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Spring 2009

interactThe magazine of

ISSN 1816-045X

Living ‘landto mouth’

The big contribution of small-scale farmers

Also in this issue:

Why the G20 must Put People FirstCommunity work in Yemen

Young people in Somaliland

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2 interact Spring 2009

wood back to their home. Forhouseholds that live within Dili and othertowns (and therefore cannot search thecoutryside for their own wood), the costof buying wood for fuel can be as muchas an average daily wage.

This situation cuts to the core of myrole, which is to address unsustainableresource use and promote sustainablelivelihoods in East Timor, includingbuilding the capacity of local staff toidentify, address, advocate and lobby onthese issues.

So, after researching the history,sociology, biology and economics of thefuel wood market in East Timor, I setabout identifying a sustainablealternative solution that would utiliseappropriate technology and would belikely to be accepted by thecommunities.

Research led me to Africa, whereconditions can be very similar to EastTimor, and where I found bio-briquettes.

Fuel bio-briquettes are made fromalmost any organic material, but mostcommonly from one or more of threeingredients: coffee husk, rice husk orsawdust. In East Timor, and particularly inDili, these raw materials are inabundance, and a huge proportion of itis dumped or wasted. There is thereforea great opportunity to utilise these wasteproducts for both social andenvironmental benefits, if a feasibleproduction, marketing and distribution

HERE IN EAST TIMOR, where I am aProgressio development workerworking with the environmental

organisation Haburas, one of thegreatest threats to the naturalenvironment is the felling of trees toprovide wood for cooking fires. Thispractice is endemic, with more than 95%of the country’s energy requirementsbeing met by wood fuel – meaningalmost the entire population rely onwood fuel to cook on a daily basis.

Mangrove, eucalyptus and othernative trees are being felled withoutapparent consideration for the future.The people’s need for cooking fuel andincome-generation (from selling woodfuel), coupled with weak laws andpolicies on natural resource use andinadequate law enforcement, hascreated a social environment whereunsustainable resource use is rife.

The main environmental impacts ofunsustainable tree felling are: loss ofbiodiversity; increased susceptibility toland slides (East Timorese terrain iscommonly on a slope of 40° or more);soil erosion and reduced soil quality;sedimentation of coral reefs, threateningfish populations and marine biodiversity;and increased susceptibility to invasivespecies.

To add insult to injury, in householdswhere wood for fuel is collected, familymembers can spend up to 15 hours aweek searching for and carrying the

process can be designed.I have recently secured a medium-size

funding package from AusAid, which willenable Haburas and myself to instigatethe pilot Briquette Project. We will train10 groups of six people to collect,process, produce and sell briquetteswithin Dili. We will also be providingbusiness and book-keeping training.Because many of the participants arelikely to be semi-literate and have poornumeric skills, this training will betailored to their specific needs and theneeds of running a small business.

The project aims both to produce aproduct and create a market for it.Future growth of associated businessesand further product demand will groworganically once the merits (economic,social and environmental) are obvious.

From an environmental and naturalresource perspective, briquetting cantangibly reduce the negative impact offuel wood collection on East Timor’sforest and marine ecosystems. From asocio-economic perspective, the projectwill empower marginalised groups (suchas youth groups, who will be involved inthe pilot); encourage independentincome generation; and promotesustainable livelihood strategies.

Let’s hope we have a win-win projectin the making...

Nick Molyneux is a Progressiodevelopment worker in East Timor.

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Putting people first

production and they contribute tonational growth in a sustainable way.Furthermore the cultural element andachievement of personal pride andidentity in farming can provide additionalbenefits if recognised.

This is not to romanticise smallholderfarming. Much more needs to be done,especially on how small-scale farmers canwork together to generate communalbenefits and how they can access bettertrading opportunities (whether locally,nationally or internationally).

But small-scale farming is a goodillustration of the wider fault-line runningthrough the current paradigm ofdevelopment, which seems to be that‘big is better’. Large-scale projects havetheir place, but to be fully successful theyneed to have good governance, the fullsupport of the local community, and besustainable – not just for the long-termbenefit of a community, but for theplanet as a whole.

In the early 1970s, E F Schumacherused the phrase ‘small is beautiful’ in his

Spring 2009 interact 3

WORLD LEADERS from the G20countries are gathering inLondon in early April. They

meet at a time when the global economyis in crisis. Even governments admit thatreliance on the market has failed.Confidence has evaporated andgovernments have had to step in to propup the international banking system.

The summit of the G20 leaders willconsider what measures are needed toaddress the causes and consequences ofthe current crisis. They are conscious thatglobal coordination is required, as thecrisis, whose immediate impact is beingfelt in the rich North, will play out itsgreatest effects in the countries of theSouth and in the lives of those who arepoor and marginalised.

Foreign direct investment to Southerncountries is set to plummet, and asmoney is directed to shoring up thehome economies of the North, there willbe greater pressure on aid budgets. Thiseconomic crisis follows on the heels ofthe recent fuel and food crises that havealready exacerbated poverty levels formany in the South.

For the world’s 1.4 billion small-scalefarmers, the vagaries of the market, thecollapse of banks and the billions beingpoured into rescue packages may seemof remote interest. But in practice, small-scale farmers will feel the repercussionsonly too harshly. The costs of their tools,fertilisers and seeds have risen; securingcredit is often an impossible task; theymay face losing land to large-scale,intensive agriculture or due tocommercial pressures – or just because,as people who are poor and powerless,their contribution is simply ignored bythe policy-makers.

Yet small-scale farmers also hold someof the solutions. They have protectedand improved the security of food

agenda

The global financial crisis could open thedoor to a new, people-centred vision of

development, writes Christine Allen

A small-scale farmer in Honduras.

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discussion of economic models andsustainable development. Yet in the last30 years the dominant model has beenthe exact opposite: big was beautiful andgreed was good. Now the bubble hasburst and confidence in that dominanteconomic model is at an all-time low.People are looking for other ways.

It’s not just the person in the street,but the policy-makers and politicians thatare also looking for a new ‘narrative’ orparadigm. Between the lobby for theG20 and the DFID white paperconsultation process (see pages 9 to 11)there are opportunities to feed into thethinking about a new development story.

As far as we are concerned, it’s not anew story – it’s about understandingthose principles that we have beenworking to for many years. Principlesbased on the desire to see full humandevelopment, where the dignity of thehuman person, especially the poor andmarginalised, comes into play; adevelopment model that is sustainable,and does not create additionaldependence; a development process thatlistens to, empowers and skills-up thepeople in the community not just toidentify their own solutions but to beable to put them into practice.

The recent economic downturn hasshown the folly of policies that have putthe market and profit before people andsustainability. In the search for the newstory of development, we could doworse than reflect on the simplemessage of the lobby for the G20: PutPeople First.

Christine Allen is Progressio’s ExecutiveDirector.

agenda

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Small-scale farmers can playa key role in helping to feed

the world’s people THE RECENT FOOD CRISIS is asymptom of fundamentalflaws in the food system

which has taken root over thepast three decades. Two billiontonnes of grain are grown everyyear – more than enough tofeed everyone on earth. Butmillions of people go to bedhungry every night. Why?Because growing food hasbecome an industry that’s moreconcerned with profit thanwith feeding people.

The vast majority of the

world’s farmland is given overto large-scale commercialfarming: agro-export crops,biofuels and transgenicsoybean. Most of these cashcrops go to feed the lifestyles ofpeople in the rich North.Meanwhile, 70% of poorcountries are net importers offood.

Against the grainGoing against the grain of thissystem are the world’s small-scale farmers: 1.4 billion ofthem, supporting with theirproduce 2 billion people – athird of humanity.

There are an estimated 450million small farms around theworld. In Africa alone, 33million smallholder farmersaccount for 80% of thecontinent’s agriculturaloutputs. Nine out of ten poorpeople in rural areas aresmallholder farmers whodepend on plots of less thantwo hectares for their food. Thearticles in this section ofInteract aim to give a briefinsight into their lives.

Lives depend on itProgressio believes that small-scale farmers can play a keyrole in helping the world tofeed itself. “These farmers arereal professionals,” saysProgressio’s EnvironmentalPolicy Officer, Petra Kjell.“They have to be – their livesdepend on it. And given half achance, they could play a keyrole in solving the global foodcrisis.

“Not only do they producefood to feed 2 billion people,many do so in a sustainableway – providing sustainablelivelihoods for themselves andtheir families, and a sustainableenvironment for futuregenerations.”

Call for supportAs the G20 leaders meet inLondon, Progressio is warningthat small-scale farmers – andthe negative impact the globalfinancial crisis is having onworld hunger – must not be

LIVING‘LAND TO

MOUTH’

insight: living ‘land to mouth’

Skill and practiceMary Gerald is a 40-year-old farmer from Chiola village, near Lilongwe in Malawi.

Mary, her husband and their family have an organic farm near a river, whichprovides an ideal source of water (carried by hand in buckets) for her chillies,tomatoes, aubergines, lettuce, and maize. The plot produces enough food to feed ahousehold of nine people.

Mary’s children help out on the farm and together they are able to produce a smallsurplus of vegetables, which they sell at the local market. It is hard to make muchprofit because the market is made up of equally poor people, but the cash they earnenables them to buy basic necessities like soap, salt, and sugar.

Mary has been growing organically since 2002. As her family grew in size, Mary andher husband decided to try organic farming to reduce the cost of expensive fertilisers.The farm now relies on manure made from waste products like animal dung,groundnut husks, and maize and bean stalks. “You don’t need to buy expensivefertiliser,” says Mary. “You can make your own organic fertiliser, which is free andbetter for the environment.”

Thanks to the introduction of winter cropping, Mary and her family now haveenough food to eat all year round. “Winter cropping is a must,” she says; “growingvegetables all year round takes a little extra skill and practice, but is well worth it.”

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forgotten. “Big farms are notthe only solution,” saysProgressio Policy Manager, TimAldred. “Small-scale farmersdeliver the food that feeds athird of humanity – we simplycannot afford to ignore them.”

Progressio is calling ongovernments to take action inthree key areas: • Provide more investment

and support for small-scalefarmers (instead ofoverlooking them innational spending plans andoverseas aid budgets)

• Review national andinternational policy toensure that it benefits small-scale farmers (instead ofundermining them)

• Help build the capacity ofsmall-scale farmers to enablethem to contribute to policy-making at local, nationaland international level(instead of ignoring theirvoices and concerns).


Self-sufficiencyMichael Nyirenda (34) from Chiola village, near Lilongwe in Malawi,is married with two children. Michael started farming organically in1997, after he got married. Suddenly, he had more mouths to feedand the high cost of chemical fertilisers forced him to look for analternative. A friend advised him to grow organically, and he hasnot looked back. He has even been able to build a permanent brickhome, to replace the grass hut that the family formerly slept in,with the proceeds from maize and nut cultivation.

Michael and his wife do most of the work on the farm but, sincetheir family is quite small by Malawian standards, they draft inlabourers when there is too much to do. Thanks to their hard workand dedication, they now have enough food to eat all year round.“Unlike many families who won’t have sufficient food during thelean months, I and my family have enough food to take us up tothe next harvesting season,” he says proudly.

Thanks to Progressio developmentworkers Marvin Zavala (inHonduras) and Innocent BidongOgaba (in Malawi) for these casestudies.N

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Don’t ignore our expertiseDon Faustino Reyes Matute (52) lives with his wife, Aracely Casco (43), and their fivechildren in the San Marcos community, in the municipality of La Masica, Honduras.They first came to San Marcos in 1974 from the Department of Yoro, drawn by theplentiful natural resources. Today, Don Faustino and his family are full-time farmers,producing food for the whole family and enough surplus to sell in the local market andacross the municipality. On their two hectares of land, they grow corn, beans, tomato,onion, leeks, papaya, sweet chilli, hot chilli, bananas, lettuce and coriander as well asrearing guinea fowl and pigs.

A total of 10 people depend on the produce from the farm – not only Faustino, hiswife and their children, but also Faustino’s grandchildren who help him out on the plot.

Faustino passionately believes that we are slowly destroying the planet owing to ourlack of knowledge about how to use the land properly. “This is particularly true whenthe deep-rooted knowledge about how nature works and the growing practices ofgenerations of small-scale producers is ignored,” says Faustino.

Green tips from the developing worldOn the first day of Spring (21 March), Progressiolaunched a series of ‘growing tips’ fromsubsistence farmers in the global South. As GuyBarter, Head of Advice at the UK RoyalHorticulturalSociety, says:“Growing yourown food is seenas an enjoyableactivity in Britain,but elsewhere itcan be a matter of life and death.The ingenuity ofpeople in thisposition can beinspiring and theiradvice helpful.”

Tips range fromusing aromaticplants (or garlicwater) to deterpests, to how to make organic fertilisers(feathers, skin, fingernails and hooves arerecommended ingredients in Honduras!).

To see the full range of tips, go towww.progressio.org.uk

“Consider thesoil as a livingbeing whichneeds to regainall of thenutrients it hasgiven to us viafruit andvegetables if it is to producehealthy, nutrient-rich produce”

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GERALD KACHIDEKHWE farmsa small dimba or wetlandgarden in rural Mpingu,

around 28km west of Malawi’scapital Lilongwe. He embracedorganic farming two years ago,with help from Progressiopartner organisation MOGA –the Malawi Organic Growers’Association.

Agriculture remains thebackbone of Malawi’s economy.85% of the population of justover 13 million people live inrural areas, and most dependon small-scale farming. Plotsare small, with many farmerscultivating less than half ahectare of land (about half thesize of a football pitch: onehectare is 100m x 100m or10,000 square metres, roughlyequivalent in square metres tothe area of a football pitch).

Gerald Kachidekhwe’s plotmeasures 50m x 35m – lessthan half a hectare.

MOGA supports around 200smallholder farmers in theMpingu area, and has around3,200 members countrywide. Itpromotes organic farmingbecause it is a sustainable wayto meet people’s food needs:farmers are less reliant onexternal inputs such asfertilisers, which cost money;soil quality is not depleted butreplenished.

Initially, MOGA suppliedfarmers with seed for maize,green vegetables, onion, garlic,egg plant and other crops.“Crops grew well,” says StanleyChidaya, MOGA’s ExecutiveSecretary. “The fertility of soil isimproving. If the organicfarmers can do the right thing,the environment will beregenerated, and water andland management practices willbe done correctly.

“It will be like bringing backthe good old days.”

AFARMER’S

LIFE


Pictures and interviews by Gospel Mwalwanda. Gospel is a senior journalistwith the Malawi News Agency, for which he has worked for 26 years.

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The Kachidekhwe family preparing their maize garden forwinter cropping. “I wish you were here when we wereharvesting so that you could have seen the wonders thatmanures [organic fertilisers] can do,” says GeraldKachidekhwe. “The manure gave me seven bags of maizefrom that piece of land [measuring 15m by 15m] and I havesince stopped using chemical fertilisers.”

The Kachidekhwe family leave for home after a hard day’swork in their dimba gardens. Gerald Kachidekhwe, now aged49, remembers when trees were in abundance in their village.He says the soil was very fertile and helped households toharvest bumper crop yields: “That was the time when we usedto have plenty of rain. But then we started cutting down trees,and the good soil got washed away and land became lessproductive.” Chemical fertilisers were seen as the answer – butin the long run, they made things worse. “The chemicalfertilisers have done more harm than good to the soil,” saysGerald. “They don’t replace soil nutrients.”

The Kachidekhwe family shelling beans(nyemba in the local language) at theirhome. “Be thorough,” MaryKachidekhwe tells her children; “donot leave any pods unshelled.”

The Kachidekhwe family work in theirbean garden. As they work, MrKachidekhwe speaks about the virtue ofhard work, telling his children that hedoes not want to see any one of themsitting idle. He urges the family to workhard so that they can finish early.

The Kachidekhwe family harvest chillis.

Gerald and Mary Kachidekhwe, withfour of their children, and Mary’smother, Mrs Lesina Matisara.

Gerald Kachidekhwe (far right) and family. Gerald turned toorganic farming as the only way to ward off hunger in ahousehold of nine people. “Organic farming is cheap andsustainable,” he says. “I use composite manure, ash,agricultural waste and green leaves. Everything is availablelocally. I spend very little money nowadays on farming.”

Gerald Kachidekhwe and his wife Marypicking egg plants. Women performabout 70% of farm work in thesmallholder sector in Malawi, sharingwith men most farm-related tasks suchas clearing land and digging out grass.They also are involved in harvesting,threshing and winnowing, andcarrying produce to local markets.

Progressio development worker InnocentBidong Ogaba (right) examines chillipeppers with Mary Kachidekhwe.

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ON MOST SATURDAY

MORNINGS during theharvest season,

Thomson Makuta would leavehis Chiola village near Mpingu,about 28km north of Malawi’scapital Lilongwe, and head forthe market, carrying on hisbicycle a bag of fresh cobs ofmaize, and another containingsweet potatoes, writes GospelMwalwanda.

Thomson grows organicmaize, green vegetables,tomatoes, sweet potatoes, beans

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and aubergines. Before hestarted harvesting his produce,the 27-year-old farmer hadhigh hopes that his cropswould fetch him a lot ofmoney, knowing that organicproducts are highly prized allover the world.

But he found out that he waswrong: he got a paltry 6,000Malawian kwacha (about £30),a far cry from the 20,000kwacha he had hoped for.

“The money we get from ourcrops is very little,” he says. “Ihave two children to educate,feed and clothe, and also haveto help orphans of myrelations. I have no othermeans of earning income.”

It’s a sentiment echoed byGerald Kachidekhwe. “The lackof markets is our biggestproblem,” he says. “I carrytomato to the market threetimes a week, but it fetchesvery little money. We feelexploited. We need money topay school fees, and to buy

medicines and clothes.”The challenge for MOGA

(the Malawi Organic Growers’Assocation) is to create ademand for the healthyproduce grown by thesepioneering organic farmers.According to MOGA’s ExecutiveSecretary, Stanley Chidaya, theway to create demand fororganic produce is to raisepublic awareness about thehealth benefits – and ensurethat people buying organic canbuy with confidence.

That’s where Progressio’sdevelopment worker, InnocentBidong Ogaba, comes in.Innocent, an agriculturaleconomist and organic farmingspecialist from Uganda, issupporting MOGA indeveloping standards for theproduction of organic crops,which they hope will beadopted by the country’sregulatory body, the MalawiBureau of Standards.

“For a consumer to pay apremium price, they have to besure that the product is trulyorganic,” says Innocent. Theadoption of organic standards,followed by a process ofcertification and verification,will promote awareness of andconfidence in organic produce– and hopefully lead to a viablemarket for the crops of farmerslike Thomson Makuta andGerald Kachidekhwe.

Gospel Mwalwanda is a seniorjournalist with the Malawi NewsAgency.

FARMERSNEED

MARKETS


Thomson Makuta andhis wife Dorothy clear

weeds from theirsweet potato garden

(above); ThomsonMakuta (right);

Dorothy Makuta(below).

Thomson Makuta (left) preparesorganic fertiliser for his fields – “goodfarming practice,” he says, “ withmany advantages over chemicalfertilisers”. One advantage is that thishome-made fertiliser does not costthem anything: the ingredients arewaste products from the farmingprocess. Once crops are growing,Thomson uses a pesticide made fromJatropha Carcaus leaves, locallyknown as mtsatsi. “We can’t affordpesticides, they are too expensive.These leaves work all the same,” hesays. “For us small farmers, this kindof farming is sustainable becauseevery input is with us in the village.”

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to make vulnerable people like childrenmore at risk from disease.

One out of every four people on theplanet are smallholder farmers. Thisgroup has experienced wildly volatileprices over the past year, which havemade their livelihoods more precariousthan ever. If you don’t know whether ornot you will get a fair price for your cropsat harvest time, you don’t know if youcan afford to plant – and this increasesthe risk that you will fall into destitution.

Falling aidGovernments of low-income countrieshave less tax revenue, and find it harderto fund services such as health care. Ontop of this we are seeing cuts inoverseas aid applied by many donorgovernments struggling to balance theirbooks.

While the UK government is loudlymaintaining its aid commitments, therecent drop in the value of the poundstill means that the effective value ofpromised British aid could fall by over£41 billion over the next seven years.2

Countries like Nicaragua and Haiti are

WITH COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE reelingfrom the worst economic crisissince the second world war,

decisions taken at the G20 meeting inLondon will have far-reachingconsequences for the lives of virtuallyeveryone on the planet.

It is the poorest who have the most tofear. Here’s a shocking estimate from theWorld Bank: an additional 200,000 to400,000 children could die every yearfrom the knock-on effects of the globaldownturn1 in poor countries like thosewhere Progressio works.

DestitutionWhy? Because when markets collapse,people see their income drop. In turn,they are less able to pay for food andother essentials, and this quickly starts

It’s time for courage from theleaders of the G20, says

Progressio’s Advocacy ManagerTim Aldred

No more

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Maria Margarita Sumba, a small-scale farmer in Gualaceo, nearCuenca, Ecuador.

How the crisis is hittingthe poor100 million more people are beingtrapped below the poverty line ofUS$2 per day due to the globalfinancial crisis than wouldotherwise have been the case. Ofthese, 46 million are below theextreme poverty line of $1.25/day.

This is on top of an additional130-150 million pushed intopoverty in 2008 by the food andfuel crisis.

The World Bank estimates thatan additional 200,000 to 400,000children could die every yearbecause of the knock-on effects ofthe crisis.Source: World Bank, ‘Financial crisis

could trap 53 million more people inpoverty’, 12 February 2009

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seeing large drops in remittances senthome by their diaspora communities.

And this is without the well-reportedimpacts of climate change. One ofProgressio’s development workers inPeru, Bruno Güemes, reports that due toenvironmental degradation linked to aworsening climate, people are alreadyleaving their ancestral lands.

So at the top of the list for the greatand good meeting in London should bethe position of the poorest. As Nobellaureate Al Gore and UN head Ban Ki-Moon said in February 2009:

We must act now to prevent furthersuffering … This means increasingoverseas development assistance thisyear. It means strengthening socialsafety nets. It means investing inagriculture in developing countries bygetting seeds, tools, sustainableagricultural practices and credit tosmallholder farmers so they canproduce more food and get it to localand regional markets.3

PrioritiesThe crisis has exposed as never beforethe fact that failure to tackle bothpoverty and climate change has always

been a matter of priorities, notresources. According to recentcalculations money spent on bailoutpackages is more than 40 times thecombined commitments to combatglobal poverty and climate change.4

The bailouts are on a level whichcould have funded the MillenniumDevelopment Goals many times over,and also funded the steps required tocounter the worst effects of climatechange. The need to address this grossinequity is arguably more glaring thanever before.


analysis

OpportunitiesThere is a way forward. For example,one pillar of economic recovery plans is‘fiscal stimulus’ – in other words, aspending spree unparalleled in modernhistory aimed at kick-starting the globaleconomy.

This presents a huge opportunity totake exactly some of the steps that weneed to combat climate change byinvesting in measures to reduce ourcarbon emissions – from insulating ourhomes, to energy efficiency measures.

And the G20 must recognise that the

Source: Anderson, Cavanagh and Redman, Skewed priorities, Institute of Policy Studies, 24 November 2008

Priorities, priorities…

■ Global financial stimulus packages: $4,100 billion

■ Annual overseas development assistance: $91 billion

■ Current commitments to measures to combatclimate change: $13 billion

What do WE want?The Put People First coalition is calling on the G20 to:

• Tackle tax havens, by compelling them to abide by strict internationalrules and participate in systems of automatic exchange of information.

• Reform the World Bank and IMF.• Make all financial institutions, financial products and multinational

companies transparent and publicly accountable. • Ensure a massive investment in transformative action to deliver a green

new deal, with a regulatory framework that backs this up. This wouldcreate jobs in sectors such as alternative energy and energy saving.

• Invest in and strengthen public provision of essential services.• Provide emergency funding to all countries that need it to stimulate their

economies, and protect the poorest.• Honour the commitments to deliver 0.7% of national income as aid and

cancel unpayable developing country debts.• Ensure that poorer states are allowed to take responsibility for managing

their economies. • Stop pushing liberalisation and deregulation of developing country

industries while permitting protectionism in developed economies.• Push for a good deal at the Copenhagen climate change negotiations in

December 2009 which will limit global temperature increases to wellbelow 2°C.

• Find the extra money that is needed to help poor countries adapt toclimate change.

what do we want?

...jobs ...justice ...climate

Decent jobs and public services for all

End global poverty and inequality

Build a green economy

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poor countries which didn’t cause thecrisis will also need economic help.Unlike the developed world, they can’tspend their way out of trouble, and willneed support.

So if we’re going to spend big, let’sspend it on fighting poverty andprotecting the environment, and notexecutive pensions and coal-fired powerstations.

New visionWhile this looks like a no-brainer, themessage doesn’t seem to have fully sunkin. The G20 must raise its game, and alsogive a clear signal that when we reachthe UN climate change negotiations inCopenhagen in December there will bereal commitment to strike the deal onreducing emissions that the poor of theworld so desparately need.

There is a crisis of values at the heartof this ‘triple crunch’ of economics,poverty, and climate. We cannotcontinue to use simplistic measures of

income as the sole indicators of ‘success’in development – this will perpetuateenvironmental damage and deepenpoverty. We need to agree a new globalvision, which measures success firstly infreedom from poverty, in a cared fornatural environment, and the ability tolive life in peace and dignity; where theglobal financial system is a servant of thegreater good, not an end in itself.

Pursuing this new vision is at the heartof Progressio’s work, both in ourinternational programmes, and in ourlobbying and campaigning work – andwe’re in it for the long term. As part ofthe Put People First coalition, we argue


analysis

Who are the G20?The G20 are the world’s largest economies, making up 90% of global grossdomestic product, 80% of world trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population.

The London summit meeting will in fact be attended by heads of governmentfrom 22 countries. They will be joined by representatives of the EuropeanCommission, the African Union, NEPAD (the New Partnership for Africa’sDevelopment) and ASEAN (the Association of South East Asian Nations). The“heads of a number of global institutions” (including the IMF and the WorldBank) are also invited. (source: www.londonsummit.gov.uk)

That’s quite a crowded table. But representation from low income countries –especially from Africa (South Africa is the only African nation among the 22) – isstill minimal. The opportunity for the concerns of the poorest people to comethrough clearly around the meeting table is low.

“The plunder from the pooris in your houses. What doyou mean by crushing mypeople and grinding thefaces of the poor?”

Isaiah 3.15-16

that the G20 should start atransformation of our global economicpriorities, asking for justice for the poor,action on climate change, andinvestment in jobs and livelihoods.

ActionThe stated aims of the G20 summit areto agree action to revive the globaleconomy, reform the financial sector, andreform international financial institutionssuch as the IMF and World Bank.

Will they simply try and fix a failedmodel, or will they seize this historicopportunity to start building a fairer,more sustainable world?

The official website for the G20summit states that “Plans for economicrecovery cannot be at the expense of theenvironment or the world’s poor”. Thesummit also intends to consider progresson the Millennium Development Goals,and the impact of decisions on climatechange.

The question now for the leaders ofthe G20 is simply this: will they just talkthe talk, or will they actually walk thewalk, and make the changes that couldbuild a better, fairer world for the world’spoor?

Tim Aldred is Progressio’s AdvocacyManager.

1 World Bank, ‘Financial crisis could trap 53million more people in poverty’, 12 February2009

2 Cafod, ‘Double whammy hits UK aid budget’, 3 February 2009

3 Ban Ki-moon and Al Gore, ‘Green growth isessential to any stimulus’, Financial Times, 16February 2009

4 Anderson, Cavanagh and Redman, Skewedpriorities, Institute of Policy Studies, 24November 2008

Eliminating World PovertyThe UK Department for International Development (DFID) has launched apublic consultation on the future of international development – and it islooking for your views. Progressio sees this is a great opportunity to bring ourconcerns to DFID's attention – and you can help!

Three ways to have your say1 Tell Progressio what you think – your views will help us put together our

own response to the DFID consultation. Look at the consultation documentonline, then email your comments to Progressio’s Advocacy Manager, TimAldred, at [email protected]

2 Tell DFID what you think – send your comments direct to DFID via its publicconsultation website. (If you can, please email a copy of your comments toTim Aldred, so we can take them up in our response!)

3 Go to one of DFID’s regional consultation events, put questions to a DFIDminister, and take part in a debate. Events are being held throughout Apriland May in Bristol, Cardiff, Sheffield, Manchester, Newcastle, London,Southampton, Leicester, Belfast and Edinburgh.

Start hereRead the consultation document Eliminating World Poverty: Assuring ourCommon Future at the DFID public consultation website:http://consultation.dfid.gov.uk/You can also post your comments directly on the DFID website, and find outmore about the public consultation events. The consultation process ends 27May 2009 – so don’t delay, have your say today!

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village. It was an involved process, andengaged the community in weeks ofwork and analysis, unpacking thedevelopment challenges they face, andlisting the issues which neededaddressing if life is to improve.

Most of them were chronicdevelopment and environmental issues:the health unit lacks basic equipmentand medicines; the only school in thearea is overcrowded, short of tables andchairs, and staffed by unqualifiedteachers; the sewerage system is old andinadequate, and refuse collection iserratic.

FishingFollowing the departure of the Britishcolonial administration in the early1960s, Aden experienced nearly 30 yearsof communist rule before South Yemenand North Yemen reunited in 1990.Many of Al Khaisa’s inhabitants hadgovernment jobs under the communists,but now most have turned to fishing asthe only gainful employment: three-quarters of the households in Al Khaisanow rely on fishing as the main source oflivelihood and income for the family.

The numbers involved in itself hascaused problems. There are fewer fish tocatch, and not many of the fisherfolk canafford their own boats and equipment,so can only crew for those who can,meaning they can only eke out a living.The participatory rural appraisal (PRA)revealed other problems: contamination

Thefisherman’s

friendA fishing village in Yemen is working with local government to

tackle the community’s problems, writes Catherine Scott

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Raid Abshel, Progressio development workerKrishna Karkee, and Nasrin Sumar from thelocal NGO, Al Tadhamon.

RAID ABSHEL does not strike me as atypical Yemeni. Towering above hiscolleagues at the local government

offices of the Al Buraiqa district, nearAden, he must be six foot six at least –pretty unusual in this part of the world.

Yet he is a son of the soil – raised inthis area, and probably for that reason,all the more determined that whilst he isin office, he’s going to make life betterfor the local people. 45% of Yemenis stilllive in poverty.

Raid is one of a new breed ofcouncillor elected under thedecentralised system ofgovernance introduced in2002. The move from the

old bureaucratic, centralised systemoffers new opportunities for local peopleto influence and participate in thedecisions that affect them. For this tohappen, local civil society organisationsneed to take on the mantle ofrepresenting the people’s interests indialogue with local government.

Participation In 2007 a Progressio developmentworker, Joy Jako-Salem Balane, from thePhilippines, working with the local AlTadhamon development organisation,

led a ‘participatory rural appraisal’exercise in one of the localcommunities, the Al Khaisa fishing

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of the fishing grounds by untreatedsewage, plastic bags, garbage, and leaksfrom an oil refinery constructed in the1980s; lack of ice or refrigerated storagemeans fish must be sold immediately,often at low prices fixed by traders, orthrown away.

PlanningRaid Abshel is well aware of theproblems and since the PRA wasconducted, has taken up the challengeto address some of them. He hasmanaged to put a stop to the dumpingof raw sewerage into the sea, and he’saddressed the problem of wastage ofunsellable fish stock by getting localdevelopers to construct an ice facility atthe landing stage where the fishingboats come in.

Raid is open to working with the localcommunity on these issues, and that’swhere Progressio comes in. Based on thefindings of the PRA, Progressio, workingwith Al Tadhamon, has set up a projectplacing a development worker with thelocal community to help them puttogether participatory budgets and planswhich they can present to the localgovernment to consider, prioritise andfund.

Krishna Karkee started work with thecommunity, through Al Tadhamon, inFebruary 2009. Familiar with dealingwith local government issues in hernative Nepal, Krishna is optimistic thatthey will be able to get things done here,

even if decentralisation and localgovernance is still in its infancy in Yemen.

CommitmentCommunity initiatives could be fundedby taxes from local businesses andincome from the Zekat charitablecontribution collected from citizens. Thelocal refinery has also been persuaded togive some ‘payback’ to the communityto compensate for the pollution itcauses: the company has agreed to fundprojects in the local area, and to supportthe local hospital, for example.

Raid welcomes the impetus that theProgressio-supported project will bring –but recognises that success will bringnew challenges. “People’s needs willchange,” he explains. “Once schools andhospitals are achieved, the priorities

move on to electricity, sanitation, and soon. I want Progressio and the localcommunity here to succeed in theseparticipatory planning exercises,” hesaid.

Progressio’s aim in starting this projectis to break the stagnation of the functionof district level administration authoritiesand help provide a model of workingwhich, if replicated, could move forwardthe implementation of decentralisation inother parts of Yemen. No-one envisagesit will be easily or quickly achieved; butthe enthusiasm and commitment of Raidand other officials like him offers hopethat change will come.

Catherine Scott is Progressio’s RegionalManager for Africa, the Middle East andAsia.

A fisherwoman’s lotIn the past, women used toparticipate directly in fishing, andmen respected their role. At thetime of the PRA, only one womanin Al Khaisa was doing directfishing. Women’s roles in fishingare now mostly supportive: sewingand mending fishing nets; makingstraw bags to carry and cover fish;drying fish.

Women in Al Khaisa used towork as civil servants, and severalstill work in the public sphere asdoctors, nurses, lawyers,pharmacists. Others earn incomefrom retailing, food vending, orproducing local products such asincense, pickles and embroidery.Several women head theirhouseholds or are the primarybreadwinners.

The colonial legacyAl Khaisa’s fortunes have waxed and waned over the years. Situatedalong a prime stretch of beach and idyllic coast line, the British in the1950s shoved the local fishing community off to a lesser patch of landfurther west. They wanted the location to build well-appointed housingoverlooking the sea for expatriate workers. One of the communityleaders still has a copy of the 1952 letter sent by the British authoritiesordering the people off their land and instructing them to go andinhabit housing constructed for them in an enclosure north of the bay.

In those days no-one argued with the British colonial administration.It had ample force at its disposal to back up its decrees and the localcommunity knew it. So they moved.

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Talking it through: fisherfolk in Al Khaisa are finding their voice under the new participationinitiatives.

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Now, thanks to their efforts, theminimum age of admittance has beenlowered to 25. It’s a major breakthrough,and Mohamed acknowledges they havecome a long way. “Our arguments werelimited two years ago,” he admitted.“But now young people are feelingmuch more involved in democratisation.”

The voting eligibility age has also beendropped to 16, so now young peoplecan participate in various different ways.“Young people have votes, so now weare important,” says Mohamed.

Employment But this is only the start. Now, saysMohamed, they have to tackle the issuesfacing young people. Many – probablythe vast majority – are unemployed orunder-employed. That includes most ofthe 700 young people who graduatedfrom university – including 200 fromoverseas universities – in 2008.

Their skills must be harnessed to helpbuild up Somaliland, says Mohamed.Some of them do voluntary work, butthere are limited opportunities for paidwork, and almost no recreationalfacilities.

Organisations like SONYO thereforeorganise the youth to lobby for such life-enhancing changes. Under the guidanceof SONYO, young people have beenpreparing a youth manifesto with whichto lobby the political parties during theupcoming election. “Youth want to getacross that they have ideas and policiesof their own to contribute, besides theirvote,” says Mohamed.

“We are asking the parties to pledgeto reduce unemployment by 5-10%. Andwe need a raft of policies and systemswhich can facilitate inward investmentfrom international businesses” – such asseed funds for people starting up smallbusinesses.

Most of the investment so far inSomaliland has come from Somalis

The visionof youth

Young people in Somaliland are preparing to play a more decisive rolein their country’s fledgling democracy, writes Catherine Scott

Tragic consequencesUnemployment in Somaliland is not just soul-destroying: it can even be amatter of life and death. “Some simply get frustrated and lose hope,”says Mohamed Ahmed Mohamoud. “And some of them die in the sea.”He was referring to the boatloads of refugees boarding unseaworthyvessels at the port of Bossaso in Puntland, where they pay peopletraffickers to transport them to Yemen. Sometimes the boats sink on theway. For the ones which do get near to the shore, the people traffickers– in their hurry to escape the coast-guards – heave their human cargooverboard. Many cannot swim and simply drown.

interview

Mohamed Ahmed Mohamoud, ExecutiveDirector of SONYO.

MOHAMED AHMED MOHAMOUD,Executive Director of SONYO –the Somaliland Network of

Youth Organisations – was late for ourmeeting. He’d been writing an exam onpeace-building and conflict resolution,the culmination of a course run by the

have been held successfully in 2002,2003 and 2005. Now Somaliland isgearing up for the next elections, nowhoped to take place at the end of May2009 – and Mohamed and SONYO areright in there, getting involved.

But finding a voice in their society hasbeen an uphill struggle for youngSomalilanders. For a start, you’re not

considered a ‘grown-up’ till you’re 35.No-one could be admitted as a candidateto the parliament and local districtcouncils till that age either.

SONYO has been campaigning for thisto change – a culturally sensitive issue,because older people are reluctant totrust the younger generation. WhenSONYO approached the Guurti (House ofElders) they were asked: “Why are you insuch a hurry? You are the leaders oftomorrow!”

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“Youth want to get acrossthat they have ideas andpolicies of their own to

contribute, besides their vote”

Mennonites for some 200 or more youngSomalilanders.

“A lot of the theories they taught us,”he shrugged, “are part of normal,traditional Somali ways of reachingunderstanding and agreement throughdialogue. You can use these techniquesduring a football conflict!”

Somalilanders know only too well theadvantages of such peace-building skills.They have used them to great effect inthis enclave of peace within the war-tornhorn of Africa. While their neighboursfurther south have endured cycle aftercycle of turmoil and bloodloss,Somaliland has invested in a localisedpeace dividend, coupled by growth andre-construction.

DemocracyA democratisation process has been inplace for the past 12 years, and elections

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themselves – mainly those living in thediaspora who send money back home.The EC is sponsoring the elections, butthere is no bilateral or multilateral aidinvested by the international communitybecause it is an unrecognised state.

StrengthsSince Progressio first started supportingSONYO in 2003, the organisation hasgained in strength, professionalism,capacity and status. Our firstdevelopment worker, Yvette Lopez, spentthree years with them building up basicorganisational development skills. Of thecohort of students she worked with, ahigh proportion have moved on and areusing their skills to contribute directly toSomaliland’s ongoing development.

One of SONYO’s strengths is to havepassed leadership skills downwards sothat a new generation of leaders can riseinto the positions of those who move on,without setbacks for the organisation asa whole. The fact that it is organised in ademocratic and transparent way, withvigorous participation, particularly at itsAnnual General Meeting, goes a longway to explaining this.

Progressio’s current developmentworker with SONYO, Rita Izsák, works asa human rights advisor and brings inexpertise from her previous experiencesworking with international NGOs, theEuropean Union, and the UN Office ofthe High Commissioner for HumanRights.

ConfidenceIn addition, international donors havegiven SONYO the vote of confidence: itis now the recipient of several substantialUnicef grants. A recent organisationalleadership and mentorship trainingprogramme resulted in over 4,000 youngpeople gaining valuable leadership skills,of whom 45% were women. Media skillshave been enhanced so that youngpeople can communicate on TV andradio, and write articles for newspapersand magazines. Cash support wasextended to regional youth organisationsto support their activities. There’s a lifeskills programme and valuable

information on HIV prevention has beenshared via peer educators. SONYO hasalso been promoting the creation ofstudent unions, and forging links withstudent unions internationally.

It was clear to me, as Mohamed leftour meeting, that they have alreadymade great strides – and that, with suchenthusiasm and determination to call on,Somaliland ought to have a brightfuture.

Catherine Scott is Progressio’s RegionalManager for Africa, the Middle East andAsia.

Progressio to coordinate election observersProgressio will be coordinating a team of election observers from four continentsduring the presidential elections in Somaliland.

The invitation to conduct the mission, issued by the Somaliland NationalElectoral Commission, will see Progressio working in partnership with theDevelopment Planning Unit at University College London (UCL), FOPAG (Forumfor Peace and Governance) in Somaliland and Somaliland Focus UK.

The team will oversee organisation of the election observation team and willremain in Somaliland’s capital, Hargeisa, following the vote to prepare a reporton the conduct of the campaign and poll.

Progressio’s involvement in the mission follows its leadership of theinternational monitoring team for Somaliland’s inaugural parliamentary electionsin 2005, judged by observers as “basically free and fair”.

Dr Steve Kibble, Progressio’s Advocacy Coordinator for Africa, said:“Following a successful mission in 2005, we are pleased to be supporting thepeople of Somaliland once more. Election observation is an integral part ofensuring that democracy prevails in this fragile corner of Africa.”

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Queuing to vote during the 2005 elections.

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WHEN PROGRESSIO DEVELOPMENT

WORKER María Eugenia Lacarraarrived in Ica, Peru, three

months after an earthquake in 2007 thatkilled 550 people, she was faced with adistressing situation. More than 90,000homes were damaged. 75,000 werecompletely destroyed. Reconstructionefforts had barely begun and lackedcoordination and resources.

Local people, who before theearthquake had lived in adobe (mud-brick) homes, were now living intemporary shelters made of rush mat

and plastic donated by NGOs. “Childrenand old people were getting ill. Peoplewere desperate,” says María.

“If you don’t have a decent home, ifyour environment is not secure, the restof your personal development isimpossible,” explains María.

María, an architect from Spain, set towork with the local community to designand build earthquake-resistant housesthat would be safe, easy to put togetherand would meet the needs of individualfamilies. “Everyone took part – women,men and children,” says María.

Previously, people had believed thatmore expensive materials, such as bricks,would give better results. But Maríafocused instead on combining modernarchitectural techniques with naturalresources – such as wood and reeds – todesign homes with the potential to savelives.

“When a seismic wave occurs, theground moves horizontally. Brick housesfall because they crack and collapse. Butthese other materials are flexible, andthough they move with seismicmovements, they would never collapse,”explains María.

Melania Quiñónez, one of the localleaders involved in the project, says: “Ifanother earthquake were to happen, weare convinced that the houses would notcollapse, so keeping our families safe.”

Flor María Quillas, a single mother ofthree, also took part in the project. “Ihave participated as much as I could.Now I have a really nice, safe house formy children and me,” she says.

The project was awarded first prize inthe Social Habitat and Developmentcategory at the Biennial Pan-AmericanArchitecture competition and exhibition.The project was commended for the levelof participation by the people and thesimplicity of the technique.

Marina Lozano is Editor of Progressio’sSpanish-language website.

as housesAn innovative ‘build your own home’ project in Peru has won an

international architectural award, writes Marina Lozano

Two Peruvians constructing an earthquake-proof house (left); Progressio developmentworker María Eugenia Lacarra (above right)with a local leader in Ica, Peru.

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Published April 2009 by Progressio

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Printed on 100% recycled paper by APG

Front cover Angelina Ngoza (28), mother of

six children, is a small-scale farmer in Nchisi

district in Malawi.

Photo Marcus Perkins/Progressio

Progressio is the working name of the Catholic Institute for International Relations Charity reg. in the UK no. 294329 Company reg. no. 2002500

The views and opinions in Interact are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect Progressio policy.

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