+n the Ground

Pa r t ne r s f or C ha n g e

An $%en Dialogue
%n May ,--. /ete *ones" Director of /artners for Change 0thio#ia" !isited the Co unity Managed Disaster Risk Reduction Co ittee 1CMDRR2 in Dire Dawa. The Co ittee" funded by Co ic Relief and indi!idual donations fro the #ublic" was set u# to address the issue of cli ate change in the se i arid and fragile ecosyste of eastern 0thio#ia. 3lso in attendance were two inde#endent consultants who were in Dire Dawa e!aluating *eCCD+ #rogra es in the city. The eeting took #lace on a hot and hu id e!ening with a grou# of twel!e #eo#le sitting on a ud floor drinking bottles of 4anta in a tin shack ne&t to the Co ittee(s seedling and tree nursery. The following is an o!er!iew of the eeting" in which the co unity e&#lained their acti!ities and the ain issues facing the using" their own words translated into 0nglish by an inter#reter.

"nless !ou reach consensus on

the ground !ou shall never manage to clim# the tree

+ro o #ro!erb

Committee members in the meeting

The Affects of CMD

Tesfa!: %n #re!ious ti es we could #re$ dict when the rain would fall and we #lanted our cro#s accordingly. Now we ust antici#ate new #atterns" we ust follow the daily footste#s of the weather. %f it rains we #lant. %n the #ast we wait$ ed" now we do. /re!iously we only #lant$ ed when the #lanting season was u#on us. Now we #lant when rain co es.(
The #roble is bigger than us" we ha!e to work with co unities u#strea . They can warn us of changes in weather" #articularly when the rains co e" to #re#are us for floods and rain so we can then sow seeds or take #recautions(

and Climate Change

We know we can do something to change our lives
Hirut: Before the CMDRR we used to think we were cursed by God. There has been a big change in thinking. Now we know it is not our fault. We know we can do so ething to change our li!es. We now eet and brainstor ideas" learn fro each other and hel# each other. We eet any ti es in the week after our work in the fields" often we are here until !ery late talk$ ing. We forget about the ti e because the chang$ es we need to ake are big. %t is e&citing but also tiring'( Bogale) When we talked with *eCCD+ we real$ ised we would ha!e to change our li!estock be$ cause of the cli ate. Traditionally we ha!e al$ ways far ed cattle" now we far chicken and goats" they are ore ca#able of enduring hard" dry weather. This has ade a big difference to our fa ilies(

&ioneering communit! develo%ment in 'thio%ia since ())* www+%fcethio%ia+org

Change for ,ivestock

Mesfin: %n the #ast we would tra!el 5-k toward 6arar and o!e cattle to the swa #y areas" Now because of the uncertain" dry weather #eo#le fro the 6arar area are #er anently far ing there. Because of this we can(t go there with our li!estock. %f we had$ n(t learnt how to ada#t our children would ha!e died fro hunger( Bogale)But we ha!en(t got rid of all our cows. This is untrue. 6ow can you forget we are now anaging co u$ nity dairy herds. We conser!e the hills and har!est the grass for the dairy cows. We sell the ilk at affordable #rices so that e!en the #oorest #erson can buy. The cows we ha!e now are a better breed and are able to co#e with the hot and dry weather.( Mesfin: 7es" but % was talking about goats and shee#" they are now ore co on( Bogale: Maybe but don(t forget about the cows" we ha!e discussed this be$ fore. %t is i #ortant to ha!e a wide i&ture of far ing" if the cows die we ha!e the shee#" if the shee# die we ha!e the cows and also now we grow !egetables and culti!ate fruit. We are not so e&#osed to danger fro the weather changes" how can you forget this8'( Mesfin: % didn(t forget 9 % :ust wanted to talk about shee# and goats. % know what you are saying and agree with it( Bogale: %t is good to argue'( Laughter

The Community Herd

Working together: nature and harvesting

Tesfa!) ?ook" before all of this we li!ed as nature forced us. We did not #rotect the hills because there was an abundance of grasses and trees. We gra>ed our cattle whene!er we wanted" we cut down trees for firewood. We are #oor #eo#le" these things were all we had but the grasses and trees disa#$ #eared. We only realised the dangers this brings when the flood ca e three years ago. The rain ran down the hills like water off a bald an(s head. The flood killed hundreds of our #eo#le and destroyed any houses. -alam: We forgot that the hills around us are full of natural edi$ cines" if the hills die then so do our edicines. We sto##ed listening to the #eo#le in our co unity who knew about the !alue of the hills be$ cause we didn(t work together" we only thought about our own sur!i!al. Now we ha!e co e together we realise we need to care for it 1the hills2 as it is a fragile ecosyste ( Mesfin:7es" there are 5- 9 <- record$ ed s#ecies of edicinal #lants on the hills.(

/t is like this0 #efore we

were running in the darkness alone1 now we are running together in the light+
-alam: Now we #rotect because we ha!e seen how it can disa##ear and ake us o#en to flood. *eCCD+ en$ couraged us to co e together. We talked about our future and soon we realised we had to work together to sur!i!e. Now we :oin hands. Before we had no strategy" now we talk and #lan together.( Tesfa!:%t is like this; before we were running in the darkness alone" now we are running together in the light.( .asar: Daylight hours are not enough now we work into the night to ake u# for the lost days. We s#end night after night talking together" anybody is welco e to co e and contribute their knowledge(

Tesfa!: 7es and now we kee# our ears and eyes o#en all the ti e" we talk together about the weather and listen to u#strea co unities. They tell us when it is raining and what direction the rain is heading. We now sow seeds often. The window of o##ortunity is ore o#en now.( /chigew) %n the #ast si& weeks % ha!e har!ested < =uintiles of ai>e. This is uch ore than % would ha!e done #re!iously.( Bogale:Now 1May2 we ha!e already rea#ed one har!est in #re!ious years we would :ust ha!e started sowing( /chigew: 7es and we ha!e learnt how to retain water in different ways. The rains fall differently now" uch hard$ er and shorter. We ha!e learnt how to ca#ture the water" we ha!e built the check da on the hill and are soon going to build another one. We are digging wells. 3s soon as we hear about rain fro the u#strea co u$ nity we are out in the fields creating channels for the water to flow to irri$ gate our cro#s.(

Page 2

On the Ground

/nde%endence and 2eCCD$

Hirut: % want to talk about *eCCD+. They do not tell us what to do. They show new ethods in the de onstra$ tion #lot and gradually we see the #ossibilities growing before our eyes. @o e of us understand before the others and they e&#lain to us during our e!ening eetings. We would not ha!e belie!ed it #ossible to grow an$ go in this area and now we see angos in the de onstration #lot and we ask *eCCD+ how this can be achie!ed. -alam: *eCCD+ is a s art organisa$ tion. %t was the only organisation to talk to us about the weather changes and start #lanting trees and terracing the hills. %t always watches out fro the sideline and in!ites us to talk if we ha!e #roble s. %t doesn(t co e to us with the #rogra es" they allowed us to de!elo# the #ro$ gra e. @o when *eCCD+ lea!es to work with another co unity we are ready to shine. This is s art working ( grow seedlings and how to choose the ost drought resistant and hardy s#e$ cies.( Tesfa!) Now we are taken seriously by local go!ern ent workers. They see what we are doing and for the first ti e take us seriously(

Hirut: This is true" because of this we discuss things and look for o##ortuni$ Mesfin: We show ties. /re!iously we the how fragile the The demonstration plot looked for handouts. ecosyste we li!e in is We were de#endent on go!ern ent and now they are now learning fro officers. We used to get seedlings fro us.( the . +ften they were not the right seedlings. Now we ha!e learnt how to Hirut: Before this we did not like

Benefits of Change
change. +ur fa ilies li!ed the sa e way for generations. %t was the way we were taught to li!e by our #arents. But we understand we ha!e to change if we are going to gi!e our children a life free fro hunger and isery. We ha!e learnt how to be strategic( Bogale) 7es this is true but also we ha!e o!ed fro dealing with our #roble s on our own to hel#ing each other and looking to sol!e our #rob$ le s as a co unity( blind to change.( A#e#e: We need to build regional network 9 this issue is bigger than our i ediate area. 4irst we realise this #roble is bigger than us as indi!idu$ als and we learnt we ha!e to work together as a co unity and now we realise this #roble is bigger than our co unity we ha!e to work with oth$ er co unities hand in hand(( Hirut: That is what % ean by strate$ gic 9 we #lan together and look ahead together( Bogale: +h" ok 9 yes you are right" if this is what strategic is then that is what we are( Hirut: +nce we see the clues now we sol!e the riddle 9 before we weren(t e!en looking for the clues. We were

Left: The seedling and tree nursery.

Right: Wo en of the Co ittee.

Teaching Americans
Tesfa!) %t is not :ust the go!ern ent" do you re e ber when the 3 erican ar y ca e and dug wells but only dug A- etres dee# but didn(t find any water8 We hel#ed the and dug ,- 9 B- etres and found it. We know where to look. We forgot how uch we know" now we talk together we realise we ha!e the solutions through our knowledge of the land. When we were alone we forgot now we re e $ ber and #ut our knowledge to the new #roble s.( Mesfin: This is true" so now we teach the go!ern ent and the 3 ericans'(

Volume 1, Issue 1

Page 3

3ew es%ect: elations with ,ocal 4overnment

Tesfa!: Before if there was a #rob$ le we insulted or shouted at the city go!ern ent officials. Now we know how to a##roach the . We learnt by talking a ongst oursel!es and fro the conflict resolution worksho#s that *eCCD+ runs. Now we e!en bring the ayor into our co unity.( -a#a: 7es but" our e&#erience is that the go!ern ent is not #roacti!e 9 if there is a threat they will only deal with the after ath. That(s why we talk with the to encourage the to look at ways of reducing the risk.( Tesfa!: We s#ent a lot of ti e talk$ ing with go!ern ent and they do listen" don(t forget we ha!e con$ !inced the of the need to e&tend the flood wall. We took the to see the ga#s in the flood wall near our fields and ho es" then they under$ stood our reasons. ( Bogale: This is true but it is only #ossible because we ha!e shown the we are good #eo#le. We ha!e learnt that we need to show go!ern$ ent we are not bad #eo#le. De!el$ o# ent of trust is the ost i $ #ortant thing. Then they res#ect and listen to us.( Tesfa!:3lso we infor local go!ern$ ent about the risks to our co unity because of the changing rainfall. Not the other way around. % think now they a##reciate we are hel#ing. Before we used this a##roach if the ayor ca e into our co unity he would co e it with a ca!alcade of ar ed otorcycle #olice en. But now since we ha!e been he co es =uietly on his own and sits with us. 6e asks us about our #roble s( Mesfin:The local go!ern ent ca e here and wanted to build the flood wall through our orange trees and tree nursery. %t would ha!e de!astated our work and also it didn(t ake sense as it didn(t follow the course of the ri!er. We talked to the Mayor and go!ern$ ent officials and they changed their #lans( Hirut: 3lso recently we needed a bull$ do>er to #re#are so e land . %t costs C-- birr 1DBA2 #er hour. The ayor lent us one for free for B days. This would ne!er ha!e ha##ened before. %t is incredible" we are real #artners( -a#a: But" there are still #roble s. The city go!ern ent has allotted flood #lain land for to #eo#le to build on. %t is dan$ gerous. There is still a ga# in the flood wall in that area" #eo#le who li!e there will die if there is a flood. We ha!e got a #etition of 5-- na es and gi!en it to the ayor" to ask hi to re$ consider this dangerous #lan. The city go!ern ent is taking us serious$ ly" we think we will sto# this dan$ gerous building.( Tesfa!: 7es" also we are talking to the local go!ern ent about the e&ca!ation of sand in the wadi and dry sand strea by businesses. %t is aking the flood #otential worse" creating torrential flows of water and could endanger life.( A#e#e: The ne&t critical issue is regional go!ern ent. We are organ$ ised at !illage le!el. The !illage le!el and regional le!el needs to be tied u#. We need to de!elo# an annual action #lan.( -a#a: Go!ern ent is the biggest #roble . +ur e&#erience is that they co e into our neighbourhood and create #roble s that weren(t there before.( A#e#e: 7es" but since we are talk$ ing to the they are getting bet$ ter"they are now our #artners. We ha!e ade the aware that our interests are their interests( -a#a: % su##ose you are right but they still cause #roble s(

&ost5Meeting eflections
This is the most incredible meeting Ive been to in many, many years. I have been very depressed about Ethiopia in recent years but hat these people are doing gives me real hope for the future of this country 3to Tadele" inde#endent consultant The really impressive thing about this committee is the ay they have turned a crisis into opportunity. To do that they have had to change their attitudes to one another, the government, the ay they or!, the crops they gro . /ete *ones" Director @t Matthew(s Children(s 4und 0thio#ia "ometimes, late at night, I decide to chec! on progress and I arrive to find the committee tal!ing together, every time they are there, they do this every night. I often find myself #oining them, the enthusiasm and commitment to improve is contagious. 3to 3bebe" Manager" *eCCD+ 6a$ wassa Co unity De!elo# ent /rogra e +ffice

"%date as of 67(7
%n late ,--. a regional conference on the issues of DRR and Cli$ ate Change 3da#tation was organi>ed by *eCCD+ in coo#era$ tion with the Regional 3griculture and Rural De!elo# ent Bu$ reau. @i&ty si& #ersons fro different le!els of go!ern ent and BE co unity re#resentati!es #artici#ated in the worksho#. The con$ ference concluded with strong reco endations for the for ation of a Regional DRR and Cli ate Change 3da#tation foru and the need for creating interregional linkage a ong the four neigh$ bouring regions 16arare" +ro ya" @o ali regions and Dire Dawa 3d inistration2. *eCCD+ and the Dire Dawa 3d inistration 0n!iron ental /rotection Bureau ha!e been no inated to take this forward. 4ollowing this the 4ederal 3ffairs 3d!isor to the /ri e Minister and the Director of the 4ederal Re!enue 3uthority !isited *eCCD+(s CMDRR work in late ,--. and co ended the on their work and su##orted the for ation of regional fo$ ru s.

Partners for Change Ethio"ia

32-36 Loman Street Southwark London SE1 0EH Tel: 2 !"22 !" #$% E-mail: in&o'p&(ethiopia)org e!: ***)p&(ethiopia)org