Participatory Ecological Land Use Management
Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) is "a network of Civil Society Organizations / NGOs working with small-scale farmers in East, central and Southern Africa. The Association membership has grown from 25 pioneer members (in 1995) to over 230 members in 2010." PELUM operates in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda in East Africa; Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi in Central Africa; and South Africa, Lesotho, and Botswana in Southern Africa.[1] PELUM's mission is:
- "Passionate about equity, people- driven development and integrity of creation, PELUM Association is working towards sustainable local community empowerment, food security and prosperity by facilitating networking and advocacy."[1]
Contents
What PELUM Does
PELUM:[1]
- Promotes participatory ecological land use and management practices in the East, Central and Southern region.
- Builds the capacity of members and partners to respond appropriately to community needs as they work to empower the communities they work with.
- Increases the visibility of the small-scale farmers.
- Promotes sharing of information of development experiences, innovations, and best practices.
- Strengthens linkages and collaboration through action learning among partners and members.
- Lobbies (directly) for change and formulation of policies in favor of small scale farmers.
- Produces development magazines (Ground-Up) and PELUM Bullet-ins
- Promotes Seed Security and hence food security among small-scale farmers.
- Promotes the use of indigenous food Programme
- Promotes the mainstreaming of the Gender and HIV / AIDS in Agriculture Development Programme.
- Offers Consultancy in Research and Development
Values
PELUM lists its values as follows:[1]
- Promotes people-centered development.
- Recognition & respect for indigenous knowledge, creativity & innovations.
- Commitment to action, result, and impact.
- Support for recognition of, equity and justice to small-scale farmers, Pastoralists and the landless.
- Gender Sensitive Development.
- Transparency, accountability and constructive self-criticism.
- Commitment to partnership and through networking and collaboration.
- Support for the struggle against exploitive practices especially those against small scale farmers.
Leadership and Structure
Within PELUM, members within a country are called the "Country Working Group." The governance body at the country level is a Country Board. PELUM coordination within a country take place at the Country Desk (Office). The head of the Country Desk is the Country Coordinator, who serves as the CEO for PELUM Association in that country.
Regional coordination takes place at the Regional Desk. The Regional Desk is located in Lusaka, Zambia, and it is headed by a Secretary General. PELUM has a Regional Board made up of Country Board Chairpersons. Every three years, PELUM holds a Triennial General Meeting. The most recent TGM was held in Morogoro, Tanzania in 2008 and the next one will be held in Lesotho 2011.[1]
