The goal is enormous: improve the social and economic well-being of impoverished pastoral communities in the East African rangelands.  The solution, however, is to start small.  USU researcher Layne Coppock created the Pastoral Risk Management project in 1997 to help rural dwellers in southern Ethiopia better protect themselves from poverty, drought, and famine via education, collective action, livelihood diversification, and improved market access.  PARIMA’s activities involve research, outreach, and the formation of strong local partnerships.

PARIMA’s investment in people has resulted in sustained success.  Sixty collective-action groups, with over 2,300 members, have been created in just a few years, and the approach now spreads by itself.  The groups—led by women—have generated tens of thousands of dollars in savings and have become more food secure.