“Promoting peace through the sound management of natural resources” was the aim of a training session held on June 27 and 28, 2024 in Gourcy, which brought together 42/120 presidents of village development committees (CVD) from 15 villages (Gourcy, Oula, Rambo communes) hosting infrastructure built by the RESICOM project (market gardening perimeter, rice-growing lowland, onion storage store, solidarity granary, warrantage store, pastoral borehole, grazing area, etc.). Over the course of the 02 days, participants were provided with training on the analysis of conflicts linked to natural resource management, the identification of precursor signs, measures to be taken to prevent or resolve conflicts linked to natural resource management, etc. To facilitate learning, work was based on case studies of personal experience, practical exercises and role-playing.
According to Mr Issa ZEBRET, CVD of the village of Bougnam, “This training is very welcome, as we have acquired practical knowledge that will enable us to better manage recurring conflicts between farmers and herders. We are now equipped to prevent or identify the causes of conflict, as well as the appropriate approaches to conflict resolution”.
“To be more successful in their mission, the participants in this training course must, through the knowledge they acquire, be role models in the promotion of peace and social cohesion. In this way, they will be better able to get the message across about the adoption of practices that promote social cohesion, because we raise awareness better by example than by words” insisted Mr. Boureima OUEDRAOGO, trainer and conflict management specialist.
As a reminder, this training is held within the framework of the project’s specific objective 03: “the populations of the project’s intervention regions live in an environment of peace and social cohesion thanks to concerted management of shared resources, intra/inter-community dialogue and the strengthening of local governance”. Following this training, a second session on the same subject is also planned, bringing together eighty (90) members of the SMCs of the pastoral boreholes and grazing area of the village of Pourra (commune of Rambo).
The RESICOM project is financed by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark in Burkina Faso, and is implemented by the consortium Solidar Suisse Burkina and SOS SAHEL International Burkina Faso with the support of local partners: OCADES/Dédougou in the Boucle du Mouhoun region; FEBAP/Yatenga in the North and the Wendkouni Association of Boulsa in the Centre-Nord region.
Family photo at the end of the course
