“We can no longer be discriminated in advocating for our rights, even if a person comes here today, to take our land, we are really determined to resist and battle for our rights.” - Member of District Business Council, Iringa only diversifying their livelihoods through Village Savings and Loan groups, where they can easily gain access to money for livelihood investments, but even through increased awareness regarding land rights. CARE’s Village Savings and Loans program has been successful in consolidating pastoralists’ financial resources to meet their basic requirements for supporting sustainable pastoralism and for other social and economic activities. They have been able to support livestock improvements and create new income-generating activities for themselves. For example, one women’s group in Nyarugusu buys kid goats, fattens them up, and sells them three months later for profit. Other groups have saved for farming inputs and veterinary medicine. After learning about land rights, one woman in Simanjiro applied for a parcel of land through the village council that she did not formerly understand she was entitled to. She was allocated 20 acres in 2008 and cleared 10 acres to intercrop maize and beans. This allowed her to diversify and expand income and livelihood options.
Theatre Pastoralists have used theatre as a way of bringing awareness to their issues. In Kilindi district, Ereto Maasai Youth educated pastoralists and farmers about conflicts surrounding resources. After their training on land rights and land-use planning, one theatre group has demanded creation of livestock routes by the local government authorities to allow pastoralists access to water resources. Following this engagement, the government gave instructions to the village councils to oversee the creation of livestock corridors. As a result, the number of pastoral/farmer conflicts has decreased significantly.
Positive Impacts
Outcomes of engagement and capacity building through PBFP Improved awareness of land rights and policies and the ability to exercise their rights and influence policies in their favor
Growing ability to resolve local conflicts
over resources through village conflict
resolution committees
Declining livestock losses as a result
of training on livestock disease control and improved availability of veterinary services
Increasing involvement of pastoralists in
alternative economic activities, such as business and crop farming
Increased gender awareness and female participation in local decision-making
Increasing access to more grazing land
for pastoralists, resulting from exercising their rights, negotiating for grazing with farmers and land-use planning within villages
Increased network among pastoral
CSOs as the number working with the PBFP – from 13 CSOs in 2008 to 46 in 2011
Improved ability of pastoral CSOs
to analyze and influence policies for improved service delivery that is responsive to their needs
There’s Still More to be Done… Lobbying and Advocacy
Pastoralist communities have had ongoing conflicts with investors. This is often because land is leased to investors without full village consent, which results in pastoralists’ losing access to important grazing lands or water sources but also even being forced off their land. Despite progress on conflict resolution between some pastoralist communities and farmers, there remains an ongoing challenge for pastoralists regarding land use conflicts with investors, mostly because policies and agendas tend to support investors and not local communities. Pastoral umbrella groups have had some success in raising awareness about pastoral / investor conflicts. They have done this through online videos and raising awareness about their issues. For example, members of the Pastoral Livelihoods Task Force helped to create a YouTube video called “Voices from Loliondo” in an effort to spread awareness regarding a struggle between pastoralists in the region and a foreign hunting company. CSOs could help pastoral umbrella groups to raise awareness about their conflicts with investors by training them on how to create public awareness through media and by