the second to implement them. Another lesson was that successful rangeland development would require sustained grass-roots input, assisted by reliable funding, over many years. Examples of promising interventions included agro-forestry demonstration plots and helping villagers upgrade hand-dug wells, live-fence degraded areas, stabilize small sand dunes and plant shelter belts and woodlots.

For more information about the Central Rangelands Development Project see Thurow et al. 1991. Rangeland development innovations for communal land management – A Somali case study In Published Papers and Reports.

Project director, Dahir Abbey, (right) and range officers test a new hand pump at a well in the Central Rangelands. Simple upgrades to existing hand-dug wells were highly popular and successful interventions.

NON-FORMAL EDUCATION & EXTENSION

PROJECT MONITORING AND EVALUATION

I want to thank Jon Herlocker for his invaluable financial and technical support.