From Survival to Strategy: How Dollo-Ado Women Are Building Financial Resilience through VSLAs

By Abdirahman Ibrahim|Consortium Communications Coordinator|BORESHA-NABAD

A quiet transformation is underway at the heart of the Mandera Triangle, Dollo-Ado, a town shaped by migration, informal trade, and resilience. 25 women from Al-Qamar Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) are shifting from informal survival strategies to engaging productively in the local market economy.

For years, many women in Dollo-Ado operated on the economic margins, selling fruit, borrowing informally, and navigating the daily pressures of household survival. Lacking access to formal financial services, they relied heavily on traditional ayuuto systems, rotating savings that provided temporary relief but lacked long-term impact. Financial literacy, access to credit, and asset building remained elusive.

Enabling Economic Participation through Structured Finance

Sumeya Maalim Jaafar, a fruit vendor and mother of four, recalls how her daily income rarely translated into financial stability.

---

“I used to be in an ayuuto group. But it wasn’t a real saving. The money came and went,” she says.

---

That changed when she joined Al-Qamar VSLA through the BORESHA-NABAD programme, funded by the European Union and implemented by the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), Ethiopia. Designed to strengthen resilience and facilitate local market participation, the initiative connected women to a structured saving mechanism, an entry point into more formal economic activity.

Through targeted training on financial planning, group governance, and income diversification, Sumeya and her peers began saving 250 birr weekly. It may seem modest, but collectively, they’ve mobilised over 166,000 birr, capital that is now circulating locally, supporting small enterprises, and reinforcing community-level financial flows.

“I borrow to restock my fruit stall and repay it without pressure. It’s not a handout. It’s sustainable. It’s ours,” Sumeya explains.

Governance, Trust, and Systemic Change

The VSLA’s model emphasises transparency and accountability as foundational principles for building trust in financial systems. Their metal savings box, secured by three locks and three custodians, symbolises shared responsibility. With a constitution, member passbooks, and formal registration facilitated by the local cooperative office, Al-Qamar is now integrated into the broader financial support structure.

The group has introduced three savings components: regular contributions, an emergency fund, and a long-term investment fund. This segmentation reflects a shift from reactive to proactive financial planning, which is a key element in enabling inclusive, sustainable market engagement.

Expanding Financial Access and Market Linkages

The initiative has also addressed systemic barriers for women, especially those from marginalised clans and vulnerable backgrounds. Lul Mohamed Gelle highlights how the group now provides a safer, low-risk alternative to predatory borrowing.

“We operate like a women-run bank, not with interest, but with purpose.”

Farhyia Abdirahman Galla, a disabled vegetable seller and single mother, underscores the inclusive nature of the VSLA.

“For the first time, I feel included. My daughter is learning that saving is about opportunity, not just survival.”

Crucially, the group is now positioned for vertical linkages. With guidance from cooperative officers, Al-Qamar is preparing to engage with microfinance institutions (MFIs) and agribusiness actors. Their long-term goals,  leasing land for vegetable farming and launching a clothing enterprise, signal a pivot from micro-activity to microenterprise development.

Building Resilience through Systems Thinking

Al-Qamar’s story exemplifies how targeted, inclusive market systems interventions can catalyse change. By embedding savings culture, building local capacity, and facilitating formal linkages, these women are improving household resilience and becoming active participants in Dollo-Ado’s local economy.

“We used to think women couldn’t lead or build something bigger,” Arfon says. “Now we know better. We are shaping our future with systems, not just hope.”

Read More Stories

• From Survival to Strategy: How Dollo-Ado Women Are Building Financial Resilience through VSLAs
• Bridging Markets, Strengthening Farmers: The Story of Mohamed Issack Amin
• Nafisa Mohamed: Breaking Barriers in Veterinary Care
• Bridging Divides through Intra-Community Consensus Building
• Strengthening Cross-Border Partnerships at the Borderlands Symposium

In the sun-scorched plains of Dollo Ado, where the Ganale and Dauwa rivers converge, Mohamed Issack Amin has become a lifeline for local farmers. As an agrovet supplier, he plays a bridging role in Ethiopia’s Somali region’s agricultural sector, supporting a network of over 10,500 farmers. Through his agrovet business, he provides essential input such as assorted seeds, farm tools, and continuous capacity-building to farmers to boost productivity. But Mohamed’s role extends beyond supply; he is a market enabler, bridging farmers to stable markets and ensuring their hard work translates into sustainable livelihoods.

Recognising his central role in the local agricultural economy, the BORESHA-NABAD consortium, through the Danish Refugee Council (DRC Ethiopia), partnered with Mohamed to scale up his impact. Leveraging a market systems approach, the consortium has supported him in preparing 100 hectares of virgin farmland in five kebeles, enrolling 200 farmers in fodder production, and equipping them with high-quality Sudan grass fodder seeds, agricultural tools, and continuous mentorship to boost productivity.

“With BORESHA-NABAD’s intervention, I’ve ensured that farmers receive quality inputs and have guaranteed access to markets. We ploughed once unproductive lands and turned them into thriving farmland.” Mohamed says.

Mohamed’s agrovet business spans Malka Dida, Hilloweym, and IDP camps in Afdheer, Liban, and Dawa zones. This vast presence across the Somali region makes him a trusted link between farmers, livelihood organisations, local government agencies, and market traders. The consortium has utilised this to advance its livestock value chain interventions. Mohamed has been integral in enabling farmers who once struggled to find buyers to be connected to ready markets across the borderlands.

The project’s first phase facilitated the cultivation of 100 hectares of previously uncultivated land and has since promoted sustainable agriculture while minimising environmental impact. Additionally, 200 farmers, mainly women and youth from marginalised communities, have been enrolled in large-scale fodder production, where Mohamed is at the centre.

“I’ve always believed in the strength of our farmers. BORESHA-NABAD engaged me to support them. Now, farmers produce, and we buy their fodder, seeds and whatever they grow. We’ve built a reliable market with livelihood organisations, local government agencies, and local traders that benefit everyone.” Mohamed says.

For Mohamed, a livestock owner and a local man, this is more than business. He admirably emphasises that it’s about securing the livestock population across the borderlands through a constant supply of animal feeds in a region where pastoralism is a way of life and animal forage is always in demand. Especially during this drought period, when fodder is becoming a rare commodity, his supply chain ensures livestock owners have access to quality feeds to mitigate animal losses and strengthen community resilience.

“We crush and store fodder in bales to ensure a steady supply for livestock owners, livelihood organisations, and government agencies,” he explains. “This has been crucial in bridging the feed gap during dry seasons.”

With growing demand, Mohamed is confident that supply will keep pace.  “Previously, demand was never an issue but supply was,” he notes. But this gap is closing thanks to BORESHA-NABAD-supported livestock common interest groups, including women and youth. The project’s initial investment is expected to triple over three farming seasons as farmers replant using seeds from their harvest.

“The farmers we engaged are now harvesting their fodder, and we are ready with the market,” he says. “BORESHA-NABAD has strengthened both my business and the local farming community. We are not just selling inputs but building a resilient agricultural system.”

Through strategic partnerships and a market-driven approach, BORESHA-NABAD is transforming the agro-pastoral economy in Dollo Ado and the wider borderlands. Mohamed’s story is a testament to how local resources, when properly harnessed, can drive economic growth and sustainability. When markets work for the people, resilience follows.

In the patriarchal landscapes of Dolo Ado, where opportunities for women remain scarce and male dominance governs communities’ lifestyles and most professions, Nafisa Mohamed, a veterinary officer in the Woreda, is breaking barriers and rewriting the narrative in a veterinary care profession that has for years seen limited women’s participation. Motivated by the lack of skilled personnel in animal health services across genders, Nafisa has emerged as a trailblazer and is among the few women making significant strides in animal health.

The BORESHA-NABAD project provided Nafisa with tailored training in disease prevention, vaccination, and disease surveillance, empowering her to effectively combat animal diseases while following vaccination protocols and engaging in participatory disease surveillance. This training enhanced her technical skills and positioned her as a champion in promoting gender equality by breaking barriers in male-dominated livelihood sectors.

In a region where livestock is the backbone of livelihoods, Nafisa plays an integral role beyond the technical aspects of veterinary care and embarked on improving livestock health while becoming a beacon of hope for women aspiring to venture into male-dominated spaces.

Since integrating into animal health activities, Nafisa has led vaccination campaigns aimed at controlling transboundary diseases, which are frequent occurrences in borderland areas due to cross-border animal movements. She has also spearheaded outreach programmes to educate local farmers, many of whom had never received veterinary guidance.

“When women step into roles like this, it’s not just about treating animals, but transforming communities and giving families the tools to sustain their livelihoods and build resilience,” she says.

Nafisa Mohamed is part of a larger network of 63 veterinary officers, community animal health workers (CAHWs), community disease reporters (CDRs), and Agrovets trained under the BORESHA NABAD programme as part of the programme’s approach to transform the livestock sector and build market system resilience.

The consortium is adopting a broader shift towards gender inclusivity in the borderlands to reshape perceptions in a setting where women have often been relegated to the periphery of decision-making in animal health. Her integration in the process is part of the holistic approaches deployed to encourage more women to join the animal health field and enhance women’s livestock ownership to improve their economic status and decision-making power within households and communities.

In recent decades, Banisa sub-county in Kenya’s Mandera County has faced recurring inter-communal conflict between the Garre and Degodia clans. Despite a history of peaceful coexistence and good neighbourliness on the Kenyan side of Banisa and Malkamri, these communities continue to experience tensions arising from cross-border spillovers from Ethiopia’s Mubarak and Filtu districts. These tensions frequently escalate into violent episodes, including deadly attacks and retaliatory killings, resulting in significant loss of life, population displacement, and weakening of the already fragile social fabric in the region.

In August 2024, the conflict between the two clans flared again after a Garre family in Mubarak Woreda, Ethiopia, was attacked by suspected Degodia gunmen. In the dawn attack, Seven Garre clan members were killed, and four children were injured. In the aftermath of these unfortunate events, the Garre clan launched a counter-revenge and nine Degodia clan members were killed. This series of violent incidents claimed the lives of 16 individuals in less than a month.

In response to the escalating conflict, the Danish Refugee Council-Kenya, under the BORESHA-NABAD Consortium, together with other peace actors and the County Department of Community Cohesion, launched a joint response initiative to address both the immediate triggers and underlying causes of the violence. The intervention facilitated two intra-community dialogues to foster long-term peace and stability in the Banisa-Mubarak Corridor.

The initiative brought together 160 clansmen—80 Garre and 80 Degodia—from across the Mandera sub-counties and the Ethiopian districts of Filtu and Mubarak. The two communities engaged in separate intra-community meetings to build internal consensus and find solutions to the conflict. These discussions laid the groundwork for future inter-community dialogues and peaceful resolutions.

Notably, the Degodia community was represented by key elders, including Wabar Abdille’s Cabinet, the Degodia king from Filtu and Dolow. Their participation was instrumental in facilitating cross-border internal deliberations on the recurring retaliations, which were often instigated from the Ethiopian side. During the discussions, the Degodia community identified recent boundary delimitation in Ethiopia—dividing the former Liban Zone into Liban and Dawa—as a major cause of tension.

The re-division led to the eviction of Degodia families from six settlements along the River Dawa, which now marked the boundary. These evictions resulted in the loss of farmlands and property for Degodia clansmen who used to till the land, which has since fueled discontent and created new points of conflict, as the land now falls under the Garre-dominated district of Mubarak.

“For us, we have resolved to honour the peace agreements, cease hostilities, and ensure that such violent incidents do not recur. This meeting has provided the Degodia community with a vital platform to reflect on why these conflicts persist, and it has been crucial in addressing the deep-rooted issues.” Mohamed Abdishakur, Degodia Elder

Similarly, the Garre community used the intra-community dialogues to reflect on their own actions, particularly the retaliatory attacks, and discuss ways to prevent such incidents in the future. Both communities acknowledged that internal discussions were vital in forming a united front for the upcoming inter-community dialogue.

“We have agreed to uphold that peace is maintained. Furthermore, we commit, as promised, that there will be no more retaliations. We emphasise the need for a broader cross-border meeting to bring together our leadership from Kenya and Ethiopia to end this cyclic violence.” Mohamed Yussuf, Garre Elder

The intra-community dialogues solved internal differences and paved the way for consensus-building. Both sides agreed that the next step would be a formal inter-community dialogue in Mandera Town involving representatives from the Garre and Degodia communities on both sides of the border. This meeting will be crucial in crafting actionable points for an upcoming cross-border dialogue to address the conflict’s root causes and ensure long-term peace.

“We wish to inform our community members that the movement of people and goods, which was halted during the conflict, should now resume. Camel herders and public transport services should now move freely between Banisa and Mandera without hindrance.” Abdinur Alike, Garre Elder

“We are grateful for this meeting, and as we prepare for the next phase of dialogue, we will also conduct follow-up discussions with our local administrations in Mubarak and Filtu to resolve the land disputes as agreed.”Mzee Mohamed Bulle, Degodia Elder

This series of intra-community dialogues represents a vital step towards peace in the Kenya-Ethiopia borderland areas and has set the stage for a conclusive resolution to the recurring violence along the border. The joint efforts by peace stakeholders demonstrate the importance of collaboration in maintaining and sustaining expensive peace ventures in the county and beyond.

Notably, several ongoing initiatives undertaken on the Kenyan side by the peace actors, including establishing grassroots structures and supporting government-led interventions, lay the groundwork for ensuring peace and stability. The upcoming cross-border dialogues will be critical in cementing peaceful coexistence and addressing the core issues driving the conflict.

The BORESHA-NABAD consortium team participated in the Borderlands Symposium on 29 and 30 October 2024 in Nairobi. Organised by the Danish Refugee Council, the symposium gathered cross-border stakeholders, partners, and donors to engage in critical discussions on “Thinking and Working in Borderlands.” The event, which lasted two days and involved cross-learning and sharing insights gained from interventions in the borderlands, allowed the participants to engage with each other and learn from the enriching interventions across the border areas.

The BORESHA-NABAD team took part in an engaging panel alongside other partners, such as the Cross Border Community Resilience Project, Hanaano, and Deris Wanaag programmes to strengthen synergies, upscale interventions, and reduce duplication of efforts in implementing sustainable interventions across border areas. The BORESHA-NABAD Chief of Party, Yussuf Mohamed Abdullahi, shared insights on the history and evolution of borderland initiatives and led high-level discussions with key donors, including the European Union, USAID, and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), focusing on the role of coordinated support in strengthening borderland projects.

The symposium provided a platform for sharing lessons learned and best practices among practitioners. This collaborative space highlighted the significance of partnerships, with discussions exploring strategies for integrated coordination in areas such as climate resilience, conflict prevention, disaster risk reduction, prevention of violent extremism and supporting income-generating activities for youth and women in the borderlands. The sessions reinforced the commitment of all stakeholders to support peaceful coexistence and climate-adaptive livelihoods that contribute to stabilisation efforts across local borderland communities.

BORESHA-NABAD’s participation in the Borderlands Symposium is part of its ongoing commitment to empowering cross-border communities and leveraging shared experiences to enhance project impact. The consortium continues to pave the way for innovative approaches that build resilience, improve livelihoods, and promote lasting peace in the Horn of Africa through solid partnerships and engagement with vital cross-border actors.

The BORESHA-NABAD consortium, funded by the European Union, is intensifying efforts to build resilience within Kenya’s Mandera County through gender-responsive Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) planning. This initiative, targeting strategic hot spot centres spanning Mandera East, Mandera North, Lafey, and Banisa sub-counties, champions locally driven, inclusive approaches to addressing the county’s complex environmental and socio-political challenges.

Mandera County, part of the fragile borderland area of the Mandera Triangle where Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia converge, faces unique challenges, including cyclic droughts, inter-communal conflicts, and high competition for diminishing natural resources weakened by climate and human-induced stresses that have made resilience crucial for its communities.

To address these issues, the BORESHA-NABAD project has initiated interventions in borderland communities to foster the local population’s resilience and conflict mitigation strategies. Through RACIDA, the consortium recently launched a training programme targeting DRR committees and community members across six sub-counties, engaging DRR committees and community members in proactive disaster management strategies.

“This training has taught us to look at risks differently, especially how they impact women and children. We now see the importance of including everyone in our plans so that no one is left behind in times of crisis,” shares Mzee Koriow.

The consortium adopted a practical, hands-on approach and engaged participants in community hazard assessments, identifying vulnerabilities and understanding how various social groups experience these risks differently. This comprehensive approach ensured that DRR plans were technically sound, culturally relevant, and community-driven. Gender-inclusive DRR Committees were established in all seven target areas, with at least 40% female participation, ensuring that women’s voices informed the DRR process from the start.

The training sessions across seven strategic centres reached 123 community members, including local leaders, women, youth, and representatives of vulnerable groups, such as people with disabilities. These sessions provided DRR committee members with vital knowledge on disaster risks, climate impacts, and gender-sensitive planning, covering foundational knowledge of natural and human-induced hazards and the distinct vulnerabilities they create.

Women traditionally excluded from DRR decision-making are now integral to the process, bringing their perspectives to the table and enriching policy development with their lived experiences.

“I am happy that we are now at the forefront of this process. Women are often the most affected in any disaster, whether conflict or natural calamities like flooding, yet we were sidelined as men made decisions. Now, it’s a win-win as we can actively shape the process,” says Deka Abdi of Bur Abor.

Through this initiative, a systematic result chain was utilised to link training materials, resources, and human input, including facilitators and community leaders, to concrete outputs, such as the formation of DRR committees in high-risk areas, enhanced knowledge and skills, and strengthened local systems geared towards sustainability. Inclusivity extended to participants with disabilities, ensuring that every voice counted. Additionally, targeting centres across borders allowed participants to share experiences and unite around cross-border challenges, which is essential to addressing the borderlands’ complex dynamics.

“We are beginning to understand that the peace and safety of our communities are interconnected. Having women on these committees ensures that everyone’s voice is heard during decision-making,” adds Mohamed Suleiman, Elder, Fiqow.

This gender-responsive DRR planning is a crucial milestone toward BORESHA NABAD’s intervention to foster resilient communities equipped to navigate environmental and socio-political obstacles. The project sets the groundwork for sustainable peace and stability in Mandera and neighbouring areas, with continued support to drive these plans into lasting and systemic change by empowering marginalised voices.  

Peterson Mucheke/BORESHA Project

Consecutive poor or failed harvests and loss of agricultural income for farmers and widespread death of livestock among pastoralists is contributing to worsening food security and nutrition in Somalia. Poor and vulnerable communities are being pushed to the brink of starvation. In response, DRC Somalia collaborated with Village Development Committees and local authorities to identify and rehabilitate communal productive assets to support drought resilience in BORESHA project locations. Additionally, Livestock common interest groups (LCIGs) were trained and provided with fuel and a variety of seeds for fodder and human consumption, with the aim of enhancing community resilience and capacity to produce fodder and cash crops and link them to commercial companies.

Khalif Mohamed Sarey, aged 69, is living with his extended family in Una Village of Dollow district, Gedo region. He owns a farm that had not been cultivated for 3 rainy seasons due to the prolonged drought. He almost gave up farming as the farm was overgrown and he did not have the financial capacity to purchase seeds and fuel to make the farm productive, owing to high prices and scarcity on the market.

Khalif was among the agro-pastoral beneficiaries that DRC targeted to support with material and farm infrastructure rehabilitation to increase their production capacity. DRC visited Khalif in January 2023 and met him on his farm, where he welcomed the team with a smiling face.  He happily gave thanks and appreciation: ‘‘I thank DRC for their support. I have just harvested Sudan grass once more and still I have around 2-3 orders from Belet Hawa. This was an opportunity for me to restore my livelihood and cope during the extreme stress of the drought. I now have enough sorghum and maize for my consumption as well as for selling to others in the villages for their living”.

Khalif is now getting enough income from his farm harvests to afford to support his family. He is also able to help the dependents of his older brother who is blind and living in Una Village. “I used the Cash I received from harvest to pay off debts, cover educational and medical expenses, purchase groceries and support my elder brother’s family.” Khalif is happy and motivated to continue harvesting to provide food for his loved ones and income to cover their medical and education expenses, as well as money to maintain the health of his animals: “I am also spending income from the farm to support the treatment of my livestock and provision of pasture”, added Khalif

Peterson Mucheke/BORESHA project

The borderland areas covering Gedo region in Somalia, Mandera County in Kenya and Dollo Ado woreda in Ethiopia collectively form part of the Mandera Triangle. The Populations of this area are predominantly pastoralists and riverine farming Somali communities. Their main sources of livelihood are located in shared transboundary areas that include natural resources such as grazing land, surface water resources such as the Dawa River and groundwater resources including the transboundary Dawa-Jubba and Jubba-Shebelle aquifers.

The productivity of these life-sustaining cross border natural resources has been dwindling due to successive climate change related droughts and the impact of the influx of IDPs and refugees to the area.  This has increased the vulnerability of the population to droughts and other forms of disaster: chronic food shortages, severe hunger, lack of household income, water scarcity, displacements and reduced livelihood opportunities are the consequences. Conflicts over scarce resources have also increased, contributing to forced displacement and higher rates of violence against women, children and marginalized groups. Currently, the region is facing the worst drought in living memory after five successive failed rainy seasons. It has ravaged communities’ livelihoods. Households have has to go without food and water.  A senior clan elder Muhumed Deket Elmi says, ‘The drought itself is catastrophic. And so is the conflict that it induces. The drought is thus a single dangerous enemy that kills us twice.”

The BORESHA project facilitated natural resource planning, sharing and management agreements between cross-border communities. The project supported formation and capacity building of community rangeland councils and village-level natural resources management (NRM) committees to implement priority actions and enforce community agreements.

Photo:Restoring productivity of degraded rangelands through collective action under BORESHA

The approach proved successful in reducing community vulnerability to recurring droughts, improved household access to livelihood opportunities and reduced the frequency of natural resource conflicts.

Dolo Ado Woreda Pasture Council Leader Muhumed Deket Elmi describes the initial steps and negotiation processes: “We established a 5 member rangeland council including 3 members from 7 kebeles of Dollo Ado and 2 from Dollo Bay in Ethiopia in 2019. Communities in Somalia and Kenya also established their own rangeland councils. The idea for a cross-border agreement first came from the range councils of the three countries. That led to further negotiation processes and formulation of an agreement based on customary norms and practices, which was drafted in September 2021 and signed by council members and government officials the following month.

Muhumed explains the benefits of the cross-border natural resource sharing agreement. “Conflicts arises whenever pastoralists from our side [Ethiopia] or Kenya or Somalia cross borders. It was difficult to prevent conflicts because we didn’t have a cross-border agreement or conflict monitoring system at that time. We tried to end conflicts after they already happened which was not an effective approach. CARE guided us in developing resource sharing agreements and by-laws that enabled us to reduce the frequency of conflicts, enhanced safe cross -border movement and improved management of shared natural resources. We also increased our yields and storage of pasture for our livestock, practiced climate-smart water harvesting and conservation, and rehabilitated severely degraded communal grazing fields. Thereafter, our wellbeing improved significantly.”

Norto Garane, a 58-year old mother, is a resident of Barabarai Village in Dollow district, Somalia. She is a member of the community Disaster Risk Reduction Committee. She lost her husband years ago, which left her alone with the the responsibility of taking care of her large family of 14. For the longest time, Norto’s main source of income was livestock keeping but due to climate change she has diversified and incorporated crop farming into her livelihood activities.

Photo1: Norto standing at the irrigation source point.

Photo2: Onion and squash being cultivated at her plot

After the prolonged drought and dry spell that Somalia has suffered, with five consecutive seasons of rainfall failure, the burden of keeping her livestock alive has taken a heavy toll. Norto had 25 cows, but because of the drought, she now has only 6 left. “As pasture and grass became scarce and then non-existent, to keep our animals alive, we were forced to buy the feed from the market, which was very costly,” Norto says.

She always had dreams of expanding her farm in order to make it more profitable, but those dreams were dashed given the current drought, which left Norto and her family vulnerable. This is how she came to be selected as one of the participants of World Vision’s irrigation farming support under the BORESHA project. Farmers were assisted with the installation of solar panels and tapping of water from the nearby river to support them undertake irrigation farming. This support was intended to help increase their crop’s productivity and reduce the need for costly diesel fuel to power generators, thus also benefiting the ennvironment.

Some few months after the installation of the solar powered water pump, Norto doubled the area under cultivation from less than half hectare to one hectare, where she now grows a variety of crops, including coriander, tomato, spinach, maize, soya beans, onions, papaya, and bananas. Norto says that her income has gone up and that the quality of produce harvested has improved.

“Two months ago, I harvested tomatoes from this plot, and I earned US$800 from 67 plastic drums each worth US$12” she says.

The BORESHA project targets female headed households as a priority. Besides boosting their income, it has helped improve food production and nutrition by increasing the amount of healthy food for home consumption. Now for most of the year, beneficiary farmers have vegetables and fruits under cultivation, now greatly more abundant thanks to the water sourced from the river.

“I would say life has improved significantly for me and my family, thanks to the support of these solar panels. I feel more fulfilled and encouraged even as I hope to expand the farm in the future so that I can keep increasing our yields.”

Story by: Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (iDMC)

The Building Opportunities for Resilience in the Horn of Africa (BORESHA) is a cross-border project funded by the EUTF that promotes economic development and resilience among communities in the Mandera triangle area between Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. It uses a community-driven approach to address the shared risks and opportunities in the border area through improved natural resource management, disaster risk reduction, vocational training and cash for work interventions.

In the face of recurrent flooding and drought, the project implemented activities to improve early warning systems, address water shortages, rehabilitate rangelands, and create opportunities for alternative sources of income such as fodder production and charcoal production from invasive tree species. Training on climate-smart agricultural practices and the provision of agricultural inputs such as hay stores and farming equipment has helped participants to adapt to the changing climate. Livestock owners also benefited from animal health interventions including mass animal vaccinations, treatment, and training.

Click here to read the full story by iDMC.