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Understanding and supporting existing indigenous pastoral strategies to cope with drought is an important step in getting humanitarian and development pastoral interventions right. This study on traditional coping strategies of the Afar and Borana pastoralists must be seen in this regard, wanting to know more about how pastoralists cope with the worsening situation and declining food entitlements at different stages of drought.

The hypothesis was that due to recurrent droughts, continuous relief food assistance following drought, unsustainable development interventions, lack of clear governmental pastoral policies, war and civil unrest, traditional coping strategies at times of food shortage have eroded. The goal of this study was therefore to support communities of drought prone areas in rebuilding and strengthening their coping strategies in response to drought. The objectives were to:

• Identify coping strategies in response to drought and indicate strategies to be strengthened to make people less vulnerable to drought.
• Increase awareness at the community, project management and staff level about the importance of people’s local knowledge and traditional coping strategies.
• Create higher awareness at the community and project staff level about how to respond quickly to early periods of drought and food insecurity and how to advise the communities in forthcoming stress situations.