Our Vision
•Tosupporttheharmoniouslivingofpeopleintheirnatural,
social and economic environments in a way that supports
and strengthens both the people and their environment.
•Toassisttheruralpoortobettertheirlives,todiversifytheir
livelihoods and to face their challenges with resilience.
Our Mission
•Todesignandimplementinnovativeprojectsand
programmes which promote collaborative, pro-poor
agricultural innovation, working in partnership with other
organizations and communities.
•Toworkatthecuttingedgeofdevelopmentmethodology
and process integrating learning (training), research and
implementation into new models and processes emphasizing
synergy and integration.
Promoting collaborative, pro-poor agricultural
innovation
2003-2024
CRA
learning
group
VSLAs
Marketing
committees
Water
committees
Livestock
associations
Youth
groups
CCA impact
assessments
Adaptive
strategies and
planning
Innovation and
practices
Implementation
Monitoring,
cyclical review
and evalution
Government
departments
Traditional
authority
Ward committees
Local Municipality
Business
community
Academia
Civil
Society
Innovation
platforms –
clusters of LGs
Associations and
organisations
Multistakeholder
platforms
CRA learning groups: Process for development of social agency
The smallholder farming
system
Smallholder
farming
system
Dryland cropping of
staples on small
patches of available
land (0,1-1ha)
Extensive
grazing of
livestock on
stover and veld
Intensive
homestead food
production;
vegetables, fruit,
small livestock
Feed
biomass
mulch
Manure
mulch
Fodder
manure
stover
Cover
crops,
non
staples
OM and
soil
fertility
Little to no
soil cover
•Conservation/ Regenerative Agriculture: (LEI)Dryland cropping
to improve soil health, crop diversity, yileds, water use efficiency:
Intercropping, crop rotation, cover crops, fodder production
•Livestock integration:Winter foddersupplementation,hay
baling, conservation agreements, local livestock auctions
•Intensive homestead food production: Agroecology:Tunnels,
trench beds, crop diversification, mulching, greywater
management,fruit production
•Community owned local water access: Watercommittees:Spring
protection, boreholes, water reticulation, pipes and tanks at
homestead level
•Village savings and loan associations: Village based savings
groups for savings and small loans for productive activities
•Local marketing and food systems:Monthlyproducemarket
stalls,organised per village, exploration of further marketing
options, small mills for maize
•Soil and water conservation: village-based learning groups in
Climate change adaptation undertake resource conservation
activities
•Social learning and knowledge co-creation
•Improved social agency for local resource
management; agreements, processes
•Community level improvement of governance :
individual, group , village and local stakeholder
based
Activities:
(4 villages, 180 smallholder participants, 40 Hub staff and youth participants)
INSTITUTIONAL GOVERNANCE
Support and facilitation with
TraditionalCouncils,Local
Municipalities, and Isimangaliso
MPA to allow for pro-poor,
equitable, gender sensitive
beneficiation and implementation
•Focus on climate change impact, adaptive strategies, prioritized
climate smart practices in intensive homestead food production
(vegetables, dryland crops, small livestock, large livestock
integration)
•TrainingoftrainersandHubdemonstrationgardens(10staff/hub)
•Farmerlevel trainingandsupportforhomesteadimplementation
(45 farmers/village) – over 18 months – different start times
•Learning themes
•Garden layout: soil and water conservation,
•Soil conservation and fertility (trench beds, liquid manures, seed,
•Conservation Agriculture
•Water conservation and management (tower gardens, seed/seedlings
tunnels/cages, drip irrigation, JoJo tanks)
•Crop management
Learningand mentoring (Nkovokeni, kwaDapha, Mabibi, Sokhulu)
The intention is to implement
intensive homestead food
production strategies to
improve productive, natural
and water use efficiency within
an agroecological framework
to minimize negative impacts
on the environment and
optimize synergies
Improved alternative
livelihoods to fishing and
natural resources
harvesting as well as low
yield transient
agricultural activities
Mabibi, kwaDapha, Nkovokeni, Sokhulu
•Participatoryvulnerabilityassessments- through focus group discussions
and baselines (min 50 households/village)
•Participatorybeneficiary selection(Implementationteam,TC,and
community)
•5 micro-tunnels/village (20)
•5 fenced off gardens/village (20)
•5 chicken tractors/village (20)
•10 tower gardens/village (40)
•20x2500l JoJo tanks/village (80)
•Participatorywaterresourcesassessment–mapping,scenario
development, planning and implementation for 5 villages (inclkwaZibi)
based boreholes– with reticulation for multi-purpose use
Beneficiation and infrastructure: Intensification for existing household
area-NO NEW AREAS OR EXPANSIONS PLANNED
POVERTY
- unemployed
- women and child
headed
-missing middle; families
without social grants
CLIMATE RISK
- High risk, transient resources
use
- Over-use of natural resources
* Focus on alternative livelihoods
to reduce pressure on resources
and intensive homestead
production in existing household
allocations
Support
from
Isimangaliso
:
•Decisions around generational communal
cropping areas still in existence around lakes
and in wetlands
•Maps of households and extent (ancestral
homestead footprints) for Nkovokeni,
kwaDapha, kwaZibiand Mabibi
•Specific boundaries of the protected area-
detailed maps for use with villages
•Rules and regulations around land-use for
local villages inside the protected area.
•Contact persons for presentations and
discussions with villages
Workplanandtimeline:1stYear-2024
Dec 2023
Baseline and vulnerability
assessment design
Dec 2023
Introductions to community
level role players: Sokhulu,
Mabibi, kwaDapha, Nkovokeni
Feb-March
2024
CCA workshops and baselines
(hub and community-
Nkovokeni,Mabibi)
April-May 2024
Prioritization of practices,
garden layout and S&W
conservation – Hub and
community
June 2024
CCA workshops and baselines
(hub and community-
Kwadapa,Sokhulu)
July-Aug 2024
Prioritization of practices,
garden layout and S&W
conservation – Hub and
community,
Sept 2024
Water walks and
community+hubplanning re
water access (Mabibi,
Nkovokeni
Oct-Nov 2024
CA demonstrations and dryland
cropping-Mabibi, Nkovokeni
Dec 2024
Annual progress monitoring
and review