General

Ethiopian farming communities? resilience is severely affected by adverse impacts of climate change. Majority of the population in Amhara region is involved in traditional forms of farming vulnerable to the changing climate. Legeheda and Habru districts are among the most disaster-prone areas of the region. The severe land degradation exacerbated by the changing climate puts their livelihoods at risk. This project is aiming at addressing the negative effects of climate change and contribute to building community's resilience through rehabilitation of degraded lands, employing climate smart agriculture, enhancing gender equality and climate literacy, promoting networking among various stakeholders working in areas of climate change and advocate for climate change adaptation and mitigation. In addition, the project works on increasing awareness of target communities on climate change and gender equality. The project will empower women through the self-help group approach creating more skills and knowledge to combat climate change. Moreover, as youth are the most vulnerable, access to vocational skill training and off farm green jobs will be created by the project. Beneficiaries of the project are children and youth at risk of marginalization, persons with disabilities, women and girls living in the project area, as well as government officials and authorities, religious leaders and leaders of CSOs. The implementing agency is the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus-Development and Social Services Commission (EECMY-DASSC).

General

In Mozambique, peasants produce around 70% of food, mostly from seeds saved from their crops. Traditional smallholder farming is under enormous pressure: population growth and urbanisation reshape markets and diets; climate change brings cyclones, droughts, floods, pests and plant diseases; soil is impoverishing; biodiversity is being lost; and industrial agriculture is marginalising smallholders. As a result of these pressures, the ability of smallholder farmers to maintain their farmland and preserve agricultural biodiversity suffers. Crop yields are projected to fall by 11% in the current decade as a result of climate change. 43% of Mozambicans suffer from malnutrition. Women are more likely than men to be poor. They are also over-represented among those affected by Cyclone Idai, which hit the project area in 2019. The immediate expected outcomes of the project are (i) women and their families adopt less environmentally damaging agricultural practices, such as reducing slash and burn, preserving native trees important for soil fertility, cover cropping, green manuring, organic pest control and composting, (ii) participatory improvement of genetic diversity through smallholder farmers' knowledge, experience and practices, (iii) more families in communities produce complementary products for their diets through agroecological methods and reduce the use of chemical products harmful to the environment, (iv) chronic malnutrition and food insecurity is at least halved through increased production and diversification of family diets; (v) families' disposable incomes increase significantly and they are able to cover education and health costs; (vi) the majority of families have secure production tools and models as they have been supported in legalising their land tenure, (vii) a reduction in production costs, (viii) the adoption of individual and collective strategies in the design and marketing of products of both plant and animal origin, and (ix) more systematic production and higher quality products. The direct beneficiaries of the project are 90 women from three local communities in the districts of Buzi and Chibabava, who participate in the project activities. The indirect beneficiaries consist of their family members, a total of 396 people. The total population of the two districts is around 360 000. The project is implemented by the Associação Acção Académica para o Desenvolvimento das Comunidades Rurais (ADECRU); https://adecru.wordpress.com/.

General

Colombia is officially an upper middle income country, but also one of the most unequal countries in the world. Income inequality is huge and land ownership is concentrated in the hands of the few (0.4% own 61% of the land). Indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombians are the most disadvantaged, and the provinces they live in, are among the poorest and most violent in the country. The peace agreement between Colombian government and the FARC ended a long armed conflict but did not bring real peace, as the vacuum left by the guerrillas has been filled by paramilitary organisations and the ELN, and violence and the murders of defenders of human rights and land rights have even increased. According to the official statistics, the number of internally displaced persons has already reached almost 7 million. Direct results: the project communities adapt and protect their livelihoods in the face of regional conflicts and climate change. Participating populations, especially women, will take a leading role in conflict resolution processes and contribute to protection, social cohesion and risk management. Beneficiaries of the activities are vulnerable families and communities in the areas of intervention, peacebuilders (especially women), community leaders and local organisations. The implementing partner is Lutheran World Federation (LWF). It is an international actor with presence in its areas of operation, working with local communities and organisations. Its strength are the multidisciplinary and holistic approach, the triple nexus of humanitarian, development and peace work. The trust and credibility gained with other civil society actors, the Colombian authorities and armed actors allows access to conflict areas, facilitates establishing links between communities and local authorities, contributing to the improvement of living conditions for communities and paving the way for advocacy at regional, national and international level. https://www.lutheranworld.org/