Building Resilience through the Village Model Approach in the Mandera Cluster

The Mandera Cluster, which links communities across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, is one of the most climate-stressed and conflict-prone regions in eastern Africa. Recurrent droughts, limited pasture, animal disease outbreaks, and cross-border conflicts continue to threaten livelihoods and stability. Despite numerous interventions, sustaining long-term gains remains a challenge, as the frequency and intensity of shocks repeatedly erode the hard-won progress in building pastoralist resilience in the cluster.

To address these interconnected issues, three European Union funded programmes have joined forces to pilot a new “Village Model” approach that aligns interventions, resources, and expertise for greater impact. It aims to strengthen community resilience through joint planning, sequencing, and layering of interventions. The approach brings together three flagship EU-funded programmes:

• Pastoralism and Livestock Adaptation to Climate Change in Eastern Africa (PLACE), implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);
• Building Opportunities for Resilience in the Horn of Africa (BORESHA NABAD), a consortium led by the Danish Refugee Council (DRC); and
• DARIS WACAN, implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

“FAO cannot do everything alone - and the same goes for IOM and BORESHA NABAD. That’s precisely the point of the Village Model: recognizing that each partner brings a unique piece of the puzzle. By acknowledging that no single organization can meet all needs, we create space for genuine collaboration, where our collective efforts fill the gaps and deliver more sustainable results for communities,” notes Cyril Ferrand, FAO Resilience Team Lead for Eastern Africa.

By aligning their efforts, the three programmes will ensure that community support is coordinated, complementary, and impactful, minimizing duplication and fostering stronger synergies. Each country will select one to two pilot villages that reflect cross-border dynamics, where joint activities will focus on improving animal health, enhancing rangeland management, and strengthening livelihoods through fodder production, market access, and peacebuilding initiatives.

“Development actors often work in silos, each focusing on their own projects and priorities. But the Village Model is changing that. By working together, we can reach communities with diverse, mutually reinforcing interventions that not only meet urgent needs but also build lasting resilience,” noted the BORESHA NABAD Chief of Party- Yussuf Mohamed Abdullahi.

Programme teams from PLACE, BORESHA NABAD, and DARIS WACAN meet once a month to align on field implementation, share lessons learned, and strengthen collaboration. Country teams are then tasked with adapting this guidance to local contexts through regular coordination and monitoring.

“As someone with several years of experience in the humanitarian and development sector, I believe the Village Model is a game changer in how we serve communities. It provides a clear overview of who is doing what among partners, helping to prevent duplication and address existing gaps. It also enables local authorities to have a comprehensive picture of ongoing activities within their areas,” said Omar Khayre, Program Manager for IOM’s Daris Wacan project.

Strengthening collaboration and delivery.

Under the PLACE Programme, FAO has allocated USD 700 000 to scale up joint activities in the Mandera Cluster. This will support fodder production and value addition, flood control, vaccination campaigns, animal health surveillance, and the establishment of community-led rangeland management systems.

In Bur Abor village, Mandera County, Kenya, the PLACE project will extend the dykes to be constructed by BORESHA NABAD, resulting in a total of 3.5 km of dykes for flood control and the reclamation of over two hundred hectares of land for agriculture. Meanwhile, Daris Wacan will contribute by installing a solar-powered pumping system and a distribution line to water kiosks.

In Bula Main village, Somalia, Daris Wacan will rehabilitate degraded farmland, BORESHA NABAD will supply fodder seeds, agricultural inputs, and training on fodder production, while PLACE will procure and install fodder processing and storage facilities for beneficiaries. Similar collaboration is underway in Shambel and Wadlahubo villages of Dolo Ado, Ethiopia, where the three agencies are jointly implementing complementary activities.

This integrated approach demonstrates how EU-funded programmes can effectively collaborate to address the interconnected challenges of climate change, conflict, and livelihoods across the East and Horn of Africa. At its core, the approach seeks to foster more coordinated and strategic ways of working among implementing partners. Its ambition goes beyond the Mandera Cluster and EU-funded initiatives, offering a replicable model for all resilience-building and development efforts across the region.