“The LEADER Approach Evolving Through Time: 20 years of Community Led Local Development in Practice”:

After some months off the "Ubuntu LEADER Blog" re-starts again its regular work in order to share alternatives,events and reflections about the LEADER program. We will continue offering you information about the LEADER experience in South Africa as well as the evolution of LEADER in other parts of the world.

Here you will find information about the Open Days Event that ELARD hosted the last 9th of October : “The LEADER Approach Evolving Through Time: 20 years of Community Led Local Development in Practice”: 

 The workshop, which lasted 1hour and 45minutes, was composed of three presentations and a Q&A session. The aim of the workshop was to showcase the positive impact that the work of LEADER Local Action Groups has had upon rural communities over time. It focused on three case studies each of them covering a specific period of the lifetime of LEADER, thus touching upon the evolution and impact of this successful local development method through time. The first case study covering the impact of the initial period of the implementation of LEADER was based on examples from Ireland, the second one on examples from Finland, while the third one on the Czech Republic's experience. The speakers on this occasion were Mr Petri Rinne (President of ELARD), Mrs Maura Walsh (IRD Duhallow) and Mr Radim Srsen (Czech Leader Network). The workshop was followed by a networking session where the participants had a chance to discuss and meet the presenters as well as to taste Czech local delicacies and collect relevant literature. It is worth mentioning that ELARD's workshop was quite popular from the onset, as we had received about 160 registrations out of which unfortunately only 68 could be “formally” accommodated (that was the maximum capacity of the room allocated to us). Despite this, on the actual day of the workshop we counted more than 85 participants in the room (some standing others sitting on the floor). Overall the workshop can be said that was very successful, something which was made apparent by the warm applauses of the participants after each presentation and their active engagement during the question and answer session. The presentations given during the workshop can be found on the "relevant files" section of this page while pictures can be seen 

 Source: www.elard.eu

What kind of agriculture we want?

The video we include on this post will give you a broad and a clear idea about why the European CAP must be reform in order to get a sustainable and fair Agriculture in Europe...It's up to us as a consumers. LEADER projects must have a word on this matter...let's create the path.

From the UBUNTU LEADER Blog we just wanted to wish you a Happy New year 2012. 365 new opportunities of changing the world from the local environments to the World.

Ngikufisela uKhisimusi oMuhle noNyaka oMusha oNempumelelo

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012

"The Common Strategic Framework: adding value to rural development? Bridging the gap between the CAP and the cohesion policy"

The conference "The Common Strategic Framework: adding value to rural development? Bridging the gap between the CAP and the cohesion policy" will take place in the European Parliament on the 22 November 2011.


In view of ensuring more coherence between the EU Funds, the European Commission launched a proposal for a Common Strategic Framework in order to maximize the use of the Structural Funds, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).

The aim of the conference is to contribute to the debate on the dynamic coordination between the objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy and Cohesion Policy with a special focus on the impact of the new Strategic Framework on rural developme. ELARD has been invited to give a presentation in this event in order to bring the local actors point of view to the discussion.

Source: http://www.elard.eu

LEADER TOOL KIT.

Here you will find the LEADER Tool Kit that the European Network for Rural Development (EN RD) has just recently aired on its website.

As they say on their website : "The Kit is targeted to the EU’s local level rural development practitioners. It aims to explain the bottom-up LEADER methodology in concrete and practical means utilizing texts, illustrations, interviews, presentations and case projects documented over the 20 years’ history of the method."

This Tool Kit is a guide book for a beginner and a reference material / memory list for a more advanced rural developer. Mr. Petri Rinne, the President of ELARD, was involved in the drafting process of its content.

Click on the next link to have access to this useful kit.

http://enrd.ec.europa.eu/rural-development-policy/leader/leader-tool-kit/en/index_en.cfm

HEIFER INTERNATIONAL

Here you will find the experience of Heifer International about Passing the gift.Their work inspired the idea of including the managing of the dairy goat and the garden within the Ubuntu LEADER project of APRODEL.

Here you could have more information about this international organization as well as other projects they are developing around the world:

http://www.heifer.org/

We recommend you to visit their website as well as to watch their videos presenting how through livestock it could be changed the future of the whole community and reduce vulnerability.

Presentation of the Ubuntu LEADER APPROACH in Durban

Last March 11th, the Ubuntu LEADER blog was presented within the programme of the meeting held in Durban with most of the CDW (Community Development Workers) of the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The meeting was organized by the COGTA (CO-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs) and AECID/APRODEL. The event brought together more than 80 people among the proffesionals of local development.

UBUNTU LEADER: PASSING THE GIFT

UBUNTU LEADER: Passing the gift from Ubuntu LEADER on Vimeo.

Managing the Goat 5: Circles

Managing the goat: Circles from Ubuntu LEADER on Vimeo.

Managing the Goat 4: Gathering other green waste.

Managing the goat: Gathering other green waste from Ubuntu LEADER on Vimeo.

Managing the Goat 3: Walking around the community

Managing the goat: Walking around the goat from Ubuntu LEADER on Vimeo.

Managing the Goat 3: Walking around the garden.

Managing the goat: Walking around the garden from Ubuntu LEADER on Vimeo.

Managing the Goat 3: Walking the goat

Managing the goat 2: Walking the goat to eat from Ubuntu LEADER on Vimeo.

Managing the Goat 2: Feeding the goat from Community Waste

UBUNTU LEADER. Managing the goat 2: Feeding the goat from the community waste. from Ubuntu LEADER on Vimeo.

Managing the Goat 1: Measuring the waste to feed the goat

UBUNTU LEADER: Managing the goat 1: Measuring the waste to feed the goat. from Ubuntu LEADER on Vimeo.

Managing the Home-Farm 2: The Compost Heap

UBUNTU LEADER: Managing Home-farm: The Compost Heap from Ubuntu LEADER on Vimeo.

Managing the Home-Farm 1

UBUNTU LEADER: Managing the Home-farm 1. from Ubuntu LEADER on Vimeo.

Managing the goat: How to take care of a milky goat?

A milky goat needs better nutrition  than regular indigenuos Nguni goats, and is not convinient at all to have them free in the bushlands because this can cause them injures in their udders.

Proper conditions to manage a single (or a couple of) milky goat are:

• It must be treated as a home goat, like a pet. Go for a walk with it, look for the best grazing twice a day. Tie it close to home under the best and shorter grass.
• Taking it for a one and a half hours walk could provide 80% of their nutrition needs. But remember, it will always need more that just grass. (as we’ll see on the videos)
• Provide it with the waste coming from garden and home:  fruit peelings, leaves  and, if possible,  hard bread or wastes from corn. The waste that people use to feed the hens must be used for the goats (Urban people or, if the municipality gives a hand, organic market garbage will be provided as a nutritional complement every week). 
• Cut branches of trees and high leaves where other rumiants cannot reach.
• You would need around 3 kg a day to feed a milk goat (near 40kg). 

◦     a part from grassing (50-80%),

◦     from garden and home waste (yours or from urban garbages or from other families). (50-20%)

• You will milk the goat once or twice a day. It's better to keep away the offspring after the 3er week (the RAG will engaged on that throught a herder who collaborates with them, from 1st to 6th  month, period that  the goat will be pregnant).

Elements of the Home-Garden-Goat (HGG) : The Goat

Milking a goat?.

The goat is more efficient than the cow at producing milk.

1)      Nguni (and Zulu) people are probably the only African population who are not taking advantages of milking goats .  Namibian, Tanzanian, Chad, Mauritania... all around Africa there are people milking goats. The most significant goat races are Namibian and Nubian... the Nguni goat race has lost that potencial.

• In comparison with cow’s milk, the milk from a goat is more diggestive and largely recomended to elders and baby children.
•  The goat milk molecule is smaller, like human milk, unlike larger cow milk molecule that can cause problems in small or weak digestive systems. 

• It has 13% more calcium and 50% more vitamins. It has even more fat and proteins.
• The goat produces more milk per animal/Kg and per Food/Kg than any other cattle animal.

It is for the reasons above that using milk goats is the most convenient way to improve nutritional conditions in vulnerable families with special needs in rural areas.

We recomend you the next sources/links in order to get further information:

http://www.grandeurnaturesafaris.com/en/video-traite-chevre.php

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5541863_goat-milk-benefits.html

Elements of the Home-Garden-Goat (HGG) : The Garden

This is the spatial dsitribution of  the model of Vegetable Garden we are proposing to create in our Home.