For further information contact: laderas@cgiar.org

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The Challenge

Within many hillside communities, a sense of hopelessness prevails—fed by low and stagnant incomes, limited employment, diminishing water supplies, lack of political power and institutional support, and rampant emigration to urban slums. People in distant towns and cities are affected by these problems as well, since they depend on water and agricultural produce from the hillsides and must deal with the social problems generated by rapid urban expansion.

Many previous efforts to address the economic and environmental challenges of hillside communities have been disappointing, because they consisted of isolated, narrowly focused initiatives operating at the level of individual farms. Building sustainable livelihoods in hillside communities requires much more—namely, collective action across entire watersheds, guided by a common vision and supported by multi-institutional alliances. Watersheds are the natural common ground for analyzing local problems and orchestrating the search for lasting solutions.

Objective

To improve standards of living and food security, while halting environmental degradation, by generating tools, methods, and knowledge that enable rural communities and organizations to implement sustainable production practices and plan collective action aimed at better management of resources in hillsides.

Outputs

• Information (often in the form of digital atlases) on land use trends in hillsides
• Participatory methods for tasks such as measuring poverty locally, monitoring natural resources, analyzing social groups that have a stake in the management of these resources, evaluating improved germplasm and agricultural practices, and identifying market opportunities for small-scale producers
• Computer-based decision-support tools and models for using these in participatory analysis and planning
• Strategies for organizing collective action in hillside communities

Benefits

The principal beneficiaries of this project are low-income farm families and rural communities in the Andean and Central American hillsides, who gain from new economic opportunities and better husbandry of soil and water. Other beneficiaries are the people outside hillside communities, who depend on their water and agricultural produce. The project also helps increase the effectiveness of local, national, and international research and development organizations.

Strategy

The tools, methods, and knowledge developed by this project offer rural communities the means to chart a course toward sustainable development (based on reliable analysis of local needs and opportunities) and to pursue that course with the assistance of local, national, and international organizations. The work that goes into this process consists of six main tasks:

• Form partnerships among interested groups and organizations.
• Build a common knowledge base about local resources.
• Create a common vision of the development path the community wishes to pursue.
• Secure the commitment of individuals and organizations to action plans.
• Monitor progress toward shared goals.
• Measure the impact of collective action with respect to changes in local standards of living and the environment.

The project currently applies this approach at three locations in Latin America—Caldono, Cauca, in Colombia; San Dionisio, Matagalpa, in Nicaragua; and Yorito/Sulaco, Yoro, in Honduras. The outputs of research at these "reference sites" are relevant to many other hillside communities. A prominent feature of the project is its emphasis on partnerships among organizations working at different levels—from local farmer associations to national ministries and international agencies.

Project Partners

International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cali, Colombia

Over the last 5 years, the Center has built strong multidisciplinary expertise and institutional partnerships for research in hillsides.

Other international centers

Several centers working on specific crops or themes provide valuable inputs into key project activities.

Local and national organizations in Colombia, Honduras, and Nicaragua

Numerous government, nongovernment, and grassroots organizations offer a wide range of research capacities, services, and information through local watershed management associations formed at the reference sites.

Universities

Various universities in Colombia, Germany, Nicaragua, the UK, and USA provide expertise that is vital for developing improved methods and decision-support tools. 

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