Going to Um Rwuaba and the training workshop with the POs and the local partner (see 'Days in the field (fast summary)'

On the way from Khartoum to Um Rwuaba... selling ice seems to be a good business. I am not sure though of the display method under these conditions (55C and direct sunlight), but apparently, it works. Notice the cutting device (talking about appropriate technologies!).











A couple of hours ahead, a cheese vendor. According to Shibby, the package standards were raised by the government. Now, they have to use these plastic buckets. Instead of... well, maybe, thinner cans?










Yes, you heard it well. Thinner cans! This is salted fish... I could not believe my eyes. It is packed in thinner cans. I opened one of those and saw the poor animals inside (no plastic bags). Maybe the gov should raise the standards here as well, shouldn't they?









Shibby (right) and Khalid (left) during the infamous 'sauna' training session with the project officers and members of the local partner Eid El Nil. They are explaining the PMSD approach. Hot but a very productive day.












A well-earned breakfast, which in Sudan is always taken late (around 11). This is the hibiscus project team (see pic below): from left to right; Tahir (Proj. Officer in North Kordofan), Asjad (PO in N. Darfur), Shibby (Markets and Livelihoods Team Leader in Sudan) and Khalid (hibiscus Proj. Manager). In the background, super Bakhita, she took care of us like no one. Everytime you saw her, you knew that something good was about to happen (food, tea, coffee, water, ... a smile).

The last day in the office

Yesterday, Wed, we arrived from N. Kordofan after an 8 or so hours trip. We left the local office in Um Rwuaba at 7:30 am and were entering the Khartoum office at 3:30 or 4:00 pm. I spent the rest of the day answering to emails. Shibby worked on his application of the Peru visa (the issue is solved and he will be able to apply via courrier to the Cairo Consulate). I went to the hotel and worked until the football match of AC Milan vs Liverpool started (what an unfair victory for Milan!!!)

Note for Lucy: Yasir seems to have his visa already pre-approved and his docs will be sent together with Shibby's. Hamdilillah!!!

Today, well... it is the last day in the office (tomorrow, Fri, is holiday). I talked informally with Evans, demistifying the AMAP project; with Lubna (who happened to be in the office these days); with Shadia, the director of the KIS (Knowledge & Information Sharing) about PV; and with Khalid about tribal issues in the hibiscus project and other production-related questions (Mike: I've got stuff for you!).

As usual, leaving this amazing country and great team gets me in a nostalgic mood.

Tomorrow, I will work in the hotel. My plane is scheduled to leave at 3:40 am on Sat.

Days in the field (fast summary)

I am in the Um Ruwaba (N. Kordofan) office; connected to the internet using a mobile phone. I have been trying to access my yahoo mail but it is not working, and because I an not using my laptop, I cannot use my PA mail. My last chance is this blog. (I feel like writting a message in a bottle).

Saturday: Late beginning in Khartoum (I had to take it easy because it seems that Saturday for them is like Sunday for us). I worked with Riffat and Shibby (Khalid could not be with us due to family issues). It was good to focus on the livestock project. We worked mainly on the strategy and the sequence and function of each one of the outputs (e.g. I.G, MoG, Extension Services, Productivity Plan, Productivity Workshops). We could solve some questions that Riffat still had.

Sunday: 8 odd hours trip to Kordofan. It was a tough trip... My butt-crack dissapeared for several hours after we arrived (Khalid still laughs with of the joke... It was not that good, I have to say).

Monday: Full day training with the POs of the hibiscus project (Asjad from Darfur and Tahir from Kordofan) and the local partner Eid El Nil. Khalid and Shibby led the PMSD approach (short version) in Arabic; we did PMM and discussed the importance of them doing it with farmers and other market actors.

We then then moved on to M&E and went to the very details of indicators and sources of verification. It was a very valuable exercise, especially because the POs need to know what to do at this level.

Then we went through Stories of Change and Most Significant Change. We did two exercises: one, using our personal lives (without specifiying domains of change ex-ante) and another one with a research question made by Khalid (the question was about the impact that the Iraq conflict has had on their lives at the economic level). The question constituted the domain of change. I was a bit scheptical with this question at the beginning but we did it anyway (I was also curious to see what the method could bring out). We discovered that two people (out of eight) were affected because two relatives who worked in Iraq lost their jobs and they cannot send any more transferences. They saw this as a very interesting discovery -even if the final result is that, in general, there was not a significant change in this respect for the whole group- and ended up valuing the methodology. In both cases, we found the MSC and discussed about the method's importance for the project and for the whole organisation. I think I succeded in trying to demistify the method. I hope they experiment with it.

We ended up with the PV video and a short discussion about the importance to use any tool available to get people talking within the market system.

We worked from 8 am until 5 pm... I have to say I have never felt so much heat in my life. I swear that we were at least enduring 60C in that office. We had fans and AC but to no avail. I felt I could fry and egg on top of my laptop (literally). It was one of the toughest workshops I have ever facilitated but I felt happy that no one fell asleep (despite one or two occassions where I saw sleepy eyes in one or two participants). Tahir suggested to use a breathing exercice which was very successful.

Tuesday: Ohhh my God... what a day! We were in the field the whole day. We visited two hibiscus collection and cleaning stations; talked with the women working there; met a local agent (an important buyer who sells to exporters); and met members of most of the VDCs in the region, who gathered in one of the villages where hibiscus is produced. I got very interesting footage, pics and a voice recording of the interview with the agent. It was a very interesting and exciting day... but it was also very hot and demanding and my knee failed me for the firts time... when I was getting off the car, it just clicked and I collapsed on the floor with the other leg still in the car!!! It was a bit painful but now that I think about it, it was funny...

OK, gotta go now (for those internet geeks out there: I did not write this message connected to the web.... no sir, I was off line!).

Lots of pics and videos to come (when internet connection is better).

Big hugs!

The secret of Chinese 'special tea' in Khartoum

During the free tour (see below) I met a guy from Norway called Frod. We became good friends. I shared with him my desperation for a lager and he told me that there was a Chinese restaurant that sells a very 'special tea'. We decided that dinner time was perfect for a couple of those... Gam bei!!!!

Free day: images and sounds from Khartoum

I wanted to use the morning of Friday (free day here) to work. I woke up at 9:30 but I was so tired that I had to go back to bed to recover some sleep.

The hotel here has a free tour for guests around Khartoum and I decided to take it. Fortunately, it started at 3PM.

The next pics are some highlights of that tour. I hope it gives you a flavour of Khartoum.

Ethnographic Museum

This how the Hadendowa tribe used to travel. Their way of life has changed relatively little through time. They occupy the area of Kassala State and its surroundings. Our project with the Wellcome Trust will surely interact with people from this important tribe. Note the sophisticated structure on top of the camel to protect women and children from the sun.

In the background, sitting, you can see a very well preserved mummy in a white robe or 'jallabiya'. It is so well preserved that it looks alive! ;-)

The Republican Palace Museum

It has been a scene for numerous and very important historical events. The palace stands now as witness of the historical periods in Sudan’s modern history.

I don't know the name of this one...

A sophisticated hotel by the Nile (someone told me that the owner is Khadafi, but I cannot prove it). It resembles the sail of a typical boat, inflated by the Nile winds and ready to float away...

The National Museum

The museum holds many treasures of Sudan's ancient and medieval past. They are well presented and labeled and give a good narrative of Sudanese history.

Dervish Dances in Al-Nil Tomb (Watch the video!)

Sheikh Hamed Al-Nil was a 19th Century Sufi leader of the Qadiriyah order (tariqa) and his tomb is the weekly focus of the dancing and chanting dervishes. Each Friday afternoon, before the sunset, adherents of the tariqa gather to dance and pray. The ceremony starts with a march across the cemetery to the tomb of the Sheik.

They appear a world away from the restrained white robes of any Sudanese. Instead, the jallabiyas are a crazy patchwork of green and red, often topped off with leopard skin, chunky beads and dreadlocks. The patch clothing represents a denial of material wealth.

(Some sections of text taken from the hotel's tour brochure).

Day 4 (cont'd): M&E

We went through the basics of M&E for each project. In each case we clarified the differences between activities, outputs, outcomes and impact. We also related them to the market map (e.g. outcomes at the three levels of the market map) and to our model (impact at the level of the improvements of the livelihoods of marginalised small-scale producers, and outputs at the level of the IGs and MoG, amongst others).
We also had a brief look at the IA2's IA Framework and went through some of the indicators suggested by the TLs in Sri Lanka last year. The framework was very useful and saved us a lot of time. Each PM kept a copy of the framework and will choose some indicators from the list.

Oops, I almost forgot... At the very end (people were very tired by then) I also showed them paticipatory video pilot in Peru. They were very excited about the possibilities and the methodology. They also laughed a lot in the part where the singer talks about how they prefer their native potatoes and women...

Day 4 (17th May): Contacting allies and M&E

Hi all!!!

Thanks for reading this blog. It seems that the response has been very positive.

I will tell you what I did today:

- I tried to respond to the question of: OK, PMM is cool, but what do we do then? What kind of people one should invite to be part of the PMSD process.

- I went through the M&E framework for both projects.

For the first question: Selecting your allies:

- Transforming a market system is a 'war' between those who want to maintain the status quo and those who need or want to change it. In PMSD we are like a football coach or a general and our task is to assemble at least two winning teams of allies who will help us transform the market system: IG and MoG.

- Avoid the 'hijackers' (I copied this term from Khalid): We need to make sure that we take every step necessary to avoid people who in reality want to have a free ride or want to block the process.

- How to do it?

- For the MoG:

Invite leading, influential, inspiring, reputable, educated, experienced and/or trusted members of the community. The MoG has to be able to engage with potential buyers, policy-makers and service providers; explore business and lobbying opportunities, develop win-win relationships and make sure that the farmers they represent get the benefits. Not an easy task, is it? This is why we have to be very strategic when we assemble this team. Of course, we have to pay attention to whom the communities want to nominate as their representatives, but we have to make sure that they know the role and responsibilities of this vital team.

- For the IG:

Use the market map to identify the key actors who could have an interest in improving, not the whole system as we have been talking about before, but critical issues that we identified in the preliminary PMM.

Brainstorm using the map and list all the actors, do not stop to reflect too much here; they can be at any level of the market map. Then, use the power-relevance matrix (a very simple tool that we invented yesterday) to identify who is a relevant actor for each issue and who has the power to promote changes in that issue.

The matrix is a Cartesian plane with two axes:

- Horizontal: from less relevant to more relevant. E.g. the MoA is extremely relevant to solve issues related to extension services.

- Vertical: from less powerful to more powerful. E.g. a leader of a political party can have lots of power to propose a change in the tax legislation in the Parliament.

When you have located the actors here you will end up with dots spread all over the plane. Take the following decisions for each quadrant:

Quadrant I (relevant and powerful): be proactive and do your best to get them on board. Call them, visit them, and explain the project to them. Show them why the project is important for them and what they will win if they join the IG (avoid false promises). Do not give up. If they refuse, try to get the others on board and call him/her again (powerful actors attract other powerful actors).

Quadrant II (relevant but not powerful): be open minded. If they are very relevant for that issue and they call you and tell you that they want to join the IG, listen to what they have to say and see how you can use their contributions strategically. For example, a very reputable researcher who on his own cannot do much to change the issue but can provide very valuable evidence to the powerful actors in quadrant I.

Quadrant III: (not relevant and not powerful): run away! Do not let them waste your time. If you are unlucky enough that they call you and beg you to let them be part of the IG, explain to them diplomatically that the group has very specific roles and that you will call him/her for more valuable contributions later. Never underestimate an enthusiastic potential ally; you might need him/her later

Quadrant IV (powerful but not very relevant): again, be open minded. Listen to what the have to say. (See quadrant II). E.g. if the issue is taxation, and the minister of health calls you, listen how he can add value to the process, explain to him the project and your strategic needs… maybe she is a good friend of that relevant and powerful actor who rejected your invitation the first time!

When you have identified the actors in quadrant I (normally institutions or organisations), put a name and a phone number on it. I.e. identify within the organisation who is the right person to invite. Ask your colleagues and other people who know the organisation from inside. Be creative and tenacious.

If the number of actors in quadrant I is too large (not likely), prioritise. Maybe up to five actors is enough to get the process started. What criteria should we use to filter the group further then?: Commitment, passion, values.

The experience of the Hibiscus Forum is leading me to believe that large IGs are a liability instead of an asset if we create them with a supply-led logic. Instead, we need to begin with a small but highly committed group of IG actors, who deeply believe in the project, and then spread the voice about their achievements… my hypothesis is that other committed actors will come to join. It is preferably that the process to join the IG is demanding in terms of commitment, so that we create self-selection of highly committed actors (we do not want free-riders here).

If you identified two or three critical issues (e.g. taxation, certification, extension), you will end up with the same number of sub-groups (I call them task forces). They constitute your IG. Promote a sense of identity and belonging but let them work on their own and give them very clear tasks according to the needs of the project. Create spaces for them to share progress periodically (maybe a plenary every two months or so). Do not saturate them but make them feel that you are there… quietly breathing on their neck. Do everything you can to nurture them with contacts, information, resources, spaces to work and meet, etc. Give them public recognition (maybe a press conference when they have something important to say). Invite them to the field, help them understand the reality of the project in the ground. Create communication between them and the MoG and other farmers. Just be creative!

The team was very excited about this tool because they did not have clear criteria to select members. They said that it is also useful to reject inappropriate actors in a diplomatic way because they now have a rationale and 'objective' criteria behind the decision to reject them (the typical line 'we'll get in touch with you if we need you' comes very handy here) ;-)

In a previous session we also talked about the importance to ‘sell’ the project in a way that it makes sense to each actor of the MoG and the IG according to their interests: if they are business people, make business sense; if they are politicians, make political-sense; if they are NGOs, donors or CBOs, make social sense; if they are farmers make ‘livelihoods sense’!

Finally, I used for the first time the categories proposed in The Tipping Point (M. Gladwell) to show them that if they wanted to create a ‘revolution’ with the project (scale-up) they needed teams (their own field team, the IG and the MoG) with a good balance between ‘salesmen’, ‘connectors’ and ‘mavens’ (or translators). They loved it!

The second part of the day was dedicated to M&E. But now I am too tired to keep on writing (it is past midnight now).

Sorry for the excessive technical stuff in this entry. I promise that next time I’ll be more fun. (I am just very excited because we are moving the approach towards very concrete applications).

Big hugs, to my readers…

Agenda update

Tomorrow, Friday, is holiday here.

On Sat (a relaxed day here) we will work from 11am until I do not know when. Khalid cannot come that day so I guess I will make Riffat crazy. Shibby will join us.

On Sun we will travel to Kordofan (Riffat cannot join us because he has to work with a consultant who will do a base line and prepare for the annual review). We will be there (Um Ruwaba) two net days:

• I suggested that the first day (Mon) we spend it with the field team (two people from Kordofan and one from Darfur). I will ask Khalid and Shibby to lead a short explanation of our approach and the we will do preliminary PMM together ... yes, again! (it is fundamental that the team feels comfortable with the technique so that they do it with market actors).
• The second day (Tue), we will meet farmers from the different Kordofani villages where the project is working.

On Wed, we will return to Khartum (6 hours trip).

On Thu, we will meet with Evans to discuss AMAP's financial issues and then we will possibly meet an officer of the World Bank who contacted Shibby to see possibilities of joint work. She is the person in charge of the public-private partnerships in the WB for Sudan.

On Fri, I will return to the UK.

Day 3 (16th May): Participatory Market Mapping exercises

Another tough but great day.

I arrived from work to the hotel at 6:45 PM and collapsed again for like an hour or so.

Today, we moved ahead in the application of PMSD. We focused on PMM.

It was great! Taking into account the general implementation secuence (preparation -> PMSA -> action plan), we did two simulations of a preparation session:

• I asked them to imagine that we are the project team and that we needed to go through the preparation phase, with a special focus on preliminary PMM. The final product?: The team's hibiscus market map, which is going to be a reference point for the real thing (the PMM with the stakeholders).
• We went through the exercise as we all contributed with our own perceptions, experiences, and knowledge... putting the market puzzle together.

'Ok... now take a good look at my amazing bicep... this is how you twist the market system'

Super-Khalid taking the lead in the exercise

Then, I asked Riffat to practice what he learned and lead the following PMM exercise for the livestock project.

'I do not have the same biceps as Lucho but I can also twist my market system!

(Note how Khalid rubs his bicep as a sign of pain from the previous exercise)'

PMM... it's a kind of magic...

Khalid, Riffat and Shibby in a lively discussion about the livestock market system in Kassala

Afternight reflection: OVRs and blogging: a new approach?

Thinking about a comment that Lucy made to this blog, I have decided that I will not use it as a substitute to the Overseas Visit Report (that was one of my intentions, and you can see it in the initial entries below). Instead, I will use it as a complement.

I need to think more about this, but I am beginning to feel that it would be great if the blog contains the anecdotes of the trip and the OVR becomes one or more learning documents that we can use as inputs for IA2 or other areas of the organisation.

I am beginning to understand that I have been using the wrong approach to OVRs: I have been mixing anecdotal info with critical lessons and insights that can really make a difference in the way we work. At the end, these critical inputs get lost with the OVR and archived til the end of times.

I will try this out: from now on, this blog will be like a journalist diary... kind of a documentary of my visit, and I will ellaborate on the more technical stuff when I am in the UK.

I am also finding that blogging promotes in me the disciplines of writting and reflection because there are readers out there who are eager to know how my trip is going, right? (hellooooo.... anyone out there?). It is fun, I like to feel like a reporter in the field!

I hope you enjoy it as well.

Prolinnova in Sudan too!

I think the image says it all.

Sharad: I told Mabruk (TL of Aim 1 in Sudan, who you see in the pic) that you are also involved with Prolinnova. He was very interested to share ideas with you.

Day 2 (15th May): PMSD in depth and applications to the hibiscus and livestock projects

With the help of super-Shibby, I tried to build our PMSD approach in from of Khalid's and Riffat's eyes; using their experience and projects.

I allowed Khalid and Riffat to talk about the social architecture of each project (WDAs and VDCs). This was a got starting point to move into PMSD:

• definitions of markets, including market systems and why we prefer this lens to look at markets
• the basics of the market map
• our conceptual model (with improved livelihoods as the end, markets as the means, and empowerment and structural system transformations as the two sides of the same coin of making mkts work better for the 'poor')
• MoG's and IG's and what is their role in the model. We even developed (on the spot) a very simple method to incorporate the power dimension in the selection of IG members (exciting! it was like magic)
• our operational model (internal preparation, preliminary market map, participatory market system analysis, action plan)
• operational principles: get people together, let them find their own solutions and blockages, and promote win-win relations... amongst others that came up as we discussed

It is amazing how fast the PMs get the approach. I am also happy to see how the model helps them make sense of many things they are already doing and how it also helps them to identify gaps in their projects.

Ahh... what a great day that was.

Day 2 (15th May). Just a couple of pics...

I am too tired to write long today. It was an exhausting but really exciting and productive day. Shibeika and I worked with Riffat and Khalid in our approach (PMSD) and its applications in each of their projects. The session went better than expected.

Here, you can see Super-Riffat explaining the social organisations (VDCs and MOG) in one of his projects (n.b., he is working in the livestock project but also in the Improving Women Status one). Khalid also explained how he has been promoting farmers organisations to implement the activities of his project.

And then.... we had the typical 'fatur' (Sudanese breakfast) in the office... This compensates somehow for the 50C temp, the late nights working and the loneliness of the hotel room... ahh, and most important, the lack of beer! (man! how much I miss a good pint of lagger!). The guy in white is Super-Khalid.

Shibby's visa to Peru: A more or less successful call to the Consulate in Cairo. It seems that they have received a letter from the Ministry in Peru advocating for Shibby's case and apparently he will get the visa. However, the issue now is time (to get the Dutch visa). The consul was not in the office today but I will call him tomorrow to see what solutions he can give us to get his visa ASAP and then proceed with the Dutch one. (Keep on visualising!).

A poem: The spirit of our approach (?)

Yesterday, checking my emails I found one from a Colombian friend which contains a beautiful poem of Benjamin Gonzalez Buelta. It makes me think of the spirit on which any good PMSD should be based (English translation below). Will donors listen to it someday?:

"Apostaremos por lo germinal con toda la verdad
de un amor que se derrama como el agua,
que no pregunta cómo crecerá la planta
ni exige una altura a tiempo fijo,
ni impone una dirección precisa,
ni urge los frutos más temprano
compitiendo,
mirando de soslayo los otros árboles del huerto
que crecen a su lado.

Apostaremos como el agua
que cree en el poder de la semilla,
en el sol que guía el tallo en su estatura,
y en la tierra que la nutre sin descanso

Apostaremos por lo germinal como Tu,
como el agua de la Vida."

__________

“We will bet on the sprout with all the truth
of a love that overflows like water,
one which does not ask how the plant will grow
nor demands a certain height at a fixed time
nor imposes a precise direction
nor urges to mature the fruits earlier
competing,
comparing it to the other trees in the orchard
growing beside it

We will bet on it like the water
which believes in the power of the seed,
in the sun that guides the stem in its height,
and in the soil that nurtures it restlessly

We will bet on the sprout like You,
Like the water of life”


Isn’t this poem amazing? I think it masterfully encapsulates the philosophy behind our approach.

First Arabic lesson

Repeat after me:
Coca-Cola

Now, you know how to write the sounds co, ca, and la.

Easy, isn't it? (No need to say that you have to read from right to left)

May 14: first day in the office

I arrived in Sudan at 4:30 AM after a quiet flight. The temperature was already a refreshing 30C (!). I arrived to the Acropole hotel at almost 5:30 and slept until 10 or 11 AM. By 12:30 I was already in the office.

It was great to meet good friends again; some are new though. Some people are in Darfur in a workshop about blacksmiths and something else I do not remember right now. People from other local offices like the Kassala Office Coordinator (Magdi) are attending this workshop. I missed my dear friend Hashim who is also there.

It was great to see Shibby again. We talked for a while and had a coffee. He prepared a very detailed agenda of our days in Khartoum, which we reviewed together. No major changes were made. We will wait for Khalid (the Hibiscus project manager) to arrive to define the details of the agenda in Kordofan.

I will attach the agenda later.

I talked with Shibby about the spirit of my visit, and discussed about a key part of it: the integration of project managers/officers (from now on PMs) in the international learning dimension of the team. He was very happy to hear that and very supportive of the idea.

Shibby and I also talked about his visa to Peru and travel arrangements.

Visa: Shibby has tried to get in touch with the senior staff of the Peru Embassy in Cairo. Shibby has sent him a couple of emails explaining his intentions to process the visa sending it through DHL or TNT. Some initial attempts to communicate were unsuccessful due to mistakes in the spelling of the email address. We tried to get in touch with them again via phone. Shibby tried twice to get me in touch with the senior officer (a Peruvian), to see if I could communicate the issue better in Spanish. Both times, he was in a meeting. Shibby explained to the person on the phone about the email he sent to them and the person said that she will pass it to the senior officer. Shibby sent the email again. When I left the office there was no reply from the Consulate. If tomorrow there is no answer, I will call directly and insult the person in Spanish to see if now they pay attention (just kidding). I’ll keep you posted.

The travel arrangements have been like this: BA has a longer and more inconvenient route than KLM. The former goes via Cairo, London, Madrid and in the way back goes via Florida. Shibby feels that being a Sudanese citizen he will not have a very good experience in the US. And listen to this: BA are not willing to give out a price until you decide to buy the ticket, due to price variations! KLM goes via Amsterdam (both ways), which is more convenient in terms of time and peace of mind. Shibby needs to get a transit visa that will take approx 15 days to process, and the Dutch government will not grant the visa unless he has a Peru visa. This means that we need to get Shibby’s Peru visa urgently in order to move ahead with the Dutch one. Shibby and I will work on this intensively. Wish us luck.

Whilst Riffat (the PM for the Women Development Associations and livestock projects in Kassala) arrived, Shibby and I went through the Support Plan. I updated and clarified some points with him and the plan helped us to improve the agenda for these days.

Some key points that came out from the support plan are (additional to the points already included in the original agenda):

- STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT:

• Annual reviews for livestock and WDAs will happen after I have left the office (around the 27th of May).
• Annual review for hibiscus is likely to happen whilst I am here! This was Shibby’s idea and I think it would be great for me to be able to participate in this space where representatives of the beneficiaries and other stakeholders of our projects meet to talk about progress and challenges.

- PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN:

• Shibby wants to discuss with Mike about the initiatives of ‘integrating farmers to markets in Darfur’ and ‘from handouts to markets’ (using humanitarian aid resources to kick-start mkt dev) before he goes to Peru (please visualise Shibby in Peru to help us pave the way for his visa).

- PROJECT SUPPORT:

• Shibby mentioned that Khalid has passed the hibiscus study to some members of the Hibiscus Forum but he recognised that this is not enough. He wants to present the study to the HF in a formal event. I will go through the study with Khalid and Shibby to identify the key messages and the implications for mkt dev policies and strategies. (No worries Ali, I remember that one of them is the issue about hibiscus quality and the value that some buyers give to the fact that hibiscus in Sudan is grown organically). Any other issues you want to highlight?
• There is an urgent need to rethink the strategy in terms of WDAs development for the future. Comic Relief has funded this initiative like three or four times already and we are still there. Shibby thinks that this is the last time we will get funding for it. The current grant will finish in March 2008. Given that Riffat is managing this initiative as well, I will try to make sure that we use the principles and concepts of Participatory Market Systems Development (PMSD) to move towards a more sustainable horizon for the WDAs.
  

- CROSS-AIM WORK:

• Shibby wants to deepen the work that started with the H+ DPAM project (the same one that I presented in the SEEP conference in 2006). He talked about this in our peer-assisted project review exercise in Blue Water in our ITM in Sri Lanka last year. He is aware that the positive impacts of water harvesting techniques and technologies in crop productivity in Darfur need to be linked to an increased ability of farmers to engage with mkt systems and with improvements in some areas of those same mkt systems. He still thinks that watermelon, sesame and dried tomatoes have a lot of potential (Indeed, the impacts in terms of watermelon productivity and farmers’ income due to watermelon sales seem to confirm this). We agreed that we will have a phone conference with Mohamed Sadig (the office coordinator in Darfur) to see what he has in mind and what kind of concrete actions we can identify to move ahead in this field.
• ‘WDA’s project is also under food-security programme of IA1’ (quote from the support plan). Discussing this point, Shibby mentioned something that prompted me to ask about the interaction between WDAs and Village Development Committees (VDCs), especially when it comes to coordination of activities in the ground. To my surprise, Shibby explained that many women who are members of the VDCs are also members of the WDAs; that ‘at the village level, they are working together’. In fact, they are so linked that they can be considered a single organisation in many respects. The thing is that when it comes to women-specific issues, WDAs constitute an appropriate space for women to meet and find solutions for their problems. I will ask Riffat to update us on the issue.
  

- QA MANAGEMENT:

• Shibby proposed something that I think is brilliant: can we use the international phone conferences to help us improve the way we use the Quarterly Reports? It would be great if we build the phone conf on the basis of the most critical issues coming out of each country in that quarter. Imagine if each TL selects ONE critical issues (can be success or challenge or mistake) and share it with the rest of the team in real time! Of course, this can only be done after each TL has shared with the rest that or other issues emerging from that quarter. I think we should give it a try.
• Sharepoint: We will meet with Widad (the person in charge of it) to see what are the problems and key things we can do to get Khalid and Riffat using the system better.

I then met with Riffat (it was almost time to go home). He is a great guy. He exudes happiness and enthusiasm. It was a great energy boost to see him again. Because Khalid was not there yet, I decided that it would not be a good thing to talk about the agenda too much (we were going to have to talk about it in Khalid’s presence anyway). I wanted to know briefly how he sees himself in the project. Listen to what he said (I almost cried of happiness):

‘I see myself as a facilitator; bringing all actors together [and he mentioned the three levels of the market map!] and helping them find their own solutions. When they find their solutions I will push to help them achieve them. I see myself as a gear within a machine. I want to help the other gears to move towards our objectives. I live in a very challenging context; where people are mainly farmers or pastoralists. I need to know the policy issues. I am a development actor in the region. I have formal and informal contacts with [local] policy-makers’. (Formal contacts relate to MoUs and Technical Agreements; informal contacts relate to personal conversations).

I then asked him more about the MoUs and Tech Agreements. Well… it is a fascinating issue indeed if you see it as very concrete mechanisms of institutional and organisational coordination of different market actors (e.g., farmers, Humanitarian Aid Committee, Ministry of Animal Wealth) and us. Thinking of our upcoming international single-issue paper on Interest Groups, and following the principle of engagement of PMs in our int’l learning dimension, Riffat agreed to write a short draft about MoUs and tech agreements as a coordination mechanism in mkt dev. We will see if Khalid has some experiences to contribute to and then Shibby and I will provide feedback and questions to help him (or them) produce a short paper that we can then share with the rest or the team and other int’l orgs. Exciting, isn’t it?!

Not bad for the first half day of work, uhm?