Sudan Report 06

ITDG Sudan Annual Report 2001/2002 ITDG Sudan Annual Report 2001/2002 Director’s view This past year was the ninth in the Intermediate Technology Development Group’s most recent involvement in Sudan. During this relatively short but productive time, ITDG Sudan’s work has developed remarkably in terms of its operational size, geographical coverage, number of beneficiaries reached and the impact on their livelihoods achieved. Yet there is still scope for continuing development in all these areas. That is our target. The superb achievement of ITDG Sudan’s Shambob Brick Producers Co-operative Society project in Kassala State winning a Dubai International Award for Best Practices in 2000 has given staff members justified cause for celebration and new challenges. We have been determined to maintain that quality of work. Building on award success is not the only challenge that ITDG Sudan faced during 2001/2002. Following years of constant civil war, an improvement in Sudan’s political environment encouraged donors’ support for development work in the country. It also motivated staff to work even harder and be prepared to meet increasing demands for assistance should peace finally be achieved. Using technology as an entry point in programmes aimed at helping poor people has proved a very effective and creative approach to tackling poverty in Sudan. It has helped ITDG attract the interest of other groups, including increasing numbers of partner community-based organisations, which have shown interest and willingness in replicating our successful experiences and initiatives elsewhere. Many beneficiaries of our projects are now reaping the fruits of ITDG Sudan’s work over the years. ITDG is also benefiting from the credibility and recognition its work is gaining from the general public, the national government, United Nations agencies and other non-government organisations. We in ITDG Sudan try our best to be prepared for responding to people’s needs. ITDG Sudan’s committed and dedicated team continues to help poor people develop and use appropriate technology to improve their lives. Mohamed Majzoub Fideil Director, ITDG Sudan. ITDG/Jean Long v Mohamed Majzoub Fideil 1 ITDG Sudan Annual Report 2001/2002 Introduction History of ITDG The Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG) was founded in the UK by economist and philosopher E F Schumacher in 1966. Thirty-six years and many political, environmental, commercial and technological changes later, its mission has remained constant, steady, relevant and vital. ITDG aims to help eradicate poverty in the world’s developing countries by working in close partnership with poor people and marginalized members of society on the development and use of technology, appropriate to their situations, to improve opportunities for building their sustainable livelihoods and reducing their vulnerability. ITDG works directly in four regions of the world – East Africa, Southern Africa, South Asia and Latin America – with particular focus on Kenya, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Peru where ITDG has regional offices. The work is spreading to other countries, including through the activities of ITDG’s subsidiary company, Intermediate Technology Consultants (ITC). ITDG continues to demonstrate the value and share the benefits of its work on intermediate technology with a wider audience. Its vision is for a world free of poverty and injustice in which technology is used for the benefit of all. ITDG in Sudan ITDG first became involved in Sudan during the mid-1970s. It was providing technical assistance to the regional government in southern Sudan on building reinforced concrete boats. This was followed by many consultancy projects undertaken by ITC in the country. In 1987 ITDG provided technical support to fellow non-government organisation Oxfam’s Kabkabiya smallholders programme in western Sudan’s North Darfur State. Two years later, ITDG decided to extend its operations in Sudan. Its first country director was appointed in 1990 and the Sudan office officially opened its doors in December 1992. In 1993 an integrated technology programme was developed in eastern Sudan. The work includes helping poor people tackle problems of immense poverty caused by harsh environments, limited economic opportunities, lack of access to basic services and civil war. It has involved much effort and great dedication by ITDG workers – sometimes in the face of grave danger. The need for this important work with vulnerable communities continues. 2 ITDG Sudan Annual Report 2001/2002 Programmes ITDG Sudan’s work focuses on two main regions. The Eastern Sudan Integrated Technology Programme (ESITP) activities take place in the states of Kassala and Gedarif. On the fringes of the Sahara desert in western Sudan, the work in North Darfur State – divided into the four provinces of Elfashir, Kabkabiya, Kutum and Umkaddada – concentrates heavily on improving the food security of inhabitants. Objectives The main objectives of ITDG Sudan’s programmes are: s s s Alleviating poverty through the empowerment of women and other particularly vulnerable sectors by enhancing the capacity of grassroots organisations. Improving poor people’s lives through securing job opportunities, increasing income and acquiring affordable shelter. Developing the skills of crafts people, including metal workers, blacksmiths and casters, to help improve their livelihoods and to facilitate the provision of cheap manufactured products for poor consumers. Methods ITDG Sudan believes that alleviating poverty and improving quality of life should be achieved through strengthening the abilities of poor people and encouraging them to work together and become more involved in decision-making. The most disadvantaged groups, with the least resources and very weak, poorly organised representative bodies, currently include women, traditional producers and farmers. A key element of ITDG Sudan’s work involves helping develop and support the management capabilities of such groups through the creation of local institutions and/or community-based organisations (CBOs). This is seen as the most appropriate way of ensuring the projects can achieve the aimed-for results in a sustainable manner. Such capacity building is coupled with identifying the varying skillbuilding needs of poor people covered by the programmes. The necessary support is then offered, including the use of technology in income generating projects, providing access to business development services, training in business management skills, marketing support, fundraising, bookkeeping, strategic planning and priority setting. ITDG Sudan works closely with small-scale farmers and producers involved in its programmes on the creation and use of technology. It is participatory technology development in action – and it works well. ITDG’s Core Principles s s s s Putting people first Working in partnership A concern for future generations Respect for diversity of all people 3 ITDG: Working in Eastern Sudan ITDG Sudan Annual Report 2001/2002 Eastern Sudan: Integrated Technology Programme Eastern Sudan is a region that has received ITDG’s attention and active involvement since the early 1990s. Divided into two states, Kassala and Gedarif, its 2.9 million-strong population contains many people seeking to rebuild their lives and escape poverty. Eighty per cent of people living in the region reside in rural areas or are nomads. Then there are the thousands of people from west and south Sudan who have fled from years of civil war. Adding to these war-weary incomers are the many refugees of different tribal groups who have arrived from neighbouring Eritrea and Ethiopia. ITDG’s Eastern Sudan Integrated Technology Programme (ESITP) was established in 1993 and, almost a decade later, its work has continued to help improve the lives of the region’s poor. Under the programme, ITDG’s activities over the past year have been undertaken in the following areas: Mohammed Majzoub s s s s Building materials and Shelter Food processing Small-scale manufacturing Rural transport The prime target of ITDG’s on-going work in eastern Sudan is the poor in general with a particular focus placed on the internally displaced people. Women, who are among the most vulnerable groups, receive a special emphasis. More than 85 per cent of the women reached through the project so far have been widows, divorced or household heads. About 25 per cent have come from displaced and refugee communities. Usually, the skills they developed and possessed in their home area are no longer of use in the urban areas they move to in Kassala or Gedarif. An example of ITDG Sudan’s activities with this target group includes its work in Kassala town’s Wau Nur shanty residential area. Most people living in this community have fled conflict in other parts of Sudan. ITDG Sudan has undertaken assessments on displaced women in Wau Nur to evaluate whether they would benefit from additional manufacturing skills training to create new income generating methods. This led to 25 women being trained in tie-dye methods. Additional training has been provided in food processing and producing building aggregates. A4 Sudan B2.24 v Opening of Gedarif Women's Association building 4 ITDG Sudan Annual Report 2001/2002 ITDG: Working in Eastern Sudan Award-winning ITDG project highlights best practice The building of poor people’s abilities to raise their incomes and living standards in a sustainable way is an important underlying theme of ITDG’s work with impoverished communities. ITDG Sudan’s building materials and shelter project has assisted lowincome brick producers in securing employment and improving their livelihoods. Its successful work in helping people from Shambob, a village near Kassala town, join together to establish a cooperative society for producing and selling bricks won the prestigious Dubai What a difference a few years can make International Award for Best Practices to In 1998, the brick makers of Shambob village were very poorly Improve The Living Environment. paid. Their future prospects seemed equally poor. The project has seen further developments during 2001/2002. It supported the formation of a building materials producers’ association, composed of three co-operative societies whose members were poor workers who used to be labourers for rich producers. The association’s total membership has risen to 741. ITDG Sudan offered technical, managerial and organisational training to members. Technical training included work on producing high quality bricks. Improved Shambob bricks helped set new national standards and influenced brick makers and consumers across the Kassala region. The association managed to produce and sell more than 1.2 million bricks during 2001/2002. ITDG Sudan’s project also involved working with brick producers on testing and promoting alternative types of brick-firing kilns and the use of agro-waste as an alternative to wood fuel in the manufacturing process. In tests, 85 per cent of wood fuel normally used in making bricks was replaced with baggasse, the remains of sugar cane. Other project achievements included promoting the availability of appropriate low cost roofing and supporting a women’s society by improving their members’ methods of producing building aggregates. Links to support the marketing of products were initiated with building contractors, non-government organisations and government departments. Dissemination of information about the project included publishing two case studies internationally. The harsh climate of the Kassala region makes farming difficult. Producing bricks to be bought by middlemen on behalf of wealthy merchants is one of the few remaining incomegenerating options. With the assistance of ITDG Sudan, 115 Shambob brick makers formed a co-operative society that managed to boost production, sales and bring a large increase in the income of each member within two years. The Shambob brick workers, who each made a basic cash contribution to become members of the co-operative, received ITDG training in management skills to run the society. ITDG also provided training in brick production processes and techniques and helped the co-operative experiment with these and use of energy efficient fuels. Some village women gained an income through transporting water for the co-operative. The co-operative, which accepts men and women members, now produces one million bricks annually with demand still growing. Income from the project has led to a community centre being built and the payment of fees to enable local children to attend school. Osman Hummed, a founder member of the Shambob Brick Producers’ Co-operative Society, said: “I not only gained an increase in income, I became a member of a commercially viable business; sharing in the profits and the decision-making.” v Brick making at Kassala 5 J1 Sudan A8.04 Mohammed Majzoub ITDG: Working in Eastern Sudan ITDG Sudan Annual Report 2001/2002 Training brings tasty dividends ITDG Sudan’s work in boosting the livelihoods and well being of poor women in Kassala and Gedarif States through developing food processing skills is going from strength to strength. The food processing project includes helping communitybased women’s development associations (WDAs) provide technical assistance to female members including extending credit and marketing support to help in the launch of small businesses selling processed foods. Five such associations formed with ITDG Sudan’s support now have a combined membership of over 5,000 women. About 9,000 women from Kassala and Gedarif have undertaken training in food processing through the project to date. GBR Sudan 0002.05 Mohammed Majzoub 2001/2002 achievements v Market stall provided for women’s project in Kassala During 2001/2002, 15 food processing training courses took place. Topics included fruit and vegetable dehydration and making jams, juices, sweets, cakes, biscuits, ready recipes and dairy products. Of the 510 women participants, 100 went into business by themselves to produce and sell processed foods locally. They received additional support through the provision of preservatives, equipment, labels, marketing support, packaging and training materials. Thirty one women vendors were provided with stalls on Kassala market. Eleven of the 2001/2002 course participants have sold products on markets in neighbouring communities. About 20 have worked as professional trainers and generated income by training others in food processing. Almost all the trained women use their new skills at home either to improve their family’s food security, nutritional intake or save money by replacing products being bought at higher prices including pasta, tomato paste, dried onions and bakery goods. ITDG Sudan views its food processing project as helping to empower women in the target area and bring a gradual but noticeable change in male attitudes towards women’s work. It says the acquisition of new skills can increase women’s incomes and community recognition and help build their decision taking and making abilities. Food processing serves up success for Lulla Lulla Mohammed saw her life improved after participating in one of ITDG Sudan’s food processing training courses in Kassala. A widow in her mid-forties with a ten year-old daughter, Lulla realised the income from her job as an office cleaner was hardly sufficient to support her family. But after undergoing ITDG training, she started practising food processing and trying to sell her products to bring in additional money with encouraging initial results. Lulla joined the Kassala Women’s Development Centre (KWDC), participated in sales exhibitions and shared her experience with fellow members. She managed to purchase a pasta machine that she uses at home. Now considered something of a pasta specialist, she is still producing a variety of other processed food items including dehydrated onions and garlic, artificially flavoured juices, tomato paste and jams. Gaining a good reputation as a quality producer, she has become adept at meeting special requests from customers for different products or for special occasions and actively sells her products at exhibitions within and outside Kassala. The gaining of food processing skills has given Lulla confidence in the future and an increased sense of security. She is managing to make monthly savings, pay her daughter’s regular school fees, has acquired a donkey drawn cart for transporting her products and is securing enough food, mainly dehydrated products, to feed her family during off-season periods. Extending education The potential benefits of ITDG Sudan’s food processing project have been introduced to a wider audience during 2001/2002 through various activities and developments. These included: s s s s ITDG’s training syllabus being incorporated into the curriculum of 34 Gedarif primary schools. Kassala Women’s Development Association, in collaboration with the local government, extended technical training to school dropout girls, aged under 18 years old, as a special target group. Booklets on fruit and vegetable dehydration, sweets, juice and jam making and dairy production were printed and distributed. Dissemination of knowledge outside the Gedarif and Kassala target area was achieved through publishing and distributing books, participation in formal and informal meetings and 280 women trainers received technical skills training in Atbara, Darfur, Gadawab, Khartoum, Kosti and Malakal. 6 ITDG Sudan Annual Report 2001/2002 ITDG: Working in Eastern Sudan Mohammed Majzoub Making more of the makers The poor, mostly illiterate blacksmiths and metal and aluminium casters of Kassala and Gedarif States have been facing a tough existence. Despite providing valuable services to their communities, they have lacked recognition from local government and often found themselves pushed to marginal locations in towns resulting in declining market size and business. ITDG Sudan’s manufacturing programme is aimed at helping bring these artisans together into associations to increase their voice and access to support, including financial assistance, and develop their skills and product range. Blacksmiths Only one-third of the 600 blacksmiths in ITDG Sudan’s project area are actively involved in the trade. The working blacksmiths, who usually acquire their skills through apprenticeships with family members, still produce over 80 per cent of the tools needed by local small-scale farmers but have a very low income and social status. ITDG Sudan succeeded in bringing the project area’s blacksmiths together in a craft association to build solidarity. It facilitated the provision of business development services, links to local banks for gaining access to credit and technical training to enable the blacksmiths to improve the quality and diversity of their manufactured products and increase their market share. v Blacksmith’s improved tools On the move Metal and aluminium casters Poor, isolated and lacking recognition for their services to their local communities: that description applies to casters in general, and aluminium casters in particular, in the area covered by ITDG Sudan’s manufacturing project. The aluminium casters often work near to their homes, which can lead to disputes with neighbours and the authorities over pollution concerns linked to the casting process. Most of these casters produce only one type of product – mainly aluminium cooking pots. Skills are normally passed down through families and casters lack the theoretical knowledge that could be used to expand their business and improve profitability. ITDG Sudan offered technical training to help the casters improve the quality and range of their products and develop their tools and equipment to increase productivity. It organised the casters into associations and offered training to enable them to manage the groups. This helped gain government recognition with casters being allocated workspace in industrial areas. Animal-drawn carts have helped mobilise poor people living in eastern Sudan. ITDG Sudan’s transport programme in Kassala and Gedarif States has included the designing of a cheaper cart that is more affordable to poor people. Made locally and with proven durability, the carts can help generate income of about 2,000 Sudanese Dinars (US$7.50) daily for the owner or operator. They also provide cheap transport for users and save time in tasks such as hauling water. Over 200 carts were manufactured and distributed for the use of poor families during 2001/2002. More than 40 metal workers were trained in making wheels and different forms of intermediate means of transport devices including carts. Mohammed Majzoub Project achievements included: s s s 45 blacksmiths, 42 metal workers, 15 aluminium casters and six metal casters being trained in new skills during 2001/2002. Artisans who acquired new skills and increased capabilities to produce new types of high quality products also increased their income. Being organised in trade associations helped members gain access to services and credit. v A donkey cart with improved low cost rim 7 ITDG: Working in Western Sudan ITDG Sudan Annual Report 2001/2002 Western Sudan: Increasing food security On the southern edge of the Sahara desert and lying within Africa’s arid zone, North Darfur State offers extremely difficult conditions for growing food, raising livestock and living. Sixty per cent of the state’s 1.4 million-strong population are constantly faced with nagging doubts about whether the rains will come and if they will have enough food to survive on each year. Drought is a regular, unwelcome visitor to the region. Declining rainfall over recent years has led to low production of crops, which makes households vulnerable to food crises. Mohammed Majzoub When there is a good production season, farmers often need technical know-how on food processing and storage to help overcome supply problems in poor growing years. ITDG Sudan’s North Darfur food security programme has been continuing over the past year to work with poor communities to help improve their lives through various initiatives. “This is the biggest of our projects in terms of budget but it is very cost effective, produces very tangible results and has impacted on a huge number of beneficiaries,” said Mohamed Majzoub Fideil, ITDG Sudan’s director. The programme’s first task was to understand local communities’ perceptions and definitions of problems in food production and use of resources together with reasons for declining productivity. Existing local knowledge of farmers has been enhanced and supported by ITDG Sudan’s work with the rural community on aspects of the design, manufacture and introduction of new technology to improve the production of food. The work to help increase poor people’s ability to improve their livelihoods has been undertaken in the following areas: v Farmer with Okra crop s s s s Food production Rural transport Food processing Building materials 8 ITDG Sudan Annual Report 2001/2002 ITDG: Working in Western Sudan Mohammed Majzoub Harvesting pools water resources Water is lifeblood to people living in western Sudan’s regularly drought-stricken North Darfur State. A key element of ITDG’s food security programme has focused on involving local communities in improving water-harvesting techniques. The aim is retaining as much of the rain that does fall in parched North Darfur for as long as possible to provide water for irrigation and domestic use. Only five per cent of surface runoff water is currently used for crop production in the region. Dams ITDG Sudan is helping communities tackle this situation through various methods including using earth dams to capture increased amounts of rainy season floodwater from streams. During 2001/2002, dams at Shangil Tobaya and Azagarfa were rebuilt by local people with ITDG Sudan providing technical advice and some materials. Despite low rainfall, the water caught and retained by the dams helped irrigate increased amounts of surrounding land for growing vegetables and cash crops. Plants cultivated or naturally grown nearby provided animal fodder. Water captured by the dams was also employed for domestic uses. Digging of shallow, subsurface wells saved local people, particularly women, from travelling long distances to find alternative water sources. An ITDG Sudan project assessment report on Shangil Tobaya dam’s rehabilitation revealed that local cultivated land areas rose eleven-fold to 5,090 acres as a result. Beneficiaries of the improved irrigation increased from under 300 families to 800. Local farmers reported an immense productivity growth for vegetables and cash crops. This led to community-felt benefits including increased employment opportunities, securing family food supplies and health needs and safeguarding children’s education by meeting school fees. v Azargarfa Dam Water relief for family Increased irrigation has proved vital to the welfare and future prospects of Nima and her three sons and two daughters. Five years ago, her husband died and she was left alone to look after her family. Her family’s land at Shangil Tobaya village, Elfashir province covered five acres, of which only three received a reasonable quantity of floodwater for irrigation. Nima managed to cultivate 1.5 acres with vegetables, tobacco and sorghum and also sold dry products including meat, okra and chillies. But her hard work still could not cover the needs of her school age children and she had to borrow from neighbours and receive assistance from relatives. However, ITDG Sudan’s work with villagers on refurbishing the local dam and boosting the amount of irrigated land has worked wonders for Nima. With relatives and neighbours helping with farm work, she has been able to cultivate around four acres of different crops, particularly tobacco and chillies, and increase her net income. This has allowed her to cover part of the money borrowed to meet the farm’s running costs, secure her family’s food needs for one year, send her elder son to Elfashir University, visit Sudanese capital Khartoum for medical treatment, and hire premises for a catering business. ITDG Sudan introduced terrace cultivation to cut water runoff and improve crop productivity. During 2001/2002, around 1,000 local farmers were trained in terrace building. They constructed terraces that helped them grow vegetables, including okra, eggplant and tomatoes, which can be harvested up to five months after the rainy season. More people are now replicating this successful idea. Reservoirs Five water reservoirs (hafirs) for domestic use were excavated. Water infiltration A8 Sudan A6.22 The increasing use of animal drawn ploughs in North Darfur has cut time and labour involved in ploughing by 50-80 per cent and boosted the amount of cultivated land by 100 per cent. It has also increased water infiltration into the soil, which improves plant growth. During 2001/2002, 120 ITDG Sudan-trained blacksmiths produced and sold about 400 ploughs to local farmers. Over 4,000 have been sold during the project’s lifetime. v Woman showing crops harvested from a terrace 9 Mohammed Majzoub Terraces A8 Sudan B1.20 ITDG: Working in Western Sudan ITDG Sudan Annual Report 2001/2002 Community-built routes to improved access For poor people trying to escape poverty, lack of mobility can push them further into physical and economic isolation. ITDG Sudan has been working to help poor communities in North Darfur State increase their access to the facilities and services including markets that are essential to improving their lives, opportunities and economic growth. Mohammed Majzoub Vehicle manufacture Following the path forged in the Eastern Sudan Integrated Technology Programme, the development of intermediate means of transport (IMT) devices such as animal drawn carts has been promoted. Around 40 metal workers in North Darfur have been trained so far in the use of wheel-making sets and production of carts, trailers and wheelbarrows together with spare parts. ITDG Sudan has supported the creation of a manufacturer society for the production of these IMTs and maintained distribution channels for the finished products through village development committees. These committees have their own funds for purchasing IMTs and selling them on to local farmers through a credit system. The 2001/2002 year saw 15 carts produced by the manufacturer society as income-generating sources for poor households. A further 16 carts were built for local community-based organisations. F7 Sudan A1.05 v Road improvements at Jebel Si, Northern Darfur Cart packs a productive load Kebkabyia province farmer Abdalla Omer Saeedo had a major problem. How could he take a sufficient quantity of vegetables and green fodder to the market ten kilometres away to make enough money to cover production and packing costs and also provide for the needs of his wife, three daughters, one son, his elderly mother and other dependent relatives? He needed his donkey to carry at least ten sacks and five bags of produce to each of the twice-weekly markets. But Saeedo risked losing money if he could not sell enough of his agricultural produce at each market and unsold products had to be thrown away. Facing a loss of up 3,250 Sudanese Dinars (US$12.00) each time this happened, he became worried. He considered either moving to another area or selling his products inside his farm to wholesalers, which often meant receiving very low prices that might not cover production costs. Saeedo approached ITDG Sudan. Through the organisation’s work on getting local metal workers to produce intermediate means of transport, a special design of donkey cart was manufactured for him. The cart now enables him to transport all his produce to market in one trip, saving packing costs and journey times. Any unsold produce is simply returned in good condition to Saeedo’s farm to be taken on the next market day or to another market. A much happier man, Saeedo was able to earn not less than 15,000 Sudanese Dinars (US$56.00) each market day up to the end of the season, which lasts not less than three months after the rainy season. He can now pay for his children’s school fees and other family needs. Building feeder roads The production and use of increasing numbers of the carts and other IMTs in and around North Darfur’s Jebel Si and Kabkabiya communities brought an urgent need to build rural roads. The existing paths were simply not suitable for cart traffic. With the technical assistance of an engineer from Sri Lanka, where ITDG South Asia is heavily involved in promoting and supporting community-built rural roads, training has been undertaken with local people on such projects. During 2001/2001, community groups in Jebel Si were mobilised to start feeder road construction to markets and services. Tools needed for the building work were collected, ITDG Sudan helped transport 15 tons of cement to Jebel Si from Khartoum and the community hand-dug a well to provide water. By the middle of 2001, 22 kilometres of feeder roads connecting villages in North Darfur to markets and services had been built through community-building schemes. Other construction work undertaken in the past year by local people through the rural transport programme included the building of bridges and erosion controls. Some construction was undertaken using local people’s traditional knowledge of building with stone. Advocacy work ITDG Sudan has helped establish a local transport forum with the aim of creating links with similar networks elsewhere and advocate for poor people’s rights concerning access to transport. 10 ITDG Sudan Annual Report 2001/2002 ITDG: Working in Western Sudan Women have been helping shape their own futures in North Darfur. In a building materials project under the auspices of ITDG Sudan, members of two women’s groups moulded their own bricks and built training centres and stores for their activities. An improved, appropriate and affordable roof style design has been incorporated into one of the buildings to serve as a demonstration model for use in other construction projects. Securing food supplies When food can be a scarce commodity, how can you try to ensure your family has enough to live on in the hardest times? ITDG Sudan continues working in North Darfur to offer technical training on food processing and preservation. During 2001/2002, 1,182 women attended such training courses. Sixty two of these went on to become trainers on food processing and preservation themselves. Food processed by participants was sold out of homes, by personal vending, at sales exhibitions and through retailers. A4 Sudan A9.14 Five shops were established by women’s groups to sell food products processed by their members. v Food processing trainees Sowing future seeds of life Seeds and tools are vital for farmers to do their job. ITDG Sudan has established 11 village development committeemanaged centres in North Darfur State to help facilitate these needs. The centres provide seeds and tools for farmers through cash purchases, credit or loan arrangements. It is part of ITDG Sudan’s food production programme, which covers around 30,000 beneficiaries and helps farmers to sustain biodiversity and to produce drought and disease-resistant crops. Ploughing improves family prospects Learning how to use a plough proved a productive, rewarding skill for Kaltoum Mohammed Abdalla of Awin Jero village. Married with four children and with her husband working away in central Sudan, the 25-year-old relied on farming and labouring at housing and shelter projects in Kebkabyia town to support her family. She then received ITDG Sudan training in using the plough and managed to buy one of the implements. Using the plough, her area of cultivated land doubled to 5.4 acres, productivity rose steeply and she started growing cash crops. Kaltoum said her family life became more stable and secure. Her husband returned from labouring, started helping with farm activities and became a crop trader between Kebkabyia and other neighbouring communities. From the sales of products from their land, the couple bought ten goats, three beds, clothes, luggage and a second plough. They managed to send two of their children to school, pay their annual fees and also contributed to school construction and teachers’ incentives. Kaltoum said another great benefit of her husband’s help with the farming was that she had time to participate in other activities including literacy classes and village committee meetings. v Woman farmer using improved donkey plough Mohammed Majzoub 11 A1 Sudan B4.16 Bedreldin Shutta Construction work raises women’s skills ITDG Sudan Annual Report 2001/2002 ITDG Sudan – Income and Expenditure for the year ended March 31st 2002 ITDG Sudan – Income (2001/02) 140,000 £131,352 120,000 £107,291 100,000 80,000 £ 60,000 £39,159 £34,260 £30,126 £15,305 £32,877 40,000 20,000 0 1 2 3 4 Income sources 5 6 7 1. Unrestricted Funds 2. Comic Relief 3. DFID 4. Diana Memorial Fund 5. British Community Funds 6. Trusts, Individuals, Govt., NGOs 7. Food & Agricultural Organisation ITDG Sudan – Expenditure (2001/02) 90,000 80,000 70,000 60,000 £51,966 £75,004 £75,489 £71,790 £77,138 50,000 £ 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 £38,983 1 2 3 Activities 4 5 6 1. Women's Development Associations 2. Building materials & Shelter 3. Manufacturing 4. Food Production 5. Rural Transport 6. Management & Administration 12 Cover Pictures Front: An Azagarfa woman carries a traditional food basket. GBR Suan 0003.12 Back: Girls help to build the new women's centre at Kafoat, North Darfur. GBR Sudan 0001.11 Egypt RE D Libya RED SEA STATE A SE Sinkat NORTH DARFUR KASSALA KHARTOUM Khartoum Kassala N. Halfa Gedaref Kebkabiya El Fashir Jebel Si Daralsalam Eritrea Chad Kutum GEDAREF Hawata SOUTH KORDUFAN v Sites of ITDG Sudan projects and activities ca fri l A ic ra bl nt pu Ce Re Deleng Ethiopia Congo Kenya Uganda n ITDG Sudan Postal address P.O. Box 4172 Khartoum Central Sudan 43/2 Al QASR Janoub Avenue South of Algorashi Park Khartoum South Sudan 00 249 11 460419/464168 00 249 11 472002 itsd@sudanmail.net S t reet address Telephone Fax E-mail Intermediate Technology Development Group Patron HRH The Prince of Wales Company Reg. No. 871954 England Reg Charity No. 247257 Reg Charity No. Sudan 13787 Designed and typeset by My Word! 138 Railway Terrace, Rugby CV21 3HN, United Kingdom Printed by Neil Terry Printing, Cowper House, 161-163 Railway Terrace, Rugby, CV21 3HQ, United Kingdom