SWC: Soil & Water Conservation Process

The main objective is to improve soil & water conservation by combining erosion control and extended access to fodder.

The process is presented in the figure 4, consisting of five main phases, each made up of several steps:

• Selection of Kebele: identification of Woreda and Kebele areas with the capacity to implement the proposed soil and water conservation approach.
• Communal Multiplication Sites: establishment of locally-based sites with the capacity to provide fodder grass to all the families of Kebele.
• Backyard Nursery: development of backyards grass multiplication site within family farms.
• Expansion: grass multiplication at farm level to ensure sufficient planting materials to vegetalise and consolidate SWC structures
• Soil and Water Conservation: creation of vegetalised anti-erosion structures accross all farms of the Kebele, with the support of CBOs and peer-educators.
• Certification: certification of advanced peer-educators when their Kebele becomes autonomous in the development of anti-erosion structures enabling families to improve their productions and incomes.

Within each main phase, the operation itself (production of fodder grass or establishment of anti-erosive structures) is preceded by an organisational step (establishment of the Kebele Task Force, creation of women structures, identification and training Community-Based Organisations, selection and training of peer-educators) and followed by a monitoring step (data collection, dashboards and General Assemblies).

For each step, the objectives are described, as well as the conditions required to progress to the next step. “'Pass or defer” milestones are used to guide each Kebele through the process. If a Kebele has not passed the indicated milestone, it is given an additional year and can request dedicated support to achieve it. The Technical Assistance supports this process and confirms the achievement of each milestone.

Figure n°4 - Soil and water conservation process (Next Page)