Community Drought Mitigation Project Final Report

The Community Drought Mitigation Project (CDMP), implemented by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and Environment and Development Activities (ENDA-Zimbabwe) between 1996 and 1999, aimed to enhance sustainable livelihoods in the drought-prone areas of Mudzi and Gwanda, Zimbabwe. Using a sustainable livelihoods framework, the project integrated local adaptive strategies with appropriate technologies and policy analysis to reduce community vulnerability to drought.

• The project implemented a 'sustainable livelihoods approach' which defines a livelihood as sustainable if it can 'cope with and recover from stress and shocks, maintain and enhance its capabilities and assets, and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for the next generation.'
• Implementation was hindered by several operational challenges, including the distance of project officers from the field, a lack of local office facilities, and a 'top-down rather than bottom-up approach' by ENDA-Zimbabwe that impeded community participation.
• The project established over 80 agricultural, water, and soil conservation demonstration plots to compare traditional and new methods. Demonstrated technologies included 'planting in furrows', 'mulching using grass and stones', and 'gully reclamation'.
• Community nutrition gardens and boreholes provided fresh vegetables during droughts and generated significant income for members, which was used to pay for 'children’s school fees' and purchase assets like 'bicycles, goats, kitchen utensils'.
• To preserve biodiversity and mitigate drought, the project promoted indigenous, drought-tolerant crops such as 'sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet and short season bean varieties' through a locally managed seed-exchange scheme and annual seed fairs.
• Income generation was further diversified through the introduction of Jatropha curcas plants, with training provided on 'extraction of oil from Jatropha seeds and making soap from the oil'.
• The construction of Community Resource Centres (CRC) improved project delivery by allowing officers to stay in the community and provided a venue for meetings and a source of rental income for the community.
• The project identified several existing community adaptive strategies, including the 'Rearing of multi-species herds of livestock', 'Cultivation of more than one type of grain staple', and seeking employment in 'neighbouring South Africa and Botswana'.

APA

Agobia, C. A. (1999). Community Drought Mitigation Project Final Report. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/cdmpfinalreport.pdf

Chicago

Agobia, Charles A. Community Drought Mitigation Project Final Report. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 1999. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/cdmpfinalreport.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Agobia |first1=Charles A. |title=Community Drought Mitigation Project Final Report |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=September 1999 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/cdmpfinalreport.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{agobia1999community, author = {Agobia, Charles A.}, title = {{Community Drought Mitigation Project Final Report}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {1999}, month = sep, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/cdmpfinalreport.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }