From November 30 to December 2, 2014, Dahari organized, at the Mirontsy fishing school, a reflection workshop for the drafting of the NGO's 2015-2020 strategic planning. It closed on the third day, with a ceremony organized in the presence of state and non-state institutions to present the broad outlines of this five-year action plan. These three days of work, which were decisive for the future of the NGO, were organized thanks to the financial support of our partner WWF. Four representatives from our international partners participated in the workshop. They represented Durrell, WWF, CIRAD and Blue Ventures. They joined the think tank made up of the Dahari team and members of the General Assembly and the Board of Directors.

The strategic planning workshop: two days of group reflection work

November 30 and 1^er December, participants were divided into working groups to brainstorm different ways to improve the impact of Dahari. Five main questions were asked:

• how can we improve our current interventions?
• what new activities should be integrated into current areas?
• to what extent should the area of ​​intervention be expanded?
• what new areas of activity to develop?
• how to strengthen the functioning of the NGO?

The results of the reflection workshop will make it possible to draft a strategic plan for the period 2015-2020, and a capacity building plan for the team. These documents will be written by the NGO team in the coming weeks, then will be revised by the board of directors, discussed with the communities, and finally validated by the General Assembly.

The launching ceremony of the 2015-2020 action plan

On Tuesday, December 2, 2014, a ceremony was organized to present the first results of the strategic plan reflection workshop. This event took place at the Franco-Comorian Alliance of Mutsamudu in the presence of members of civil society and representatives of the Ministry of Production and the Governorate of the autonomous island of Anjouan.

We thus welcomed Mr. Ali Djoumoi, Advisor to the President for the agricultural sector, Mr. Mohamed Ali Houmadi, Chief of Staff of the Minister of Production, Environment, Energy, Industry and Crafts of the Union of the Comoros, Mr. Mohadji Asnaoui, Director General of INRAPE (National Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment), and Mr. Houmadi Daoud, Commissioner in charge of promoting Production, of Economy, Investment and Territorial Development, Responsible for Water, Energy and Environment of the autonomous island of Anjouan.

Technical Director Hugh Doulton presented the priorities identified for the 2015-2020 period:

• In terms ofagricultural support, interventions will continue to be improved and innovations will be identified with the support of CIRAD.
• For management of natural land resources, Dahari will support community leaders motivated to protect wood and water resources, and help them protect small forest areas to begin with.
• questions from ecological research were identified to study flagship species and monitor forest and deforestation. For initial conservation initiatives, the Livingstone flying fox will be prioritized.
•  Commercial activities will be strengthened to generate income for the communities and for the operation of Dahari. We are talking here about ecotourism, consulting and importing quality seeds.
•  new areas of activity were identified: education, integrated management of marine and coastal resources, and family planning and nutrition activities. The first activities in these areas will be carried out through local partners, with the support of international partners.
• In terms of governance and monitoring-evaluation, the Board of Directors and the management team will be coached through exchange visits with partner NGOs. A capacity building plan for the entire team and members will be created.

In his speech, Anllaouddine Abou, chairman of the board of directors of Dahari, specified that the development actions undertaken by Dahari must be carried out with the support of state and non-state institutions: “We are seeking the assistance of all institutions working in the Comoros and all resource persons in the areas of intervention of the NGO Dahari for the implementation of the NGO's 2015 – 2020 Action Plan. I hope that the leaders of Dahari will be able to strengthen relationships of partnership and collaboration with the other actors operating in the Comoros. »

A positive outcome for the future of Dahari

The results of these three days are more than satisfactory: a lot of reflection was carried out, innovative ideas were proposed, Comorian civil society was informed of the decisions, and international partners expressed their satisfaction.

Fidy Ralison, marine program coordinator for WWF Madagascar, emphasizes that he came to the Comoros with hope. “Is there an organization in the Comoros that could make a difference and could be inspirational? This is what Dahari represents to me. I was touched by everything you were able to undertake”, he told us.

For his part, Claude Vuillaume, responsible for territorial cooperation at CIRAD, praises the values ​​shared by the Dahari team: “My participation and that of CIRAD, thanks to your invitation, with the international NGOs WWF, Durrell and Blue Ventures, allowed me to discover a team of great human, scientific and technical quality, with total involvement and great solidarity from all the staff. »

As for Kitty Brayne, coordinator of the NGO Blue Ventures in Madagascar, she has the distinction of also being a former member of the Dahari team. She tells : “We worked a lot to create this NGO. I left when it was still theoretical. Today I come back and there is a very strong identity: you share a team spirit and values. Having worked in two organizations since leaving, I still learn from you. »

The NGO would like to thank all stakeholders for their participation.