USAID is improving the livelihoods of pastoralist communities along Ethiopia's southern border with Kenya, an area of frequent conflict over resource management. The pastoralists comprise a number of different ethnic groups who move across the border with their herds in search of pasture and water. Providing the pastoral communities with new skills to prevent conflict is expected to increase their chances for improved income and livelihoods in Ethiopia and across the border.

In FY 2001, Save the Children/USA (SC/US) produced a "Peace Concert Video" in the Somali language, which includes Somali songs, poems and characters that act out how conflicts begin, how to prevent conflict and means of traditional conflict resolution. The relationship between conflict and development is also presented, and the role of the traditional mediators and relevant Government institutions is amplified. The concert message was pre-tested in Jijiga by SC/US using Somali elders and community leaders in Dollo. Beginning in early FY 2002, a three-person SC/US team will travel throughout the area, showing the video where pastoralist populations are gathered, to promote the message of peace. This awareness-raising model is an effective and novel approach to reaching pastoral and agro-pastoral populations.

SC/US also produced a Conflict Mitigation Training Manual in partnership with local religious leaders. The training manual consists of the following modules: (1) The principle of role and duty of charge, (2) Jurisdiction of formal and informal dispute resolution institutions, (3) Negotiation skills and (4) Team work exercises. The religious leaders added relevant topics related to what the Koran and Hadieth say about the conflict/prevention process and the topic of punishment.

With these basic tools, SC/US sponsored a Community Capacity Building Workshop for 32 community leaders (women and men). The Workshop covered six main topics, including the history of conflict in the Holy Koran and Hadieth, conflict causes, conflict management and resolution, conflict prevention and early warning, problem analysis, and planning, monitoring, and evaluation. A highlight of the workshop was the showing of the Peace Concert video. The participants requested that similar workshops be conducted at the most populated community sites. The participants stated that if others receive similar training misunderstandings and meaningless conflicts can be mitigated.

A second USAID partner, the Pastoral Risk Management (PARIMA) team of the Global Livestock Collaborative Research and Support Program (under USAID's Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade Pillar Bureau) coordinated the Second Cross-Border Workshop at Yabello in September. Over 110 participants (102 male and 8 female) participated, of which thirty participants (3 female and 27 males) were from northern Kenya. The objective of the workshop was to help the Ethiopian and Kenyan participants identify common problems and concerns and work towards mutual solutions. The participants formed four "cross-border committees" to deal with common problems such as drought, marketing, animal health, and peace building. Each committee developed its goals and objectives and expected outputs. They also formed a steering committee to facilitate and strengthen cross-border collaboration.

PARIMA also sponsored the First Cross-Border Pastoral Women's Tour. Fifteen Ethiopian pastoral women leaders and four program development agents visited successful pastoral women's groups in northern Kenya who were involved in financial service associations, education centers for pastoral children, a pastoral health insurance scheme and other integrated pastoral development programs. This was a major achievement to link Ethiopian and Kenya pastoral women together.