In 2017, Cadasta offered more remote and in-person support to our partners in the field. The result is better documentation of partners’ needs and feature requests, as well as an established process for providing sub-grants for continued data collection. We have also begun developing metrics to improve tracking of impact at the field level. Standard questions relating to changes in conflict over land rights, in perceptions of land tenure security, and in land use behavior will be incorporated and used across all projects.
Our focus on partner support has contributed to a significant jump in both partners and use cases. In January 2018, a total of 79,586 households were on the platform. This represents an almost 170% growth rate in one year (January 2017 to January 2018).
Aso Manos Negra, The Association for the Defense of the Environment and Black Culture, is a female run non-profit organization that promotes the economic and environmental sustainability of Afro-Colombians in the Pacific region.
The group needed a digital tool to document community land claims, and to track the process of formalization of community lands. Following a short in-person training, Aso Manos Negra collected data on women’s economic activities and land use from 3,400 households in 17 communities. The group plans to use the data to monitor and empower women to protect their natural resources from illegal activities, and to promote the sustainable use of community resources.
OpenStreetMap (OSM) Zambia used Cadasta’s tools to document the property rights of an informal settlement in the town of Mufulira, Zambia.
Following a brief remote training by Cadasta’s staff, OSM trained thirty community members — nearly half of whom were women — to collect land rights information using Cadasta’s tools. Despite little experience using smartphone technologies, the team was able to record the rights of over five thousand households and properties in just two weeks.
The data collected by OSM Zambia will be presented to the local government council to assist in planning and infrastructure delivery, and to allow for the formalization of some land rights.
Based on OSM’s feedback, Cadasta has added features to the development plan to allow for more rapid data collection and report creation for OSM Zambia.
